Personal Finance (Not Investing) • How/when to communicate with kids that parents can't pay full college expenses?

Study after study has shown the financial benefits of higher eduction, especially when one chooses a practical major. The higher earnings over a lifetime are substantial.

Yes, the trades are great for many people and they will be in demand. It's hard, though, to be doing construction, plumbing, masonry, etc. as you age into your late 50's and 60's.

Intellectual work has a longer shelf life. The trades, not so much. Unless you can go into the field, learn your craft, and then start your own business so that after about 45 you're no longer doing the physical work yourself.

What your missing is when a plumber starts their apprentice under a master plumber at age 19, by age 20 on average their hourly rate is $30.00 an hour.
-Please state where an apprentice makes $30/hour since "As of July 2024, the average hourly pay for an apprentice plumber in the United States is $20.13,

It takes 4 years for an apprentice to become a journeyman plumber should they get their license, which means if you start right out of high school, you would be 22. The average journeyman plumber in Minneapolis is 65k a year per Zip Recruiter.



Nope " According to Bankrate, the average projected starting salary for bachelor's degree graduates in the US in 2024 is $68,516

Yes, but 54% of college grads don't get a job in their field, which is a failing percentage. According to National Center for Education Statistics, the average salary for a BA graduate is 66k. So I don't see a young person coming out any better on average by going to college vs the trades.

The average current salary for a Plumber in the state of Minnesota is 78k. The average salary by age of a college graduate never gets past 65k according bankrate.com and Forbes. You also mentioned how hard it would be for someone to perform plumbing in their 50's and 60's. I'm 53 and I could easily still do plumbing at that age. Since a Plumber would get a huge jump start on a college student If he worked for 35 years and maxed out his Roth IRA's and SEP accounts (14k a year), he could retire at age 55 and would have 4 million dollars. Most college grads don't make a lot coming out of college, so they don't have money to put into Roth IRA's, this is where they miss out on Compound interest. If the Plumber contributed half of that he would have 2.4 million. And in fact if he owned a Plumbing business and didn't have to do the physical labor he could work until 65 and have 6.5 million. This is what I teach my boys, is to think outside the box. College isn't for everyone. A lot of my buddies kids are struggling to launch with worthless majors and are barista's at Lifetime Fitness and driving Uber.

Why aren't the college graduates getting into the trades instead of being baristas or driving an Uber if it's such a good deal?
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Median lifetime earnings of a college graduate in my state is over 3 million.

Look, I'm not saying the trades aren't great for some and that college isn't great for others, but lets stick to the facts.
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3 million doesn't mean wealth accumulation over one's life. The below information is from Motley Fool and it's kinda of scary to see the numbers. American's are far behind on their net worth.
Younger than 35$39,040
35-44$135,300
45-54$246,700
55-64$364,270
65-74$410,000
75 or older$334,700

Statistics: Posted by Sax32 — Tue Jul 30, 2024 1:06 pm — Replies 175 — Views 13208

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