Most teenagers who work part time and live in middle class families aren’t really doing it for the money, by the time you take into account car insurance and another car payment, the parents could just give the kids money.
Most of the time the teenager is either getting a hand me down car from the parents and the parents buy a new car or they buy their kid a cheap car.
My son won’t be going to an expensive college. He will be going to a two year state school close to home, living at home and then transferring. We will be paying cash.
When students acquire student debt to go to an expensive college, or get the same money from their parents, they do so because they expect to come out with a benefit over going to a state school.
And, maybe unfortunately, given some due diligence, that decision is still most likely the correct one. And yes, there are fraudulent schools and diminishing returns etc.
They can expect a lot of things but if you are going into a field that doesn’t pay above average wages, it really is not a great decision to go to a more expensive school.
But the popular refrain on HN - which I don’t agree with - is that the purpose of college is not to get a job.
Most of the time the teenager is either getting a hand me down car from the parents and the parents buy a new car or they buy their kid a cheap car.
My son won’t be going to an expensive college. He will be going to a two year state school close to home, living at home and then transferring. We will be paying cash.