College Isn’t for You (or Your Student, If You Are a Parent)

Introduction: The Tough Realization

Every fall, millions of students head off to college. For some, it’s a thrilling rite of passage that opens doors and changes lives. But for many others, it’s a harsh reality check: they quickly realize that college isn’t a good fit.

If you’re that student—or the parent of one—the struggle can feel heavy. Expectations from family, peers, and society all push in one direction: stay the course. Students often cling to the system out of fear of being labeled a quitter, or out of worry about letting others down.

But forcing yourself (or your child) through a path that doesn’t fit doesn’t make things better. It wastes years, drains finances, and erodes confidence. The truth is, recognizing early that college isn’t the right fit is not a failure—it’s a smart, honest, and courageous pivot. And it can open the door to better, faster, more rewarding alternatives.

The Real Costs of College

When people talk about college costs, they usually mean tuition. But the real price tag is much bigger.

• Financial Cost: The average in-state public university runs about $27,000/year. Private universities can exceed $55,000/year. Add in housing, fees, and extras, and the bill is staggering. Most students graduate with $30,000–$50,000 in debt, while six-figure balances are increasingly common.
• Opportunity Cost: Four years of lost wages matters. Earning even $35,000/year across those years equals $140,000 in missed income—not counting career advancement. By graduation, that’s a five- or six-year head start others already have.
• Emotional Cost: Trying to fit into a system that doesn’t fit you leads to anxiety, burnout, and frustration. Instead of igniting curiosity, college can smother it.
• Relevance Cost: Knowledge today ages fast. What’s taught freshman year may be outdated by senior year, especially in fast-changing fields like technology and healthcare.

So the cost of staying in the wrong lane isn’t just money—it’s time, relevance, and momentum you can’t get back.

Why the One-Size-Fits-All Model Fails

For decades, college has been marketed as the default. But the promise of “college for everyone” simply doesn’t hold up.

• Not every career requires a degree.
• Not every learner thrives in lecture halls.
• Not every family can or should shoulder the financial risk.

The system benefits from enrollment. Students don’t always benefit from the result.

Alternatives to the Traditional Four-Year Degree

The good news is we live in a time where alternative paths are thriving. These aren’t second-best options—they’re smart, efficient, and increasingly respected.

Trade Schools

• Duration: 1–2 years.
• Average pay: $60,000–$90,000/year; six figures possible with experience or specialization.
• Growth: Electrician demand projected to grow 11% through 2033 (double the national average).
• Example: In NJ and PA, electricians earn $72,000–$88,000 on average—more than many college grads.

Coding Bootcamps

• Duration: 12–24 weeks.
• Cost: $8,000–$20,000.
• Outcomes: Average starting salary ~$69,000; by their third job, bootcamp grads average nearly $100,000.
• Impact: Graduates often earn 51% more than before the program.

Apprenticeships

• Learn directly under experienced professionals.
• Earn while you learn—no debt, steady paycheck.
• Example: Apprentices in trades earn ~$24/hour from day one, often accumulating $200,000 across a four-year apprenticeship.

Certifications

• Google Career Certificates (IT, data analytics, project management).
• AWS certifications often raise salaries by 25–30%; advanced AWS-certified professionals report $150K–$200K salaries.
• Lean Six Sigma enhances process improvement skills valued across industries.

Self-Directed Learning

• Books, podcasts, online courses, and YouTube tutorials make self-education accessible and affordable.
• Platforms like Coursera, Udemy, and LinkedIn Learning deliver high-quality content for a fraction of traditional costs.

Side Projects & Hustles

• Real-world projects teach faster than textbooks.
• Freelancing, e-commerce, or starting a small business builds marketable skills.
• Even failed ventures build resilience, adaptability, and problem-solving.

Why Experience Outshines Theory

Employers are shifting their expectations. Increasingly, they’re asking: What can you do? Not Where did you go?

• Portfolios beat transcripts: Coders with working apps, designers with strong portfolios, marketers with campaigns under their belt all outrank those with just a diploma.
• Paychecks over debt: Apprenticeships and side hustles let you earn money while building skills.
• Speed matters: Six months of focused effort often outpaces four years of broad coursework.

The future favors doers, not just diploma holders.

The Problems with Higher Education Today

Traditional higher education isn’t irrelevant—it’s just misaligned with today’s world.

• Overpriced: Tuition rises outpace inflation.
• Outdated: Curricula lag behind industry needs.
• Poor ROI: Degrees don’t guarantee jobs worth the debt.
• Delayed experience: Graduates enter the workforce years behind.
• Declining relevance: Major employers like Google, Tesla, and IBM have dropped degree requirements for many roles.

And it’s not just undergrad. MBA and PhD programs carry the same problems—higher costs, longer timeframes, weaker returns.

My Story: Why I Chose a Different Path

I’ve lived both sides of this. As a student, I often sat in class wondering why we were dragging out material that could be taught in hours. As an adjunct professor, I saw how accreditation requirements padded courses with filler instead of practical value.

My real growth happened when I started to self-direct my learning:

• Reading: Books that condensed decades of experience into a few hundred pages.
• Courses: Online programs focused on exactly what I wanted to learn.
• Certifications: Credentials employers actually valued.
• Trial and Error: Learning by testing ideas in the real world, failing, and iterating.
• Video & Audio: Podcasts and lectures from leading thinkers available on demand.
• Side Projects: Applying concepts immediately to projects and small ventures.

That personalized, intentional curriculum accelerated my skills far more than years of traditional classrooms. It wasn’t about abandoning education—it was about reclaiming it.

Enter Myford University

This philosophy is what inspired me to create Myford University.

We’re not anti-education. We’re anti-waste. Education should be practical, affordable, and immediately useful. That’s what we focus on:

• Free resources to help you get started.
• Condensed programs that deliver the essentials in hours, not years.
• Application-first learning: every course tied to a project, deliverable, or portfolio piece you can actually use.

Our mission is simple: help people learn fast, apply faster, and build skills that translate into opportunity.

The Future of Education: Self-Directed Learners Win

The world has changed. Employers no longer ask, What’s your GPA? They ask:

• What can you do today?
• What have you built?
• How quickly can you learn and adapt?

The winners will be self-directed learners—those who build portfolios, stack skills, and create results. That applies whether you’re a student questioning your next step, or a parent wondering if your child is on the right path.

Final Thoughts

If college isn’t working for you—or your child if you are a parent—don’t panic. You’re not broken. The system is.

Today, you have more options than ever before. You can:

• Enter a trade.
• Complete a bootcamp.
• Earn certifications.
• Launch a side hustle.
• Learn on your own.
• Build, fail, and build again.

The key is to own your education journey. College isn’t the only way, and it isn’t always the best way. The goal isn’t just a diploma. It’s competence, opportunity, and fulfillment.

That’s what Myford University exists to highlight: faster, better, more practical paths to real skills and success.