Is a degree the answer to reducing poverty?

In 1960, 7.7% of adults above the age of 25 had a degree, today 37.5% over the age of 25 have a degree. Almost 40% of 25 and older have a degree, yet poverty remains unchanged. Is a degree really necessary to make a good wage? Is a degree valuable in the workplace? Just something I stumbled across and questioned.

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redredred · M

I’ve got three degrees but if I had it to do over, I’d have gone to technical high school and apprenticed myself as an electrician, HVAC tech or a plumber. Everybody needs such services, one can leave the work on the job, move anywhere and retire to part time work on any schedule.

Almost everything I learned in college and grad school one can get with a library card.

Roadsterrider · 56-60, M

@redredred That is an interesting perspective. I have taken some courses at a local college to learn something I wanted to learn but never pursued a degree and dropped it once I got finished with some electrical courses I wanted to have a better understanding of. I do not have a degree, started in the military and moved to civilian aviation and never looked back. I make 6 figures as a mechanic and other than getting my hands dirty once in a while, I spend most of my time in an office answering questions from other less experienced mechanics. I know so many guys who have chosen the careers you mention, electrician, plumber or HVAC who have worked as an apprentice for a few years, then started their own business and done very well for themselves. A mechanic can bill out at $100 an hour. It was hard to talk to my kids about college, wife is a vocational nurse or LVN. So, neither of us went to college. Both of us grew up poor and now we are middle class and climbing.