05/01/2012 04:05 pm ET | Updated Jul 01, 2012

The Real Way to Avoid a Student Loan Debt Crisis



First, we have to retrain the high school and college counselors who give students advice about which major and career to pursue. Students aren't getting jobs when they graduate; yet, there is a great need in the U.S. right now in the areas of science, math, and engineering, as well as in areas that don't require a bachelor's degree, such as fiber installers, electricians, and mechanics.

Too many counselors aren't helping students see the path to employment based on the degree they're picking. Instead they tell students to "follow your interests and passion" and pick a major based on that. How about giving students a three column list that shows the path to employment based on various majors? The list can show the jobs you can get with a two-year technical degree, such as machinist and electrician; jobs you can get with a bachelor's degree only, like teacher, accountant, or engineer; and the jobs you need a masters degree or higher to get work, such as psychologist or sociologist. If more students knew that their chosen major requires an advanced degree to find employment, chances are high that they'd choose a different major.

Second, the U.S. can't maintain its competitiveness without people who have degrees in science, math, and engineering. So why not provide incentives to get students interested in those fields? For example, a student who gets a two-year tech degree to become a machinist, or a four-year degree in engineering or math, and then works in that field could get a tax break on their student loans every year they are employed. Yes, they'll pay less in taxes, but the money they would have paid in taxes is still collected because it's going toward paying off their student loan and they are helping to keep employment high.


Remember, the real problem we're facing is not the amount of student loan debt. The real problem is that the U.S. has an under-employment crisis, meaning we have people who are trained for jobs that are going away or are trained to do things that there aren't jobs for because they need advanced education. If we're going to be competitive in the 21st century with China, India, and other places around the world, we need to give better guidance and counseling to our students, and we need to reward the behaviors and choices we want so we get more science, math, and engineering majors. Such an approach is good for all of us because it will make the U.S. more competitive internationally -- and that is the real cornerstone of our country's future prosperity.

Daniel Burrus
