For decades, we have told young Americans that if they want a successful life, there is only one respectable path: go to college. That message has become so deeply embedded in our culture that many families accept it without question. I believe that assumption is no longer serving our students, our economy, or our workforce. If we continue treating a four-year degree as the default definition of success, we will keep sending talented young people down paths that do not fit their strengths while starving essential industries of the skilled professionals they desperately need.
