College is not where you find a career. College is where you have fun and drink beer

[Undertoad]

That is the commonly-held belief which ten years from now will be considered a mistake. You heard it here first. If you want to make money you will need a *real* card in HVAC or plumbing.

If you go to a four year university and study engineering, you'll probably be okay.

That was true twenty years ago but now you have to pick the right engineering degree. If you pick nuclear engineering and the nation decides to not build more nuclear plants, you are shit out of luck and will be driving a taxi or working retail. If you pick networking and the nation decides to allow 250,000 more H1B visas on top of an already-depressed tech labor marketplace, you are shit out of luck and may have to work at a pawn shop.

If we don't make things in this country we don't need engineers to design them. A card or degree won't help you if there are no jobs.

[Lamplighter]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

That is the commonly-held belief which ten years from now will be considered a mistake. You heard it here first.

Do you really think the Bush-economy and under-employment will last for the next 10 years ?
I don't.

Just from $ alone, your CNN link above says:

Although these figures vary widely by profession, associate's degree recipients, on average,
end up making about $500,000 more over their careers than people with only high school diplomas,
but $500,000 less than people with bachelor's degrees, the Georgetown center calculates.

In my view, AA-degree'd jobs will face much harder times.

IT and "social media"Technology are well on their way to replacing
the "self-educated computer geek" and the "MS-certified" technician.
Apple, Google, MS, etc are already investing in "patent wars", not new soft- or hard-ware.
FaceBook is (desperately) looking outside it's own origins for success,
and automotive engineers have already incorporated more than enough micro-chips, trying to sell cars.

Registered Nurses with only a 2-yr degree are well on their way to extinction
because Medicare/caid etc. are requiring RN's with 4-yr degrees.
If they don't they will lose their jobs or be demoted because
only the hospitals employing those with higher requirements will be reimbursed.

So don't invest in button hooks.