This mirrors my recent thinking. There are so many kids with degrees who are lucky to find a job in retail, even. A friend’s daughter has a master’s in the Japanese language (!), and is currently going for her doctorate, working part-time at our community college, and living at home. I wonder if she will ever stop being a student and be able to earn a good living.
Meanwhile, as an opposite example, our long-time auto mechanic owns a VERY thriving garage-—it’s growing constantly-—and is rumored in the community to be a millionaire. Yes, he gets his hands very dirty during the day. But he cleans up well, and if you happen to see him out in the evenings, he looks like any other well-to-do gentleman. Plus, if the economy ever collapses, he’ll have an in-demand skill that can be used to barter.
It’s really too bad kids think they’re too good for blue-collar work.
And you should see the fees our current HOA pays the guy who picks up the dog crap in our community. He's putting himself through college on what he's earning by picking up after the college graduate students who refuse to pick up after their own dogs. We have a ton of grad students living around here, they all have dogs, and they all think someone else should pick up after them.
It's all about your attitude and energy level. Making lemonade out of lemons.
One of our sons who gives me fits due to his academic apathy, is preparing himself for a great future in auto mechanics or even welding. His high school has a ton of tech classes that earn dual credit in the community college. It was the right path for him and will pay off immediately.