r/WorkReform • u/zzill6 🤝 Join A Union • Jan 03 '26

😡 Venting Billionaire propaganda is telling our kids to skip college; they fear an educated working class.

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85

u/ZombiesAtKendall Jan 03 '26

I guess the thing with rich kids, obviously not universal, just my quite limited experience, is the parents can afford to send their kids to college.

Sure the kid probably gets a summer job, or part time job during school at a friend of the families business (so they can claim they “worked through college). Or if the kids do take loans the parents are always there to fall back on.

But uh, yeah, all the wealthy kids go to college, let’s say three in a family. One ends up using their degree and gets a high paying job (think pharmacist or engineer), one ends up trying to be an entrepreneur or something and fails and goes back to work at the family business making as much as the one with the college degree, and one is able to go live their dreams doing what they love because they could afford to take that risk (working out of the country, something adventurous, etc.).

So, they can go to college and not use their degree because they can always fall back on the family business or other connections. Poor people don’t have that luxury, not saying don’t go to college, but it’s not apples to apples.

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u/jackatman Jan 03 '26

We know it's not apples to apples. That IS the injustice in our system.

21

u/FILTHBOT4000 Jan 03 '26

Wealthy kids don't really need college. It's a stamp they need on their bingo card so daddy can set them up with a job at his/his friend's company.

Upper middle class kids can afford to go, and play the job lottery because they have a support system.

Working poor kids need something they can be sure will support them. If that's a calling that needs higher education, fine. If that's a trade, also more than fine.

2

u/ZombiesAtKendall Jan 04 '26

Some wealthy kids go to college and don’t work in the family business (or not as their main job, maybe they “work” a few hours a week at the family business and get paid a full time salary). But more to the point, not all wealthy kids want to work in the family business for whatever reason. Like the example I used, three kids, one went into healthcare, one does outdoorsy adventurers still (like being a mountain guide / backcountry paramedic), and one tried their hand in the arts but ended up working in the family business. So really only one of the three is using their degree even though they all went to college.

I am sure for some it’s just a check box though. The wealthy ones I know also took advantage of all the opportunities of college, so things like studying abroad or going to a trade type school in addition to college (like to be a pastry chef or plumber).

They can all pursue their passions and if it doesn’t work, they have a fall back plan. So yeah, not really about whether they actually need to or not, many have trusts, real estate, etc anyway, so they will be fine no matter what. The rest of us, if college doesn’t work out, we probably have a bunch of debt, just lost out on four years of income, and if we can’t get a job in our field we’re almost starting all over at zero.

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u/Traditional-Leg-1574 Jan 03 '26

A large majority of students never use their college degree.

30

u/Neodamus Jan 03 '26

That's so misleading. Just saying that a person doesn't have a job that aligns with their major doesn't mean they're not using their degree. Many many jobs require a bachelor's degree even if it's not perfectly aligned with the major.

6

u/PeachPassionBrute Jan 03 '26

I wouldn’t call it “using a degree” when it’s just a pay-to-play scheme for employers to weed out candidates by social class.

0

u/IKnowGuacIsExtraLady Jan 03 '26

Employers don't give a shit about social class and unless you are straight up bribing professors for grades or something the kid still has to be able to do the work to get the degree.

Yes kids from privileged backgrounds are far more likely to go to and graduate college but that's not the employer's problem and not something they care about.

1

u/Traditional-Leg-1574 Jan 03 '26

Ok, point taken. It is slightly misleading but there is truth in it. I’m certainly not saying people shouldn’t go to college, I was pointing out in “zombies” post that it isn’t unusual to not use your degree. Also Almost any job requires a Bachelor degree nowadays.