Nick Perry breaks down the gap between jobs that legally require degrees (7.7%) and those that prefer them (17.5%), arguing high schools push college to keep students taking six-figure loans rather than teaching them to evaluate what they actually want to do.
7.7%
17.5%
$100,000
November 9, 2025
Anyone explain to me how I have two degrees? I have two degrees. Oh, and a certificate a little extra, right? I'm trying to apply for jobs right now. And the thing is is that the only person I have responding to me is a man from a tech from a tech company saying, hey, you want to answer some customer service problems?
There are two big things about college that people need to know in 2026. The first one is that only 7.7% of all the jobs in our entire country legally require degrees. Just look at the numbers from actual job boards. Like indeed it 17.5% of all of their job listings even mention a degree as preferred. And number two is that high schools don't teach kids how to think through their ideal work and working conditions. That's because this doesn't funnel kids into signing their life away to $100,000 loans, which is the entire goal of our current system.
