Ep. 39 The College Trap: Is that Degree Actually Worth What You Pay For It?"

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Is a college degree still worth it, or has the formula changed? 

In this episode, Jim LeBoeuf takes an honest look at the promise of college versus the reality of today's job market. With over $1.7 trillion in U.S. student debt and 2024-2025 college graduates ranking among the highest unemployment rates in the country, the old playbook needs a serious update. 

Jim walks through which degrees still deliver strong returns (think STEM, healthcare, and specialized fields), why trade schools and apprenticeships are quietly producing six-figure earners without the debt load, and how to think about ANY education investment through a return-on-investment lens; not just a "did I get a diploma" lens. This is the conversation high schools, parents, and young adults should be having... but usually aren't. 

If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who's weighing a major education decision. And make sure you're subscribed so you never miss an episode. 

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#PersonalFinance #StudentLoans #CollegeDebt #FinancialFreedom #TradeSchool #NetwealthNest #Apprenticeship #SkillsOverDegrees #GenZMoney #MillennialFinance #STEMcareers

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Transcript

Jim 0:00

Is college a dead end? For decades, we've been told the same thing. Go to college, get a good job, and you're gonna be successful. You'll make all sorts of money, But in today's world, that formula is just not adding up. College degrees cost more than ever. And for many people, the payoff just isn't what it used to be. Welcome to the Netwealth Nest podcast. I'm your host, Jim LeBoeuf. Thanks for joining us as we work to help you build financial stability in your life and get outta that paycheck to paycheck cycle. Today we're gonna talk about. College and who it is for or might be for, and who it might not be for. So let's start off talking about the promise of college versus the reality. I was in high school, in the late 1990s, early two thousands. Graduate in 2002, and one of the promises around college was go to college, get a degree you're gonna put yourself at worst in a middle class lifestyle in the United States. that was what we were told over and over again as we were growing up. that has gotten less and less likely over the last 20 or so years, it's just not the guaranteed path that it used to be. When you talk about going to college in the fifties, sixties, seventies, and even eighties You got these degrees and those degrees put you head and shoulders above individuals that did not have degrees, specifically in the salaries that you would command and the jobs that were available to you, and that has just drastically changed over the last few decades College has gotten incredibly expensive, and today there's over $1.7 trillion. In US student debt and it weighs many people down for decades after they get outta school. Many graduates don't end up going to work in their field, so they might have gone to school for economics or business management or whatever, and they end up working in a completely different field, and that doesn't help them. Get the salary or the pay that they thought they would and then the last thing is we've been sold that college equals security, and that's just no longer automatic. With the technology that's out there and different types of roles and jobs it's not the same. It's not guaranteed. And so a degree could open doors depending on what degree you have and where you're looking, but it doesn't guarantee what is behind them anymore. So you might be thinking, okay, I'm not gonna college. whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I am not saying that okay, there is a place for college and for degrees in our society in the United States but you've got to look at it strategically and return on investment and specifically return on your education investment and how much that education is going to cost. if you have to spend $80,000 in a degree that you're only getting 40 or $50,000. A year in salary. Once you get outta school, you are going to be behind for over a decade, you're gonna have those student loans and you're not gonna be earning enough to cover that. Now there are some areas that are emerging that do have really strong return on investment. Think any of the STEM areas, so science, technology, mathematics or healthcare is really big one as well. nursing degrees, doctorates. Some of those, some of the higher, more specific education areas also have a good return. Think specific types of law. As an example, being a general lawyer in the age of ai, you just don't know if that's gonna continue. But if you are going to law school for a specific kind of niche of what you want to go after, that might be super helpful. But not all degrees do that. if you were spending some of these higher dollar amounts to get a liberal arts degree that's more generalized, that might not have as strong of a return as it did. 30, 40 years ago, and that could set you behind. So understanding what that return will be. And the return is coming from skills, not the certificate. And that's where the dramatic changes happened, skills are in high demand. general skills are in less demand, especially as technology starts to take over The other thing to think about is trade schools. There seems to be, this rise of a gap in our trades when you think of plumbers, electricians, construction, workers, you're seeing less people go into that line of work, which means they are commanding a higher and higher rate of pay to stay in that work. And that could bode well over the long term for somebody who goes in. I've heard stories of apprentices that go into the plumbing trade or electrical trade and as a no knowledge starting off apprentice are making 40, $50,000 a year. And once they complete their apprenticeship, they're sometimes exceeding six figures in their first few years after they've completed their apprenticeship. You could take a plumber and somebody who went to school for four years. And by the time that person got outta school, over those four years, that plumber could be making a hundred thousand dollars already. That doesn't even take into account. The money they didn't spend on acquiring that education and the loans they likely did not have to take out I think we need to redefine success in this area as more of a education or learning lens versus a went to school lens. just because many people have a certificate, that is the part of our population that is struggling the most to find jobs that they can earn a living wage on. Those college graduates from 2024 and currently 2025, are ranking in the highest areas of unemployment across the country, Transitioning your mindset around how am I viewing education and how am I using my money or borrowing if I need to that money? How am I turning that into a tool for future wealth and future growth? if you can't draw straight line to the return on investment, you should take a step back and say, Hey, is this the right move for me to make? Or is there another move that I need to make? Coupling that with things like lifelong learning instead of just going to college and understanding that the more you continue to learn and the more you invest in yourself and your education leads to outsized returns in your. wealth over time is a big mindset shift for many people. So that would be the other thing I would encourage. It also promotes adaptability, whereas things change because of technology. We know they always change. You are able to adapt faster and easier than the general public. I want us to understand that this topic applies to that framework we like to promote at Net Wealth Nest, just getting a college degree doesn't mean you're gonna be successful. we're seeing repercussions of teaching our young population that over the last 20 to 30 years. It doesn't mean you shouldn't go to college. you should put together knowledge around what you wanna do what return and how much money that will make, what is happening right now, and what could happen in the future Once you have that mindset and that knowledge, it's building an actionable plan. Understanding what your plan is Are you gonna go to a standard four year school? Are you gonna go to a trade school? Are you gonna look for an apprenticeship? Are you gonna try to start your own business? What are you gonna do? what is the plan to execute so that you can actually earn income, build your stability, grow your wealth over the long term? And lastly, it's about talking to individuals and using them as help to hold you accountable to the things you say you're gonna do. not everything is gonna be easy. Not everything is gonna go perfectly, but having somebody as an accountability partner will keep you on the right path. How you build skills and what those skills are, are going to determine the return on investment, whether it's your time, your money, It's not always about how long you've been in college or how many years you went to. School, it's starting to become how fast can you learn? How fast can you unlearn something that's changed? How are you adapting it, and then applying that to your current set of skills. That is what is really creating wealth and growth over the long term as we go through this technology age. I hope this episode helped you, maybe weigh some pros and cons of college and trade schools and where to invest money in your education and see is this really the right move? If it did, or if you know somebody that would benefit from this information, please share our video. Hop on YouTube, subscribe to our channel. Or if you're listening to us on your podcast of choice, subscribe to our podcast rate and review it. We just want to get our information out into everybody's hands to help them build financial stability and grow their wealth. Thanks for joining today. I look forward to talking to you all again. My name's Jim. Bye everybody. Net Wealth Nest LLC and Podcast is an educational platform committed to providing resources and information to empower individuals on their financial journey. Please note we do not provide financial, tax or investment advice. All financial decisions should be made in consultation with a qualified professional who understands your unique circumstances. Seeking personalized advice is a smart and necessary step before making any major financial commitments. Thanks so much for joining us today. If you found value in this episode, please like and subscribe to our YouTube channel, Netwealth Nest, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform. We read every comment and they help us improve and guide what topics we dive into next. And hey, if something you heard today resonated with. Don't keep it to yourself. Share with a friend, a family member, a coworker, your barber, your barista, even a stranger in line. You never know who might need this message. Remember, building net wealth is a journey, but you don't have to do it alone. Stick with us and together let's grow your net wealth nest.