I'm a first-generation high school graduate. In my immediate family, I'm the only one who earned a high school diploma. Even so, I grew up believing that diploma mattered for my future. My dad, worn out from a long day at the trailer plant, would tell me, "I don't care what you do, just get you a trade."
My dad was a great man. He passed away in 2020. He couldn't read or write. He reportedly made it to the 11th grade, though I suspect his real schooling ended well before that. He had serious learning challenges that could have held him back, but they didn't. He wasn't afraid of work. He got up at 4 a.m. every morning and went to work, no matter what. I can't stress that part enough. Sometimes "no matter what" meant hitchhiking. Sometimes it meant going hungry, going hurt, or going sick. He went anyway.
We never had much, but he and my mother carried a family of four through some rough times. He was a blessing to everyone around him. His love for people, his work ethic, and his positive attitude still drives me today.
I took his advice. I worked hard to learn trades, and I also went after degrees and knowledge. I didn't want knowledge just for its own sake. Knowledge is a tool you never lose, and sometimes it's the only key that opens a door you want to walk through.
I spent much of my early twenties in the trades, and that shapes how I see this question. I worked in plants and in retail. I built houses and stained-glass windows. I've laid just about every kind of flooring and spent countless hours insulating homes. At 25, I started teaching. I haven't missed laying carpet for a single day, and neither have my knees.
Teaching required a degree, and I didn't stop at one. I ended up with six expensive degrees and, most important of all, one free high school diploma. For the past 22 years, I've been blessed to follow my calling in education, first as a science teacher and coach and later as an administrator. Along the way, I've learned a lot about what college is worth and whether it really is a scam. Some people will tell you degrees are meaningless. I can tell you that, as with almost anything in life, you get out of college what you put into it.
The Wrong Tool for the Job
I'll start with the obvious: college guarantees you nothing. If you pay a lot, work hard, and get little back, it can feel like a scam. But was college the problem, or were the price, the program, or the plan wrong from the start?
Imagine going to Lowe's and buying a hammer to clean your windows. When the windows are still dirty, you might feel cheated. You weren't scammed. You bought the wrong tool.
I've watched that happen to others. My experience was different. My classes were rigorous, my professors were practical and supportive, and the outcome has been good for me and my family. The difference was the research I did before I enrolled. I made sure I was buying the right tool.
The biggest share of the responsibility falls on students and their families. Still, colleges and the adults who advise young people must be honest about costs, job prospects, and what a degree qualifies you to do. Politicians need to protect students from colleges and universities that treat them as part of a business plan instead of as citizens of the state that funds those schools. Some state universities favor out-of-state students while taking state tax dollars, and that bothers me. Someone who never sets foot on a state campus shouldn't be paying for an out-of-state student's education.
College Is a Ladder
So, what is college for? Is it only about return on investment? At today's prices, I think it must be.
College isn't always what high school dreamers, and the movies make it out to be. Working two and three jobs while I was in school was not much fun most of the time. But I saw college as a ladder, and I used it to climb to places I couldn't reach any other way. The days of paying tuition to "find yourself" are over. You can do that online for free.
Many careers still require a degree to get in the door. Writing college off as a scam can shut you out of teaching, nursing, dentistry, law, engineering, and many other fields, and we need educated, skilled people in all of them. Look at the wealthiest families: their kids still go to college, and they still make education a priority. Education itself is never a bad thing.
Students and Families Must Ask Better Questions
The real questions are these: What do you want to do? What preparation does it require? Is it a good investment? What's the smartest way to get there?
A degree can be a great investment at one price and a terrible one at another. The career, the cost, the debt, and whether you can finish all matter. Students and parents should research all of it before signing up, and especially before borrowing money.
Some programs cost more than they will ever pay back. Others are too narrow or out of step with what employers need. Artificial intelligence adds one more question every family should ask: Is this program preparing me for a job AI could replace? Will this skill still be worth something in 15 years?
That's why "go to college" is incomplete advice. Go for what? At what cost? With what plan?
So, Is College a Scam?
I don't think so. It can be a poor investment, but it can also be the ladder that changes a family's future.
My dad wouldn't know what to make of today's schools and all the opportunities we offer students. He would be amazed. He did his best to guide me, and later in life he always told me how proud he was that I got a trade. I hope my students find people who give them advice that good, take it, and go conquer the world.
I did get a trade. Mine just turned out to be education.
And it's been worth it a thousand times over.
Robin, son of Tillman and Joyce