Hire Education

J. Kevin Tumlinson

I may have to face the facts. After thirteen years, it may just be possible that I'm a career student. The revelation came to me recently when I was discussing with a friend just how long I have been in college. Thirteen years. Since my graduation from high school, I have been in higher education. And the conversation didn't stop there. The revelation of my educational longevity came in the midst of a conversation about pursing a PhD. It looks like I'm going to be in school for a long, long time.

Considering this, it was inevitable that my thoughts would turn towards the cost of my education. I figure that because of student loans, I've probably pre-spent about three years worth of annual income, depending on what I do with all these book smarts when I'm done. Since I've pursued majors like “English” and “Communications” and “Education,” you can make a pretty accurate assumption that whatever I do, it ain't gonna be a bankroll job.

This has me thinking. If I had gone to school for the same number of years but focused on a different major, like Business Finance, I'd have a lot higher potential earnings. But the education would have cost me the same. Does anyone else see a problem with that?

If you think about it, why are we paying ANYTHING for higher education? From birth, all I've been told is that education is one of the most important things you can pursue in life. You're preached to almost from day one that a college education is important not only for your own personal future but for the good of the country. Better educated citizens means that the country has an edge over the rest of the world, right?

And yet, you can only go to college if you can somehow get the money.

Believe me, I've tried to get a free ride. It ain't out there. No matter what program you're signing up for, there's always a catch. Scholarships are limited and sometimes have criteria that are too stringent for most of the populace. Grants are in short supply, and are usually offered on a “first come, first serve” basis. Unless you have a wealthy benefactor, you're pretty much stuck with student loans.

My question is, if a college education is so important, why isn't it free? If the government needs us to be educated and productive, why isn't it creating more incentives for the pursuit of an education? The unemployment rate and the poverty line are major issues right now – wouldn't both be solved if people could voluntarily pursue an education free of charge? Think about it – I'm an unemployed man living in the slums. With the right education, I could start a new business, hire some of my unemployed friends and start paying in some of my precious earnings as taxes. There ya go… a free education just added to the overall income of the nation. That wasn't so hard, was it?

Now I'm not suggesting that ALL higher education should be free. Certainly it should cost you SOMETHING to get a degree from Harvard or Yale. These are high prestige schools; you can't expect a free ride there. Which reminds me, why are these high prestige schools able to offer the same grants, scholarships and other student aid programs that every other school offers? Want to free up the money to provide a free education to everyone? Take the grants and scholarships away from Ivy League schools and use THAT money.

At the very least there should be tiers of cost for each type of education. How hard would it be for universities to look at the average income for a field and set their tuition based on these numbers? That would at least bring a level of fairness into play. If I'm majoring in Chemical Engineering, I'll probably end up making more money than the guy majoring in Secondary Education, right? So why not cut guy #2 a break on tuition? Maybe I'm being naïve, but it doesn't seem to be fair to charge him the same money knowing full well that he has less earning potential.

Just a gripe, from a guy in the trenches. I just happen to be gifted in areas that don't usually demand more than low five-figure incomes. I may never get that sixth figure. I may never even get close to it. But unfortunately, Walmart and McDonalds just haven't gotten around to selling college degrees.

J. Kevin Tumlinson is the Editor for ViewOnline Magazine at www.viewonline.com . He is a Houston Baptist University graduate with degrees in English and Communications. You can reach him by e-mail at kevin@viewonline.com . He wants his higher education super-sized with a Coke.