Career 005: Is College a Scam? Depends on the industry! Buyer Be Warned!!
Nothing in this post is a recommendation.
Before you get upset with the title of this blog, let me thoroughly explain to you my own college experience and then when you see the numbers below in the attached article based on opportunity and wages in certain sectors, you can thank me for saving you, and/or your child, hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you are a child who has someone paying for your education, you can consider yourself in the elite of the world and this is also not for you. If you figured out a scholarship, this ALSO is not for you. This post is for young people about to take out hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans for an education and for you to know your options before you make that decision.
We are in a total savings crisis in the United States. This is because of the choices my generation made in taking out college loans for college degrees that did nothing for us besides suspend our ability to save and earn. College Tuition Buyers BE WARNED. It might be scam depending on what industry you pursue. Certain sectors do not have space for more people, and some professions do not require large college tuition bills/debt. It is important for you to have this information and to hear the stories of people who were scammed in our education system.
I am not working in the fashion industry today. Even though that is what my degree was in. Very few artists that I know who went to college are. Why is that? Numbers and opportunity. I only used my degree for 2 of the 15 years that I was in the fashion industry. That was because I preferred to spend my 20s traveling while there was a chance that I could make 10 x what I was making as a designer stuck behind a desk under florescent lights. As a designer my salary was capped around 40-50K a year. And the worst part about my college was not that I got a sub par education in fashion where they actually explained that this degree wasn’t going to pay off. That would be counter-productive to the scam, but it was a hard lesson I had to learn later. The toughest part about my undergraduate degree was that the college I attended, got sued for predatory lending. It all made sense to my mom and I when the news broke. But when I reached out to fellow students after I saw the class action lawsuit, none of them had been notified of this, including myself. I only found out because I read the Wall Street Journal and Barrons every weekend front to back.
Instead of having an extra $1,000,000 today from wisely investing $150,000 when I was 20 (almost half my life ago now), I had to work my butt off, in a different industry than the one I was educated in, and swallow the truth that I got scammed. I am disgusted by the college system in the United States. Like many other sectors that are long overdue for reform and regulation; healthcare, foster care, politics, the FDA, insurance, agriculture, big Pharma, big banks, this list goes on and on. I’ve deferred my loans so many times, in hopes that the remaining balance owed will be forgiven. Just wait till you read my actual story below. But besides the amount I still owe which I’d really also love to be granted by this broken college loan system, I kind of want back the $970,000 that was stolen from me by the system. This is the number that I should have earned from either investing the money I spent on college instead of getting a useless degree OR from actually earning a correct wage that came from working in the field in which I was educated. Instead, I work in finance and part of that decision was to try to understand this system from the inside.
My actual experiences while attending The Art Institute equated to utterly devastating. My fellow students and I were constantly disappointed in the education we were receiving and the quality of our courses and pedigree of our teachers. We were financially in too deep to turn back. When I realized that we were not getting a quality education, we started talking about it openly, and we decided we would have to teach each other. We all only advanced because we committed to open competition among us to help fuel our talents regardless of how awful our teachers were. It worked, but sadly in my 3.5 years at 2 different Art Institutes, I had teachers terrorize me. They physically stole my art, they often did not show up for class, they weren’t prepared for our classes and I had two steal my designs for their own collections. This was the other thing they don’t tell you in fashion school. Your designs are not considered your own intellectual property. This is a problem in the fashion industry. The right to your own designs has gone to Supreme Court several times, but never passes. So even if you’re talented, crazy talented, you can’t own your work. The professors were mostly a joke, only there for a fat paycheck from a private college. They were not for helping youth in their career growth whatsoever. The school was sold to us as an art trade school. A place you would learn the business of your art sector. No one got out of that school unscathed. The final straw for me to speak any kind words of this education was when I got kicked out of my senior college fashion show, as a fashion design major, by a spiteful teacher who led the show production. This happened after receiving 2 of 4 awards from my first fashion show the year before. I had won Most Creative and Best of Show awards and then I wasn’t allowed to show for my final senior year. All for not turning in my music on time, which I actually had turned in. It was all just sheer insanity. This psychopath told me when I was kicked out the show that the real reason was because she didn’t believe I could finish my work on time. Her words were: “Your designs are “too much” and “unrealistic’ ". I was devastated. This teacher not only told me to be less, but she cut off the very display that I had worked for years to create. Years later, and millions of dollars paid to the SEC, it all makes sense. They were a scam. One big huge SCAM. I am still sickened by the way I was treated by this school. That teacher should have been a prison guard, not a well paid educator at a private college hired to fuel creativity and help young adults master talent.
Today I realize that The Art Institute was a giant scam but even with the media coverage of this scam, I’m still the one paying the price. Everyone I went to college with still owes money for a college that robbed us of the education we paid heavily for. It is embarrassing to talk about this publicly, but it has affected my entire life and at this point, with a ton of grit and determination, I’ve fixed my career to become hyper educated in intellectual pursuits, now working in an industry that values my intelligence and skillset. The reality is that I didn’t need a college degree to go into finance, or to be a successful artist. I feel smart enough and educated enough by my own volition to talk about it, but I’m mad and I’m here to tell you to be warned about college.
I have basically gone to college now three times. Once I paid to get tortured at a private college that didn't care about me and was a predator for money in the name of education. The other was the school of hard knocks as an entrepreneur and consumer goods business owner. A person who had to navigate a path forward through a college education that failed me and stole much of my future investing ability over the next 20 years. The other was when I studied on my own to gain a real estate license, a series 7, 63, 65 and next up, my series 79. The one good thing I’ve realized in going to this much “school” is that I love to learn. And THAT is what makes people successful. But I don't need to pay to do so. And if I do, it will be at renowned schools like MIT or Ivy League where you are paying for a network and hyper intellectual professors who actually care about their doctoral research. Colleges are not all created equally and if you’re going to do college, go big and do Ivy league or just do a state college where you can go for pennies on the dollars. Listen to Dr. Chelsea Shield’s podcast to hear how she got 2 PHDs for free! We do not need to pay for education the way my generation was brainwashed to do. If you want to be a lawyer or scientist, then you should go to undergrad right away, knowing this is your aim. So those career paths, college is fair and wise. But you can still go in state for cheaper than out of state and you really should aim for your post undergrad to be when you are taking out loans, if ever. I say go for scholarships when you get to that level.
If you really want to be an all American success story, I would realize that actually being an employee is also a scam. This is not the way we create wealth and get into the top 5% of earners. You have to create and build something to do this. The real way to be successful in this country is to own your own company doing something that gives you purpose and to write off all of your business expenses. That’s how this capitalistic society we live in is set up. You might fail 5-10 times to build a scalable or sellable company, but it will probably cost you the same as a college degree. So choose wisely. Let me be a voice of reason for you and your parents.
My father was a really smart engineer, genius many called him, but he left my family when I was 15. Horrifically, I found out decades later, there is research now that documents that young girls lose interest in STEM fields at this age (15) if one of their parents are not in one of these industries. Today, if I could have a life do over for college and the last 20 years since then, I would have become a scientist. It’s because i’m forever curious about plants and animals and biology and physics. I would follow my curiosity, not my passion. See the blog on FOLLOWING YOUR CURIOSITY. When I finish work these days, I read as much as I can about plants, botany, ecosystem regeneration and permaculture. I also read about physics and the human mind. I know if my dad hadn’t left right when it matters, my life may have been easier. I might have done some kind of environmental engineering. Maybe one day I still will, but I was heavily influenced by the She in my parenthood, I pursued fashion and art. My mom and I were fashionistas. And since my mom didn’t go to college, she didn’t know how to advise me. Even the advisers were like - sure do fashion. Not - Hey do any of these industries with actual job openings appeal to you.
At 17, I wanted to move to Paris to model and study fashion. I begged my mom to let me go. She wouldn’t because she was also brainwashed that college is the end all must do. She didn’t want me go to another country, and who can blame her? But maybe we should listen to our children when they express their dreams to us now. Because it turns out, maybe I was right. I had a desire to pursue fine art. To be a painter. But that also scared my mom. She wanted me to have a skill that I could sell and not starve to death if no one wanted to buy my paintings. We settled on me becoming a fashion designer. We never talked about my best subjects in school; science and math. We had to figure out my educational path without much help. And we got maliciously deceived. is not a word but i’m making it up because we should create in life). It was in my high school photoshop class. The recruiter for The Art Institute came in and I was hooked. He said they would teach us a trade and we could live all over the country. I applied and got in right away…maybe too quickly. So I went to school to do my associates but when I went to transfer to FIT, they wouldn’t accept my Associates degree. Stumped, and still too uneducated to what non-accredited associates meant, I finished my degree in San Francisco at another Art Institute. How convenient they wouldn’t let me transfer. Luckily the Bachelor’s Degree was accredited. I might have been suicidal had it not been. I got a college degree because I was told by my parent I had to, because not having one affected her earning power throughout her own career. But was the best choice for me to go to college to become a fashion designer or artist? Absolutely not. Especially not at a school that was not initially for the first half of my degree accredited. I still don’t understand how this all worked. To me, it was a complete waste of tens of thousands of dollars and years of my life. And a very tough and scary lesson for me. The biggest lesson came once I graduated because I was now in an industry where there were no jobs. Not a single company came to my college job fair. Not one.
Now, if that isn’t the worst undergrad college experience you’ve ever heard, please tell me of something worse. I’d love to hear it. I am so grateful that I finished my degree and that the degree was accredited. But many times over I thought about quitting and my gut told me something wasn’t right. Always listen to yourself, for she is always right. If you want to avoid college scams use these resources before you think about attending to make sure you’re going to be able to go for higher education once you have your undergraduate degree. Use https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/avoid-fake-degree-burns-researching-academic-credentials and https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/home .
If I had not finished my degree at The Art Institute of California who was accredited by Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, I might not have even been able to use my degree to apply for jobs outside of my field, or to go for higher education now that I am considering mastering in a science related field. Now that is a very scary thought. Why is this industry not regulated? At what point is the capitalism completely out of control? Europeans laugh at us and our education system, and now I get why.
If I had wanted to become a lawyer, scientist, doctor, pursue academia, or something in STEM, then yes, college was necessary and worth the expense early on because they require masters degrees. But it was also very inexpensive to do undergrad in my home state. Not that I would have stayed in Michigan after high school, but if I’d known what I know now, I would have at least researched that option. College is not a regulated industry at all. In an article this year (2021/22) by northwesternmutual.com they quote “If you currently have an 8-year-old son or daughter, his or her college costs will be even higher: $155,720 at a state school or $356,443 at a private college. And if you have a toddler who won’t be attending school for another 15 years? Be ready to pay $198,743 for a state school or a whopping $454,992 for a private college.” $500,000 for college in 15 years? How can you have something that outperforms inflation by this metric. What is this industry? And is this fair? Is it even worth it? We are in the days of internet now. Why is education and information to learn not free?? Wouldn’t the world be better if we enabled people to learn what they want, affordably or for free? How would this change out society? Our very broken system of just about every industry, must find some reform, and the consumers are the ones who have to affect that shift.
As an artist, college was a waste of time and I know that now. I could have easily apprenticed for a designer and learned more than I learned in college, in a quarter of the time. Having a college degree helped me work in corporate jobs of course later on down the line. But I could have attended a state college for pennies on the dollar from what I actually spent. The college I went to knew that they could prey on people like me and my mother and so they did - shamelessly. And when they settled with the SEC for $150M, no one I know who went to these schools (The Art Institute) got any of their debt relieved or compensated. We all spent decades trying to find work that wouldn’t even actually give us salaries to pay back college and to build companies in an industry that didn’t need more designers. Shame on you Art Institute. Shame. On. You. Where did the $150M settlement go?? Who benefited from that? Lawyers. Now that would have been a good use of my time if I could pay back my entire college debt on one lawsuit I won. No one tells us these things. And also, I did not and still don’t want to be a lawyer. Maybe when I’m 80 I will get a law degree and fight for human rights. But until then what is a young person to do? Learn. Quickly. Learn where the jobs you might enjoy and thrive at, actually are within our society.
More than the shame of the act of colleges robbing people is the offering education in sectors that cannot support the workforce. That was the problem with going into fashion. There weren’t enough jobs to go around. As a designer my salary would always be capped around $40-50,000. We all know that isn’t enough to survive in the big cities you have to live in to have those jobs. There are 1M new designers a year. It’s almost impossible to make it in that industry and yet I didn’t realize this all until 5 years out working and slaving in industry. It is a sector where all the cards are stacked against you. It was rigged. And my mom and I, and millions of other Americans, have now paid the price. For 20 years many of us have paid the bare minimum on our private and government loans and deferred for additional education, mainly because we are disgusted with the system and want out of this scam. I’ve warned my family, my cousins and their kids about the dangers of pursuing arts without an intellectual equal - especially at an out of state college. I urge them to get an undergraduate degree in something STEM related or in something that is an applicable intellectual field, so that they can grow their lives properly and safely after college. I’m proud that we have an engineer, lawyer, nurse, a rocket scientist, compliance officer and many other highly intelligent women in my family doing jobs that are stable and offer opportunity. I just wish we had all been able to talk more about the dangers of career and college back then, like we can now. This is why I am sharing this story, to help some of you decide next steps around how you choose to learn and to guide your daughters better than a system that we blindly trusted had guided me. It has taken me years to accept this story about my life and to be willing to share it. The reality is, you need an education that has a return on investment. And the worst return on investment jobs are clear for many of us who pursued them, decades later, we are making up for it now for the rest of our lives. This article below helps explain it all very well and in clear numbers. Apparently the 8 worst jobs for return on investment are as follows. I’d actually put Fashion as number 1 if I wrote this article. Fashion is an art. And you do not need college to be an artist. What you need is time and money, two things the wrong college will steal from you. Buyer be warned.
The following is an article copied and pasted from Salary.com. There are many more articles like this though. Just look up worst careers for salary and employment rates. Heres a few more if you’d like to dive deeper.
https://blog.prepscholar.com/worst-college-majors
These “Worthless College Degrees” Might Make You Happy, But Fail the Tuition ROI Test
College: Is it Worth It?
What’s more expensive than going to college? Until recently, the answer was easy: not going to college. Numerous studies over the years have shown that individuals with college degrees significantly out-earn those with high school degrees by $1 million or more over the course of a lifetime.
But as the cost of education increases faster than inflation, people are beginning to question how they spend their education dollars. As student loans hit the $1.5 trillion mark and more and more graduates are faced with years of paying staggering monthly payments, many are starting to ask themselves, “Are there worthless college degrees?”
While there’s no doubt that a college degree increases earning power and broadens opportunities, today’s high cost of education means it makes sense to more carefully consider which degree you earn. When it comes to return on investment (ROI), not all degrees are considered equal. This article exposes eight college degrees with poor ROI.
Methodology
To calculate ROI for a specific degree, we first determined the overall cost of the degree. We allowed the degree holder four years to graduate. Using data from a recent College Board study, we assigned a figure of $37,343 as an average cost of a four-year public liberal arts degree, and a figure of $121,930 for degrees earned at four-year private colleges. The total cost included tuition, room and board, and books, and did not factor in scholarships or grants. We then determined the median cash compensation over the course of 30 years of typical jobs requiring that degree using Salary.com data. We used current Salary.com figures, but added 4.3% per year to account for inflation and cost of living increases. To determine ROI, we subtracted the cost of the degree from the gains over 30 years, then divided that figure by cost.
8. Sociology
People who enter the field of sociology generally are interested in helping their fellow man. Unfortunately, that kind of benevolence doesn’t usually translate to wealth. Here are three jobs commonly held by sociology majors (click on job title and/or salary for more info):
SOCIAL WORKER
Median Salary: $47,121
30-Year Earnings: $2,779,195
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 73%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 21%
CORRECTIONS OFFICER
Median Salary: $39,630
30-Year Earnings: $2,337,376
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 61%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 18%
CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY COUNSELOR
Median Salary: $47,210
30-Year Earnings: $2,784,444
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 73%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 21%
7. Fine Arts
Artists are respected, revered and celebrated. The trick is achieving that status while they’re still alive. After all, the term “starving artist” didn’t come from nowhere. Here are three jobs commonly held by workers with a fine arts degree:
MUSEUM RESEARCH WORKER
Median Salary: $48,401
30-Year Earnings: $2,854,689
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 75%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 22%
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Median Salary: $47,753
30-Year Earnings: $2,816,470
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 74%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 22%
PAINTER/ILLUSTRATOR
Median Salary: $37,819
30-Year Earnings: $2,230,563
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 58%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 17%
6. Education
Ah teaching. One of the noblest professions. And while it stands to reason we’d pay great sums to the chosen few who shape the minds of future generations, it doesn’t quite work out that way. Here are three commonly held jobs in education:
DAYCARE CENTER TEACHER
Median Salary: $27,910
30-Year Earnings: $1,646,131
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 43%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 13%
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER
Median Salary: $52,241
30-Year Earnings: $3,081,172
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 82%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 24%
HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER
Median Salary: $54,473
30-Year Earnings: $3,212,815
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 85%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 25%
5. Religious Studies/Theology
Talk about finding your calling. While devoting your life to the church and dedicating your life to the service of others is laudable, it’s not going to leave you with a lot of profit after you earn your degree. Here are three commonly held jobs theological jobs:
RELIGIOUS EDUCATOR
Median Salary: $47,957
30-Year Earnings: $2,828,502
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 75%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 22%
CHAPLAIN — HEALTHCARE
Median Salary: $51,127
30-Year Earnings: $3,015,174
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 80%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 24%
ASSOCIATE PASTOR
Median Salary: $61,811
30-Year Earnings: $3,645,610
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 96%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 29%
4. Hospitality/Tourism
You’re the wizard behind the curtain. The one who’s working like a dog to make it all happen while everyone else is enjoying the fruits of your labor. Unfortunately, there isn’t always a lot of financial benefit after earning your degree. Here are three commonly held hospitality jobs:
MEETING/EVENT PLANNER
Median Salary: $55,476
30-Year Earnings: $3,271,972
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 87%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 26%
HOTEL RESIDENT MANAGER
Median Salary: $65,076
30-Year Earnings: $3,838,180
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 102%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 30%
CATERING MANAGER
Median Salary: $42,533
30-Year Earnings: $2,508,595
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 66%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 20%
3. Nutrition
It’s hard work making sure everyone else eats right, preparing nutritious meals and/or checking to make sure the nation’s food supply is up to snuff. But all that hard work and education necessary to land this job might not turn a huge profit.
DIETICIAN
Median Salary: $53,679
30-Year Earnings: $3,165,985
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 84%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 25%
FOOD SERVICES MANAGER
Median Salary: $56,711
30-Year Earnings: $3,344,813
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 89%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 27%
FOOD SCIENTIST
Median Salary: $64,019
30-Year Earnings: $3,775,838
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 100%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 30%
2. Psychology
We’re starting to notice an unfortunate trend regarding doing work for others with minimal pay. Maybe you can get inside the head of someone influential and find out why workers in this field don’t get paid more for these jobs:
HUMAN SERVICES WORKER
Median Salary: $22,738
30-Year Earnings: $1,341,086
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 35%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 10%
CAREER COUNSELOR – HIGHER EDUCATION
Median Salary: $43,384
30-Year Earnings: $2,558,787
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 68%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 20%
BEREAVEMENT COORDINATOR
Median Salary: $52,200
30-Year Earnings: $3,078,754
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 81%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 24%
1. Communications
You’d think the ink-stained newsrooms and TV studios are full of wealthy and famous journalists. Not quite. Although these skills require lots of education and training, they buried the lead regarding the lack of payoff. Check these communications jobs out:
COPYWRITER
Median Salary: $52,549
30-Year Earnings: $3,099,338
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 82%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 24%
NEWS REPORTER
Median Salary: $37,393
30-Year Earnings: $2,205,438
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 58%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 17%
MARKETING COORDINATOR
Median Salary: $50,455
30-Year Earnings: $2,975,834
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 79%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 23%
Be Prepared
We know money isn’t everything. A lot of people do these jobs and have great and fulfilling careers. But as the cost of education increases, it’s important to know if you’ll get your money’s worth and see a positive ROI. Good luck “
