One positive aspect is starting your working life without massive debt.

Red Alert Politics reports.

Skipping college: A smart career move?

The stock market is encouraging a reconsideration of the benefits of higher education. Sort of.

A recent op-ed running in Nasdaq notes that college is a good career move on average, but skipping it might be best for some students.

Trade jobs and others in the transportation, medical technician, and telecommunications fields can pay higher than many jobs that require a degree, for instance. And, large differences can emerge, depending on student debt incurred during college.

Whether overtime is paid and opportunities for promotion affects the income calculus for an individual as well.

Marco Rubio attempted to make a similar point in the last Republican debate when he stated, “Welders make more money than philosophers. We need more welders and less philosophers.”

The problem, however, is that welders do not make more money than philosophers.

Rubio’s broader point about the stigmatization of vocational education, though, remains relevant. Mike Rowe, the host of the Discovery Channel show, Dirty Jobs, created a foundation to fund and promote the skilled trades as an alternative to higher education.

For many students not inclined toward traditional higher education but want to further their education, asking whether it’s in their best interest to attend college is a relevant question on an individual level and for public policy.