I remember the scene well. We are about eight or nine years old, getting ready to go out for recess or some other enjoyable activity. “David” rushes to the teacher and in an excited burst asks: “Can Johnny and me be first in line?”

The teacher’s finger rises. She pauses. She pronounces: “Can Johnny and – I – be first in line?” 

There is a hush as the excitement drains from David’s face, and from the faces of the million other Davids and Susans who experienced the very same reprimand.

Given the ever increasing cost of college and the high unemployment (or underemployment) rate of new grads – not to mention the anti-Israel and anti-free speech activities occurring on college campuses – young people and their parents are beginning to ask, is college really necessary?

The days of a college degree as an automatic ticket to a good job are over. The job potential of the liberal arts – the soft majors like sociology, psychology, history, and philosophy – is mostly a thing of the past (at least for now). Rather, the 21st century economy is one where burgeoning industries like healthcare and energy are changing at a pace we haven’t yet absorbed, and fields such as engineering, business, and technology are the new ticket to vocational success.

The question young people should be asking themselves as they plan their careers is not whether to go to college but, rather, what does our economy look like, and how am I making myself marketable to enter it?