Skip College: Launch Your Career Without Debt, Distractions, or a Degree

This edited collection of essays re: the past and future of higher education is a MUST for parents, even High School seniors.Why haven't I stopped to consider the economic equation of a college education more thoroughly before now? How IS it that we arrived to this place - where social norms justify the exorbitant expense (in time and dollars) for a degree that may not ever truly pay for itself, and is just the "thing you do?"I love all the ways this book shines light into the dark alleys of higher education. Yes, for some a college degree IS the best or only path forward. However, it is worth considering alternatives, and confronting the real costs.The book makes a great case for introducing youth to the "value added" real world BEFORE sending them off to college IF college is a must. Just generally speaking, kids CAN and DO grow up / find a mate/ learn a skill without the "college experience," so if that is the main reason we are sacrificing to make college happen, we might be relieved to consider that there are options - some really great ones!This is especially liberating in view of the increasingly unsavory social and political influences rampant on college campuses these days. I say rampant because as public education strays further and further from the ideals of critical thinking, discourse, and a healthy debate of ideas, it becomes easier and easier for esteemed leadership (college admin/ professors) to have their way with young adults who are so eager to give context and meaning to their young lives. College students are easily seduced by a righteous cause. They are often regarded as "not children, but not adults either." Read the book to understand the biggest danger in this framing of our future. When you see it, alternate pathways are immediately evident!

I was so tired of the rat race of college from the very beginning. I hated how I was brainwashed by my dad telling me I need college to be successful! But the book shows how you can go far without college!

This book was a quick read and it was inspirational! I plan to have my teens read it as well.

Great book. Easy to read and full of information highlighting, not only the failings of college to prepare people for the workforce, but how you can position yourself to be successful and happy without having to go through the drudgery of sitting through boring classes and paying ridiculous amounts of tuition.

If you’re having second thoughts about college- you’re hesitant about signing those student loan papers, you’re hesitant about spending several more years of your life on something that you’re even not sure what it’s going to add up to, or you’re not even sure what you’re doing at all, then this book will save your LIFE.It’s both a good manual for taking action and also a good commentary on the state of the modern school/college system. The early chapters are more philosophical, but there’s plenty of juicy bits later in the book that will give you the confidence and knowledge to take life into your own hands and stop kidding yourself with college.