(RightWing.org) – Do you still believe a college degree is the passport to a successful career? For decades, going to college after high school has been the goal for almost all middle and upper-class Americans. That could be changing, though — and TV host Mike Rowe thinks that’s a good thing.
Mike Rowe is best known for hosting the Discovery Channel show “Dirty Jobs” and its spinoffs, in which he tries out jobs that are unpleasant, dangerous, or, well, dirty. Mostly, they aren’t the kind of jobs you need a college degree for. In fact, Rowe doesn’t believe you need a degree for most other jobs either, and he’s happy that the latest generation of young Americans seems to be getting the message.
On March 28, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson released an interview with Rowe, in which the pair discussed college education, how valued it is in the US, and why that might be changing. Rowe has been arguing for 15 years that a degree isn’t as important as many of us believe, and Carlson asked if he saw any evidence people were listening.
Rowe thinks he does. Talking about Generation Z, young people born between roughly 1997 and 2012, he said they rank a college education as 47th most important on a list of 50 life factors. When Carlson said, “That seems high,” Rowe replied, “Well, it used to be three, right?” He added that in the last five to six years, he thinks things have started to change.
Rowe told Carlson that people are starting to realize that “just because you’ve got $200,000 in debt and a nice diploma,” you’re not guaranteed to get a good job. When Carlson challenged the idea that a degree means you’re well educated, Rowe replied that it doesn’t mean anything “except for the fact that you owe $200,000.” Rowe calls college diplomas “golden tickets” — but he thinks it’s a good thing they’re starting to lose their shine.
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