Op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of BizPac Review.

Appearing on Tucker Carlson Tonight on Wednesday, former Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe lent a healthy dose of common sense to America’s current “skills gap” and our sad post-high school education predicament.

Turns out, our burgeoning economy needs far more carpenters, plumbers, and HVAC techs than we do liberal arts flag burners, PC-police, and safe-space snowflakes. And yet, everyone seems to think the only post-high school success comes from a 4-year college degree.

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In pointing out the prevailing view in America, Carlson pointed out the shock-to-no-one fact that the students out there burning flags didn’t exactly attend HVAC trade schools.

So, does everyone need a 4-year college education?

Rowe explained that “40 year” repetition of this mantra, particularly by politicians, eventually caused everyone to “believe it.”

“We start to believe that the best path for the most people happens to be the most expensive path,” Rowe said. “And it also happens to be the path that has led to a skills gap of about 5.8 million positions and student loans of about 1.3 trillion and sooner or later somebody’s got to throw the flag, so to speak, and say, maybe there’s another way.”

In response to Carlson’s question about attitudes that prevent young people from finding success and happiness, Rowe said, “I think it’s this idea that there’s a dream job out there. We’re told from the very beginning that if you want to be happy then you have to do the thing that will make you happy. And so we embark on this quest for happiness that has everything to with attaining that which we’ve previously determined will cause bliss, right? It’s sort of like looking for your soul mate instead of trying to find happiness in your zip code. We just make it so hard.”

The lesson Rowe learned was one that would greatly benefit every teen and twenty-something that has yet to find their way. “If you chase the opportunities that are there and then figure out a way to be good at them, and then figure out a way to love them, you’ll be amazed at how stuff lines up.”

It may seem like drudgery, but “meaningful work is very different from drudgery,” and countless people have prospered by becoming good at providing a service to others that happens to be of ever-increasing value.

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These days, when countless employers are literally begging for applicants with the right skills, Rowe’s words of wisdom are just the reality check young people needs these days.

As for that 4-year degree?

“It’s either worth it or it’s not,” Rowe said. “You either can afford it or you can’t. And we’re either helping to subsidize it or we aren’t. Well we are.”

“I feel like we ought to have a conversation about – forgive me, I know this rankles people – but it’s a return on our investment. That 1.3 trillion dollars is not falling out of the air.”

But hey, at least these kids are getting a good, sound dose of liberal, Marxist indoctrination!

Watch the video below:

https://youtu.be/z7cGuDI5Dlo

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Scott Morefield

Scott Morefield is a news and opinion columnist for BizPac Review. In addition to his work on BPR, Scott's commentary can also be found on Townhall, TheBlaze, The Hill, WND, Breitbart, National Review, The Federalist, and many other sites, including A Morefield Life, where he and his wife, Kim, share their marriage and parenting journey.

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