Before his untimely death, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk's activism included alerting students that college is a scam.
"Data shows there's millions of jobs that are open that don't require a college degree," he told students at a college campus. "Half of the people in this audience going to college, if they get a job, will get a job that doesn't require a college degree."
"Artificial intelligence (AI) is gonna make this place obsolete," he continued. "These colleges are slow to react; they're bureaucratic, and a lot of you guys are going to college for jobs that literally will not exist in five years."
Over the next five to10 years, experts expect AI to automate a large share of routine cognitive work, much like industrial robots have automated routine factory work. Accountants, graphic designers, journalists, proofreaders, and administrative assistants are among the high-risk professions, while healthcare and skilled trades like electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, welders, and mechanics are considered relatively resistant to AI.
With AI taking over so many jobs, Kirk reasoned that taking on a lifetime of debt for a college degree in those fields is simply not a good investment.
Preston Cooper is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where his research focuses on higher education policy, student loans, and college return on investment. He recently told The College Fix the question should not be whether college is worth it, but rather when it is worth it.
"We do know that a bachelor's degree is worth it on average," Cooper noted. "It does justify the cost on average, but averages are just so."
Some degrees, including engineering, computer science, and nursing, have a return on investment in the millions, while others, he said, "aren't worth the paper they're printed on."
Cooper also acknowledged that student debt often outweighs the return on investment because students do not finish their degrees.
"If you spend time and money pursuing that degree, but you don't actually get the degree, you can end up with debt but not the earnings benefit of that credential," he said.
Ultimately, the future of higher education arguably depends on students making informed choices — not simply accepting that college is the only worthwhile option after high school.
