The Default Approach: Rethinking the College First Narrative

Introduction

Would you ever get into your car, turn on the motor, and drive for hours every single day for months on end without ever deciding where you’re going? Just burning thousands of dollars and wasting thousands of hours with no destination in mind? That would be reckless, yet this is exactly how many young adults are approaching one of the most important decisions of their lives: their career.

Today, society has normalized the “work hard in high school so you can get into college” mindset. College has become the default even when a career path has not yet been chosen. It’s often thought of as the “safe” option, with the assumption that it’s okay not to know what you want to do with your career because that clarity will somehow emerge along the way.

The truth is that College has become a coming-of-age experience, or Rumspringa, to the American culture, not a strategic tool used in service of a defined career goal. In many cases, the actual career is an afterthought, only taken seriously after graduation. The result is a growing number of young adults spending a significant sum of money, much of it in the form of debt, on an education that does not lead to a career requiring a degree or one that pays a meaningful premium.

This paper challenges that paradigm and that sequence. It argues that career direction must come before education decisions, not the other way around. College is an excellent tool, but like any tool, it should only be used when the situation requires it. For some careers, college is essential. For others, it is optional, or even unnecessary. With rising tuition costs, increasing student debt, and the rapid advancement of AI reshaping the job market, defaulting to college without a plan has never been riskier.

The goal is not to discourage education, but to restore intentionality. Progress without direction is not progress at all. Before you put your car into gear, put a destination in your maps app. Know where you’re going, and then choose the path that gets you there most efficiently.

Why is College the Default Path, and Should It Be

The idea that college is the default path did not appear out of nowhere, nor was it created with bad intentions. For decades, it was actually the best advice. A college degree reliably opened doors, signaled competence to employers, and provided access to higher paying, more stable careers. Going to college was a clear step up and often the most direct route to financial success.

Over time, the recommendation to attend college hardened into a cultural expectation. Parents, teachers, counselors, and institutions began reinforcing a simple formula: work hard in high school, get good grades, get into college, and everything else will just fall into place. Career choice was pushed downstream and treated as something that could be figured out later.

At the same time, college increasingly took on a broader cultural role. It became a transition period between adolescence and adulthood. A time and place to “find yourself,” and slowly gain independence. This shift quietly and slowly changed the purpose of higher education all together. Instead of being seen as an investment aligned with a specific career potential and financial return, college became seen as an experience that was critical to personal development, with education being a secondary benefit.

Educational Institutions shifted their incentives to match the new cultural paradigm. Since Universities no longer had to prove college was a good investment to prospective students, they began evaluating themselves on enrollment growth, retention, and prestige. To compete for students, many schools dramatically increased spending on amenities that attract applicants but do little to improve educational outcomes. Things such as new residence halls, recreation centers, dining facilities, and campus “experiences”. Little emphasis was placed on whether a given degree aligned with the labor market or provided a return on investment. Students were encouraged to choose majors based on interest alone, with minimal discussion of outcomes, pay, or long-term viability.

Government policy further amplified this trend. The expansion of federal student loan programs made large sums of money available to students upfront, without having to prove that the degree that they were purchasing would provide a salary that could repay the debt. And because repayment is delayed until after graduation, students and families do not feel the immediate impact of higher tuition or their ill-advised choice of major in time to coarse correct.

The combined effect of cultural expectations, institutional incentives, and easy financing is a system that prioritizes enrollment and experience over career outcomes and return on investment. A system that no longer prioritizes the best interest of the students nor the country and thus cannot be the default for young adults that are graduating high school.

A Career First Framework

A career-first approach begins by recognizing the difference between a job, a career, and a profession. A job is short-term engagement, and primarily transactional. It is something you do to earn money in the near term. A career is a long-term path in a specific field where skills, experience, and income grow over time. A profession is a specialized form of career that typically requires advanced training or credentials. While most people will work many jobs, the goal is to intentionally build toward a career or profession that provides stability, growth, and ultimately financial freedom.

Choosing a career does not require having every detail figured out upfront, but it does require direction. A sustainable career or profession sits at the intersection of three foundational elements:

First, you must like it, at least most of it. Very few people enjoy every aspect of their work, but a career implies years of consistent effort and commitment. Financial freedom also requires steady, consistent income over time. If you genuinely dislike the work, it becomes difficult to persist long enough to build competence or earning power. This is not the same as “following your passion.” Liking a career means having enough interest and tolerance to sustain long-term commitment.

Second, you must be good at it. Skills matter because the market rewards competence. This requires an honest assessment of your natural strengths, aptitudes, and willingness to practice. Many people enjoy ideas in theory but struggle with execution in reality. A viable career path is one where you can realistically develop above-average ability over time.

Third, there must be a market for it that pays a healthy wage. This is where many career conversations break down. Interest alone does not create value. A career must solve problems that others are willing to pay for, at a level that supports independence and financial security. As a baseline, a single adult living alone requires $55,000 gross just to break even. A family of 4 will require closer to $150,000.

Only when these three elements overlap does a career become sustainable long enough to achieve financial freedom. If any of these are missing, the path becomes financially or emotionally unstable.

A fourth layer, that is becoming increasingly more important, is the impact of AI on the field. AI is rapidly automating work that was once seen as critical. Tasks centered on moving electrons, such as data manipulation, basic information analysis, coding and content generation, are most vulnerable to displacement or wage compression. By contrast, careers that move atoms are proving to be far more resilient. Fields such as plumbing, electrical work, HVAC, nursing, dentistry, or technical fields that combine physical systems with human judgment are not only harder to automate but are increasingly in demand.

A career-first framework does not eliminate college; it puts it in its proper place. Once a career direction is identified, the appropriate educational path becomes clear. Some careers require a four-year degree or beyond. Others require certifications, apprenticeships, technical training, or direct experience. Education should be chosen because it is necessary for the destination not because it is expected.

By defining the destination first, young adults regain control. Instead of drifting through years of schooling hoping clarity emerges, they can make informed decisions about how to invest their time, money, and effort.

Conclusion

College is a powerful tool, but it was never meant to be the default path for everyone. When used intentionally, in service of a clearly defined career goal, education can accelerate growth and opportunity. When used blindly, it often delays both. In a world shaped by rising costs, rapid technological change, and artificial intelligence, the margin for error is razor thin. Choosing the wrong path carries real financial and personal consequences, and it is responsible for much of the erosion of the American Dream.

A career-first approach restores agency. By identifying a destination first, young adults can evaluate education, training, potential outcomes and financial return on their investment prior to putting themselves into debilitating debt.