A Sea Of Red

10 years after starting school, this is what the average earnings of students looked like:

Out of the four schools, Lynchburg College had the highest median salary after a decade, at $40,900, followed by Randolph at $38,700, Sweet Briar at $38,600 and Liberty at $36,300.


All of those are labeled “about average” by the Department of Education scorecard, which lists the national average as $34,343. Miller-Motte Technical College-Lynchburg, a for-profit school which awards two-year degrees and technical certificates, clocked in well below that at $21,000.

http://www.newsadvance.com/news/local/r ... ab6ca.html

I would say the amount of Pastors, Youth Pastors, Missionaries, International Students and Sport Management (j/k) skews those numbers down for LU

Purple Haize wrote:I would say the amount of Pastors, Youth Pastors, Missionaries, International Students and Sport Management (j/k) skews those numbers down for LU

Still above the national average though.

Purple Haize wrote:I would say the amount of Pastors, Youth Pastors, Missionaries, International Students and Sport Management (j/k) skews those numbers down for LU

And don´t forget BJ, who was still in school after 10 years.

Those are really low numbers. More kids should forgo college and enter the workforce directly. They'd be much better off.

Yacht Rock wrote:Those are really low numbers. More kids should forgo college and enter the workforce directly. They'd be much better off.

I would say from a strictly financial perspective, if they are going to be funded by parents who are not wealthy of go into substancial debt, you are right. Availability of scholarships and grants could change things. Of course this doesn´t take career goals into account. There are some fields where you simply can´t get in the door without a degree.

Yacht Rock wrote:Those are really low numbers. More kids should forgo college and enter the workforce directly. They'd be much better off.

Maybe not directly, but I'd encourage someone to go to community college before a four-year school. Get certified in a trade, and if you still want that bachelor's, then pursue those extra credits.

I just thank God for my LCA scholarship, the GA position I held and the tobacco settlement that paid for my EMT certification at CVCC.

A Tradesman probably makes more than a college grad these days.

I know a girl who graduated from Virginia Tech, and she works at a Quick Stop store.

Yacht Rock wrote:Those are really low numbers. More kids should forgo college and enter the workforce directly. They'd be much better off.

I think this is something that more should consider. If you have to go into debt to go to college it is just not worth it.

olldflame wrote:

Yacht Rock wrote:Those are really low numbers. More kids should forgo college and enter the workforce directly. They'd be much better off.

I would say from a strictly financial perspective, if they are going to be funded by parents who are not wealthy of go into substancial debt, you are right. Availability of scholarships and grants could change things. Of course this doesn´t take career goals into account. There are some fields where you simply can´t get in the door without a degree.

Obviously if you can afford it without debt it's not a bad idea but we all know that the majority of students take on a huge amount of student loans or end up in careers where a degree wasn't key to success. That really reduces the value of the degree. I've been working since I was 14, full time since 16 and started making 40K/yr at 19 with no degree to speak of.

There were times I had to take a few steps back career wise due to changing jobs or moving but overall it hasn't been difficult to find work and move upward throughout the years.

My point is there are many (like myself) who should pursue this path instead of a degree. They'd be better off and have a head start career wise on others. It's not for everyone, but it is for a large group of people.

More kids need to be shown that college isn't the only path to success and it most definitely isn't a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

The main reason our family was taking advantage of the LCA scholarship is because we realize that college isn't worth going into massive debt in most cases.

I agree. I mean I did some amazing personal growth while at Liberty but I could be further along in the career field I am in now had I gone another route.

For what it's worth, I'm not only speaking from personal experience. Over the last 15 years I've hired hundreds of people and watched dozens of careers flourish in multiple industries without the benefit of a degree. I know there a fields that require them, but there are many that don't and these aren't jobs at McDonalds. Lol

thepostman wrote:I agree. I mean I did some amazing personal growth while at Liberty but I could be further along in the career field I am in now had I gone another route.

And I don't think that's a bad thing necessarily. I understand there is something to be said about the X factor benefits that go along with anything. When all is said and done I'd love for my kids to be able to go to college, as long as its debt free. Worst case scenario then is that they are four years behind career wise compared with others. But that's only relative to whatever field they desire to go into.

Yacht Rock wrote: Obviously if you can afford it without debt it's not a bad idea but we all know that the majority of students take on a huge amount of student loans or end up in careers where a degree wasn't key to success. That really reduces the value of the degree. I've been working since I was 14, full time since 16 and started making 40K/yr at 19 with no degree to speak of.

There were times I had to take a few steps back career wise due to changing jobs or moving but overall it hasn't been difficult to find work and move upward throughout the years.

My point is there are many (like myself) who should pursue this path instead of a degree. They'd be better off and have a head start career wise on others. It's not for everyone, but it is for a large group of people.

More kids need to be shown that college isn't the only path to success and it most definitely isn't a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

DEAD ON BROTHER

same goes for me and many other very successful people I've met. I was nowhere near ready to handle college emotionally but I went and spent a crap ton of money then went a totally different direction career-wise.

Unfortunately this mindset has emerged where all most HS srs and jrs hear from educators and counselors is "what college are you going to?"

why? because that's the mindset of the academic elite and those in related fields. many of them spend their entire lives after HS in that environment. BS, MS, Phd, then teach somewhere. Its self-perpetuating. more of them need to get into the real world to realize that's not good for all kids

and lets be honest... most kids go to college because:
A. they look at it as 13th thru 16th grade.
B. it's their right to get wasted and laid on a daily basis.

maybe "B doesn't apply in as great a proportion to LU kids but you get my drift.

There are some jobs that require a college degree, but shouldn't , if one can do job.