If my husband and I had not seen the bill for ourselves, we wouldn't have believed it either. This electrician was not part of the proposed project but was brought on to troubleshoot a particular problem. Lucky for us, it took him less than 2 hours to rectify the situation. My point was to the poster who was touting the necessity of higher education and called blue collar workers low level workers. I am certainly not against higher education, but was trying to point out that times have changed. Unless you are going for a specific career path, a professional path being the best option, it can be a waste of time and money for most. So many young people graduate with massive debt and then are barely able to get jobs above minimum wage. In the meantime, many trades are wide open and looking for workers. You question my integrity in knowing this to be true.......maybe it's because I'm still in the workforce, unlike many of you, and I see it every day. Many of these young people are still living with their parents into their 30's - not because they are uneducated or even unmotivated, but because they can't find viable jobs and are steeped in debt.

My other point was regarding the changes in job requirements that has occurred over the years. I mentioned a bank teller. I have a cousin who back in the late 60's or early 70's started out as a bank teller with a high school education. Without any further education, just hard work and dedication, she ended up retiring as Vice President of a major bank. Today, she wouldn't have been able to get her foot in the door without a college degree. It's not easy for the young people out there. So much has changed to make it more difficult. Someone on another thread some time back brought up apprenticeship and why we should maybe re-look at that concept. I couldn't agree more - that, in my opinion is how my cousin got to where she was. And my mentioning of my son's experience is also a reflection of that, as he has always said he learned much more in the workplace than he ever did in college. Internships and externships are a reflection of that concept but unfortunately there are too few of those types of positions available.