Why College Degrees Are Becoming Useless

Why would one go to college these days?

College degrees are becoming close to useless these days as young Americans continue to rack up debt with little to no hope of paying it off. Our universities today have become liberal utopias where the students run the show and can get away with whatever they want in their never ending search for that safe space.

Jonathan Newman recently compiled some stunning revelations of the current state of college in America today in the Mises Wire.

First of all, graduates are not learning how to think better in college, so what is it they are doing nowadays? 


According to The Wall Street Journal, “At more than half of schools, at least a third of seniors were unable to make a cohesive argument, assess the quality of evidence in a document or interpret data in a table”. The outcomes were the worst in the biggest flagship schools: “At some of the most prestigious flagship universities, test results indicate the average graduate shows little or no improvement in critical thinking over four years.”

That undergraduate degree is not as necessary in today’s workforce. Skills are more vital than degrees. One example of the free market adapting to a college degree’s devaluation is Google not caring if potential hires have one or not. They look past academics and focus on other characteristics that better predict job performance. 

 Another reason college should be steered clear of is the fact that shouting matches by students with nothing else better to do have invaded campuses nationwide. And they are silencing any conservative who dares speak their mind. 


In nearby Evergreen State College here in Washington, student protests hijacked classrooms and essentially took over the campus. The college president’s response to it was laughable as protesters took over the administration offices last month, disrupting other classes along the way. The threats of murder led to the campus closing for three days. The students call a very progressive educator a racist and a white supremacist. Their madness knows no bounds.

Trade schools and self-study are also proving to have better outcomes for many young men and women in the U.S. Dropping out of college is not the end of the world. Many successful business owners left school to pursue their passions and turn their dreams into reality. Trade schools require less time and money and the graduate ends up with a very specific set of skills that employers are looking for. Many times, these well prepared trade school graduates far outearn their four-year degree peers.

And the final reason why a college degree is useless is that it is simply not worth the cost. Tuition has been skyrocketing along with student loan debt, but future earnings are actually decreasing as more Americans are earning less than their parents as the American Dream fades from reality.

A recent WSJ article, dug into the consequences of this financial reality. Tuition keeps climbing nationwide, but prospective earnings are far from keeping up. There are differences in different schools and across other majors, but the overall trend shows that the returns to a four-year degree are decreasing.  

Students are borrowing and not putting any collateral down. They are also not making enough money to pay back these massive loans. Total student loans have now reached $1.3 trillion here in the U.S. Guess who will be stuck with this bill when it comes due?

You got it… the oblivious taxpayer.