What do you think when you hear “millennial generation”? If you’re tuned in to either traditional or new media, the words that come to mind are probably not so good: perhaps self-absorbed, shallow, lazy, in debt, in trouble? Though there is no single agreed-upon definition, the term millennial generation generally refers to today’s mid-teens to early-30s adults. I have three younger millennials at home myself, and occasionally one or more of those descriptors may indeed apply. But more so than past generations at that age? I don’t believe so, and research is increasingly providing a more balanced and nuanced portrait of a generation of young people who are —ready or not — poised to change the world.

“College costs too much” — 127 million hits. “Is a college education really worth it?” — 209 million hits. “Tech school is better than college education” — 1.1 billion hits. These recent Google searches and their associated number of results clearly reflect growing concerns and public discussions around the costs of higher education and, in particular, the cost of university or college education. Shrinking state and federal budgets continue to mean students and their families are paying a larger share of higher education costs, often in the form of significant debt. Very naturally, if investments are larger, people and governments seek measurable returns. While the purpose of education is many fold — critical thinking skills, personal and cultural enrichment, a thoughtful citizenry, and more — certainly an important goal is to prepare students to earn a living as productive citizens. So should we be encouraging more of our students who are now pursuing a college degree to seek a technical/vocational degree?