You have the right idea of needing to get students to jump into fields/trades that America has a shortage and will pay. BUT do NOT do loans for those jobs. That will not encourage ppl to move into those fields.
A major issue in recent time has been how to deal with Higher Education. Many people have claimed that accumulated debt from college ( mostly Bachelor level or less) has stymied our economy. Yet, these were debts that people freely choose to incur as opposed to working their way through school, having parents pay, or even prepaying with the GI bill.
Due to previous students choosing to take fun, but low paying studies, we now have a shortage of ppl in a number of fields and trades that have historically paid very well. We regularly see companies like Google, Microsoft and others speaking of needing Computer Science, but rarely do they speak of the many other degrees AND trades that America needs.
Just some of our needs are:
- Hard science such as Physics, Chemistry, Biochemistry, etc.
- Engineering such as Aeronautical, EE, ME, Chem. E, Manufacturing E, Nuclear E, etc.
- Math and Computer Science (Cyber Security, AI, general programming, etc).
- Robotics
- Most Medical fields such as Nursing, P.A.s, Pharmacy, Radiation Tech, X-ray techs, etc.
- Soft science such as Biology, Microbiology, etc.
- Teachers in ALL capacities.
- Trades such as construction, plumbing, electrician, etc.
In the near future, social sciences in sociology, and psychology will be sought by LEOs, as well as languages of all types. And ALL of these really need to require that the student take up entrepreneurial class or 2.
Interestingly, you can bet that EVs along with space exploration will create new needs. So how to stop students from running up massive debts, see that they go into jobs that pay well, and solving America’s job needs?
With the following, please recall what a great man once said:
“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country”
I suggest that anybody that applies and is accepted into any of the above fields/trades at a University/College will get 1 free semester of education. That includes tuition, fees, books, & yes, room/board if at a University ( on-campus only ).*
At the end of the semester, their semester grades will determine what happens in the following semester (4.0 scale):
- 3.5-4.0 => 100% funded .
- 3.0-3.5 => 75% paid. Obviously, the student will have to work, borrow, or use savings if they wish to remain.
- 2.5-3.0 => 50% paid. And the student will have to work harder to pay the rest.
- < 2.5 => a nice clean application to McDonald’s, Wendy’s or the job of their choosing.
IOW, we need to make sure that these students are applying themselves to learning. If they are not, then there is no sense in our funding them. And the above should be time-limited. For someone in a 1-2 years degree, it should allow for 1.5-2.5 years. For a 4 year bachelors, an extra year. But, I would also encourage payment to be only 50% of what they would get normally. So, if they were at 2.9 GPA, they would only get 25%.
For those coming from poorly rated high schools and fail an entry level qualification test, I recommend that we drop all ranges by .5 (i.e bottom would become 2.0 instead of 2.5) for 1 semester/year. In addition, they must take remedial classes to address these shortcomings. These are typically poor people that need HELP and opportunities (though plenty of poorly rated high schools in rich districts).