Personal finance expert Dave Ramsey and TV host and advocate for skilled labor Mike Rowe are calling out the way traditional education has been propped up at the expense of skilled trades. In a wide-ranging conversation last year, the two urged Gen Z to rethink what success really looks like.
“We are not saying four-year degrees are a bad thing,” Ramsey said. “We're not saying ignorance is a bad thing. We're not saying education as a concept is a bad thing. But when it's overpriced and leveraged and people are studying things that are not useful, it is not lifting society.”
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Choosing Trades As A Form Of Rebellion
Ramsey believes young people are starting to see the truth. “If you want to stick it to the man… rebel against the formers, the best way to do that is to go into trades,” he said. He added that the future belongs to people who are both skilled and curious.
“A balanced workforce is like a balanced human,” Rowe said. “Our country needs more welders who can have an interesting conversation about Nietzsche. And we need more philosophers who can run an even bead.”
The Poster That Told The Story
Rowe shared a moment from his own high school days that stuck with him. A guidance counselor praised his test scores and encouraged him to pick a university. But when Rowe said he wanted to attend a local community college instead, the counselor showed him a poster to make his point.
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The poster was split in half. On one side, a fresh college graduate in a cap and gown stood proudly with a bright future behind him. On the other, a tired tradesman slumped in a dark setting, holding a wrench. Underneath was the slogan: “Work smart, not hard.”
“That guy on the right side of the poster looked an awful lot like my grandfather,” Rowe said. “He built the house I was born in, without a blueprint. My hero. And here he was being essentially epitomized by a loser.”
Rowe said the education system didn't just elevate college; it did so by putting the trades down. “We weren’t content to make the case [for college] on its merits,” he said. “We had to turn the trades, community college, apprenticeships—we had to relegate those things into cautionary tales.”
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$1.7 Trillion In Student Debt And Millions Of Open Jobs
Rowe pointed to the numbers: “We’re lending money we don’t have to kids who are never going to be able to pay it back to train them for jobs that don’t exist anymore.”
Rowe called it a mismatch. “The evidence demands a verdict,” he said. “$1.7 trillion in student loans is on the books. Meanwhile, 10 million open positions, most of which don’t require a four-year degree.”
Both believe Gen Z is waking up to this. “They know something is hopelessly mismatched,” Rowe said. “The message hasn’t been honest.”
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