Rethinking College

July 29, 2024
High school need not be a de facto pipeline to college, according to this illuminating outing from journalist Klein (50 Hikes in Orange County). Outlining how the national obsession with higher education took hold, she traces how well-meaning initiatives in the early 2000s to send kids to four-year colleges led to high schools becoming reliant on strict curricula and being evaluated for the number of college-bound grads they churned out. This, in turn, fueled a cultural focus on higher education that made college degrees standard for jobs that had never before required them and left those whose “natural talents outside the classroom” unfulfilled and, often, mired in student loan debt. Klein encourages young people to consider whether college aligns with their interests, work habits, and desired careers, then details alternative paths, including apprenticeships and entrepreneurship. More broadly, she calls for such reforms as eliminating college degree requirements for certain government jobs and creating apprenticeship opportunities in white-collar fields like banking. The author’s reconsideration of what professional success means is thought-provoking, and while readers might raise their eyebrows at some of the career paths outlined here (including social media influencing), they’ll be inspired by the colorful and often fascinating interviews with those who skipped the college degree yet found fulfillment in jobs ranging from sound design to PR. It’s a valuable reassessment of America’s educational system.