Just over 40% of jobs will require degrees by the end of the decade. With 61% of high school graduates going to college every year, we find an incredibly inefficient system that is not sustainable.

When a large portion of today’s entrants drop out, they will likely be strapped with student debt and, without having earned their degree, will have no improved capacity to pay it back. When the rest graduate, they will find themselves among the ever growing population of degree holders who are competing for scarce roles that utilize their credentials.

We have created a system where a mechanical engineering student can be one creative writing course away from earning their degree and have essentially the same earning potential as someone who completed no college at all. We are selling young people the promise of a brighter future, while actively burdening a significant portion of them, even many who complete their degrees, with inescapable debt.

Return on investment (ROI)

Many professions today require a college degree. Some careers, like doctors, lawyers, accountants and nurses, require occupational licenses that can only be obtained by completing some form of higher education. These careers also happen to be well compensated and, in the case of nurses, are in high demand. If you think of your tuition as an investment in your future, these degree programs are blue-chip stocks — their value almost always goes up.

STEM careers aren’t usually bound by the same occupational licensing regulations, but many employers still exclusively hire university graduates. This is especially true in the more competitive, but lucrative, fields of mechanical, electrical and nuclear engineering. When it comes to computer science and software development, employers often care more about competency than a degree. There are certification programs that can cost significantly less than a full college program and are often all an employer is looking for in an entry-level candidate. If you are interested in a STEM career, it is important to do your research on what employers are actually looking for before committing to a degree you may not actually need.

Students are taught as soon as they enter the education system that their life will be better with a college degree. They have statistics burned into their memory about how much more degree holders earn over their lifetimes. Students are encouraged to pursue higher education — no matter the field. What they aren’t taught, however, are the nuances of what various degrees are actually worth. A bachelor’s degree in English literature is not worth the same as a degree in mechanical engineering or nursing.

This isn’t opinion; this is fact that can be demonstrated by the Department of Education’s own Scorecard. The Scorecard collects data from universities on a variety of metrics, including the median debt and income of graduates. This data can be sorted by field of study to give prospective students and their parents an idea of how the ROI for any given degree might look.

For example, a graduate from Utah Valley University’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program is estimated to graduate with approximately $12,000 in debt and is estimated to begin earning around $75,000 per year upon graduation. Compare that to UVU’s Bachelor of Arts – English & Literature program, whose graduates finish their degree with an average of over $15,000 in debt and enter the workforce at a median salary of only $43,000. Both of these are “four-year” degrees offered by the exact same institution, but with wildly different outcomes.

So, should you go to college?

This question really is a lot like asking “Should I invest in the stock market?” If you have a plan and have done your research, you can make quite a bit of money when your investment matures. However, the opposite is also true. If you go to college with the blind hope that any degree will make you successful, there is a good chance that you will lose money on your investment. Just like the stock market isn’t the only way to make money, college isn’t the only way to advance your career. Entrepreneurship, internships, apprenticeships, a gap year and even trade school are all lower-risk options that can help you put your plan together. Some people’s plans will require a degree, but many won’t. It is better to find out that you do actually need to go to college than to find out that you don’t — thousands of dollars later.

Hunter Fox is a research intern at Libertas Institute.