A college degree is no passport to a college-type job, George Mason professor says

As student debt continues to hamper Americans, one George University Professor argues college isn’t for everyone.

“One of the main problems of course is a lot of people have trouble finishing,” Bryan Caplan, author of ‘The Case Against Education,’ told FOX Business’ Ashley Webster on “Varney & Co.” “So, if you know for sure you’re actually going to finish college then it’s a pretty good investment, but on the other hand if you struggle through high school, your odds of finishing are very poor.”

Currently, $1.36 trillion in student debt lingers over U.S. borrowers according to the New York Federal Reserve Bank, and despite unemployment reaching its lowest level in 17 years in November, Caplan said the quality of jobs for college students has weakened.

“If you just take a look at the jobs that college graduates get compared to what they would have gotten 50 years ago, there are jobs like waiter or bartender that are now common jobs for college graduates to get. So, the degree is in no way a passport to a college-type job,” he said.

President Donald Trump, in June, signed an executive order to expand apprenticeships as a solution to unemployment and as a means of closing the skills gap. Caplan puts the onus on high schools and parents to guide students in the right direction.

“It’s more of high school and parents that are really telling kids that anyone can do anything, which is simply not true. It’s much better to go and tell a kid based upon your academic record here’s what we think is likely to happen and then steer them into something that’s realistic,” he said.