Not sure what it's like in the Netherlands... but in the US going to a university is for a lot of people the trajectory from high school to adulthood. It is a shame because attending university is filled with price gouging and plunging oneself into debt. I was fortunate enough to go to a school that had bloc tuition (you pay same amount per semester for 12 credits as you did for 17 credits), but some people can end up having $100,000 in loans to end up with a degree in women's studies.
And then there's the fact that higher status faculty (i.e., tenured and associate professors) tend to make more money (i.e., $30k+) than adjuncts (i.e., $2000 per class). I took a history course and a biology course both in different semesters. The history course was led by an adjunct professor who put so much effort into class, answered every question we had [even during breaks], and compiled tests without assistance. While when I took the biology class the tenured professor had the powerpoints sent to her, the test questions were given by the company of the textbook, the entire class failed to understand much of what she was saying given the fact that the average for the class was a D [which in university means that the instructor can't communicate the information well] and we were given multiple retakes. Yet, she was paid probably 70k while he was making pennies despite his PhD in History.
And I won't get started on how some of my professors would promote socialism while having a household income of 80k. lmao.
But yeah there is a lot of issues about academe and within academe that aren't considered by society in favor of the glamorized view of high school-->university-->career pipeline.
Hmm. I'm not really sure either tbh. A lot of kids here graduate at the age of 15/16 and then go to college. Because you are obligated to go to school until you're 18 years old. So you're basically thrown in the deep and have to make a choice of what you want to do as a career at such a young age. So a lot of ppl I know went to college and have a diploma, but they don't do anything with it, as in a job. And others know what they wanna do, they end up getting a job after getting a diploma or they will even study further for a 'higher level'. The school system here in The Netherlands is completely different from the one in the US. And I think a lot cheaper as well. I was 15 when I graduated from high school, and then went straight to college at the age of 16 to study nursery. I wanted to do veterinarian assistant or nursery. I actually quite liked it, and I worked with elderly people with amnesia who couldn't properly care for themselves. But I dropped out after 2 years because of my performance anxiety and I'm very introverted so I couldn't really make a conversation with the people Q_Q. It just didn't work out. Then I just kept working at the supermarket I began working at right after I graduated. Then I tried to apply for veterinarian assistant. I thought, maybe that'll work out. But they didn't let me apply cuz I would be in a class with 16 year olds ( I was 18 or 19 at the time), and they said that I was already used to the money. Then I was like, okay fuck you
So I stopped going to college entirely and just kept working at the supermarket. Not knowing what I want to do with my life. Then in October 2020, my life suddenly took a dark turn. My dad passed away, I found him in his apartment. So that was kind of a situation.
So then, I wanted to buy this apartment because the debt that was on it was so low. But still I didn't earn enough money yearly to lend the right amount of money to buy the apartment with a mortgage. So I asked for more hours at work. I actually got them surprisingly. I also turned 21, so my hourly wage went up significantly. So now my yearly wage was enough and I bought the apartment =]. Nobody can say that at my age. The house prices here in The Netherlands are ridiculous. But yeah you could say, a blessing in disguise.
Current situation is, I'm renovating my apartment so I plan on moving at the end of the year or early next year. I'm also currently learning for becoming team leader at work. And I also plan on studying retail next year, cuz the supermarket I work at provides a study like that. I've been working there for over 6 years now.
Sorry for telling life story LOL