Issue 677 College Cartel: What you can do September 14

There are a few things you can do to challenge the college cartel system.  Let's discuss.

Things to break a cartel:  To break this kind of cartel, we need dedication and a willingness to persevere.  This means the first step is alternative education methods.  So the taking of online courses, certificate classes, and certification tests all aid in defeating this system.  Obviously, you will need to be able to work in a non-classroom environment to do this, so if you lack the need for that kind of structure, then you are fine.  If you need the classroom structure, then do not follow this approach.  But, in all these cases, they rob the colleges of the big money that a four year degree provides and thus makes them adjust to accommodate the change in economics and education climate that you aid in creating.  

Another approach is skill based jobs.  Nearly all are "on the job training" or have classroom work that leads to finishing in hands on training.  These jobs include electricians, tractor repair and drivers, masons and the like.  Many jobs are open in these construction and factory based jobs due to the emphasis on college degrees instead of these skilled labor jobs like welding and battery testing.  These jobs promise $40,000 to potentially $100,000 a year jobs due to the lack of people needed to fill these positions.  So if you are willing to do the work, you dodge the need for a traditional degree.  

Your knowledge may be specialized and as such you can teach classes on what you know.  Basically, you can host private lessons or your own class on a subject and sell it while usurping the college system.  Alternatively, it is also possible to host your own on the job training programs once you start your own businesses.  But, this means creating a business first.

As to the other hard methods. We have petitioning the government claiming that colleges favor the rich (which they do to a degree).  As such, government making it so that we can get associate's degrees right out of high school like the Floridian system could work.  If that comes to pass, community colleges can be adapted to provide bachelor’s degrees at a cheaper rate which again undercuts private colleges.  As such, colleges will again be forced to alter their strategy.

Conclusion:  These are some basic ideas. Of course none of them are easy to accomplish as they will all take time.  However, colleges are already seeing a loss in revenue do to these alternative methods already.  The only real thing that is holding us back is government who can accelerate it or even change their narrative to make online, and other education methods more socially acceptable.  Basically say any education is a good one so long as it is equal to a college one with those being online courses, certificate courses, and certification tests.  Also, government must talk more about the skilled labor jobs that need to be filled.  If those are advertised more, then potentially a young adult may begin thinking of that as a possible job opportunity.  Much can be done to change the current system.  We just need to keep walking in the right direction.