"College education" is a good issue for the Democratic Party.

[kentuck]

But it is not one that appeals to people with blue collar jobs or the unemployed or those on food stamps or most voters over 30 years of age. College education is considered "elitist" by many traditional Democrats. It is not an issue that is going to make Democrats in huge numbers jump up and down and demand action from their Democratic representatives. Simple because most Democrats understand that a college degree in America is the new equivalent of a high school diploma. As the supply of college graduates gets higher and higher the value of a college education gets less and less. A college degree is not worth much if the jobs are not there to fill.

[JoePhilly]

1. Hummm ... my dad was blue collar ... it mattered a great deal to

him that I go to college.

My oldest friends are almost all blue collar guys. All are working hard so their kids will get to go to college.

It matters a great deal to them.

The effort from the right and the left, to diminish the value of a college education, is sad to see.

[kentuck]

2. There was a time...

when a college degree was worth much more than today.

[JoePhilly]

3. Back when I started to get my college degree ...

people said it wasn't going to be worth it as well.

Personally, I think there are those who would love for the kids of blue collar folks to stay out of college. Cuts down on the competition the George W. Bush's of the world might face.

Keeping poorer kids out of college is a great way to keep them from moving up the economic ladder.

[kentuck]

6. I don't think it is an issue that will drive a lot of Democrats to the polls.

Of course, a college degree costs a lot of money and kids are stuck with humongous debt. With the present job market, it will take a long time to get back their investment.

[newfie11]

5. Same with my Dad

He never finished high school but education for his kids was #1.

He was an iBEW electrician and learned on the job. Some of the missile silos he wired are still around the Wyoming area. Sure hope they've been updated as that was very long ago. This I don't think is possible today without college.

[eilen]

7. My DH is IBEW journeyman, not lineman although

he has worked with high voltage wire. He is a college grad but that did not influence him getting into the apprenticeship program which required an entrance exam for aptitude. He has wired many different installations from department stores to windmills to working nuclear plant shutdowns. He is working on an aluminum stamping line now intended for Ford. He feels his four years of college were a waste of time and money.

What he really wanted to do was go to school for marine biology but his choices were limited at the time and he needed to pick a state school. His younger brother was much luckier and was able to attend Purdue for aeronautic engineering-- he wanted to work for NASA. But then NASA funding was cut so the firm he worked for that contracted with NASA is now having him do something else.....

That is the thing about college educations. They don't always lead a person into a straight line according to major and the degree discipline. So expecting a college degree to automatically send you along that path is not really logical. College is not a trade school or job training. Hopefully what you choose to concentrate in will move you to a job aligned with your interest but not always. Technology changes things.

[newfie11]

8. Thank you

I am delighted to hear one can still become an electrician without college.
My dad was also a journeyman. He passed away in 1965 when we were in Texas. He was wiring a Monsanto plant ( another reason to hate Monsanto lol).

Do you move from job to job? We moved about every 3-4 months all over the country. I loved it.

I did go to college thanks to California's free colleges back then. I chose radiologic technology (x-ray tech) and it was a great choice. Never had a problem finding a job all over the country. I retired in 2005. Now that profession is flooded with folks that can't find full time jobs.
Times are changing but not in a good way.

[eilen]

10. No, we don't travel like that--we live in central NY

However, when work gets really slow he travels across the country. He has worked in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, and I think New Jersey and Pennsylvania (I might have missed a state).

He has been on his current job for almost a year now and it looks like it might last through to December but we'll see.

When he gets laid off, he signs the book at the hall, schedules a book signing tour (usually will go in states with some other brothers) and then come home and work on the house. After a couple weeks, he might make a longer/farther book signing if he has heard about work/jobs starting in other states. He has friends all over that he has worked with and they all keep in touch, give each other heads up about work etc.

One of his travel friends who ended up retiring a few years ago just passed away from cancer. A few brothers are coming up tonight from Kentucky and Ohio and will stay with us for the funeral tomorrow.

I am a nurse and have a good job at a local hospital. I keep him on my insurance because the hall insurance ... well, I have to get my own anyway and theirs is not as comprehensive. Much of the time he was travelling, our son was in school.

A neighbor of ours graduated h.s. 2 years ago, took some college classes online and was working 2 jobs got into the apprenticeship program last year. He has moved unfortunately but my dh keeps an eye out for him on the worksites.

[exboyfil]

4. Obama needs to be thinking in addition to college

Trade school and associates are a better fit for many anyway. My friend's son just started school for being a lineman (really good money). He did his first year of college while still a homeschooled High Schooler and only has one more year until his Associates.

Somehow funds for updating our power grid needs to be allocated including planning for renewables (for example we still have a bunch of wind capacity still available in Iowa but we do not have high efficiency lines to carry it to the demand locations).

[FarCenter]

9. A Staggering Look At The Rise Of College Underemployment

http://www.businessinsider.com/rise-of-college-student-underemployment-2013-8

Lots of good charts and information.

[eilen]

11. My son is in college

well, he is taking a semester off but once he graduates with his associates, he plans to transfer to a 4 year school.

The local colleges (Syracuse University and LeMoyne) are too expensive for us tuition wise. The state schools... the closest one that offers the major he wants is in Albany. We can (and have been) paying the tuition outright but the housing (room & board) is what is going to drive us to borrow. We expect he will work part-time once he is there but don't expect him to make enough to pay the fees which are approx. 2x the tuition. We pretty much expect him to work part time to fund his incidentals and spending money. I'm going to try to pay as much as I can while he is in school so there is not a huge balance when he graduates. He has qualified for a scholarship (through the IBEW) that will help. He has been working in construction this summer and will continue through the Fall so may find some employment doing that after graduation while he looks for a job in his major. He is interested in becoming an investigative journalist and there are not many news organization hiring for that so he may have to work freelance for a while. This is why we all want to keep loans to a minimum as his overhead must stay very low.

[woodsprite]

12. My freakin friend considers it elitist, and he's got a PhD.

I just have to raise my hands and shake my head. Giving up on him.