Is College Still Worth It? A National Researcher Weighs In

It's a question more Tennessee families are asking than ever before. On this episode of the At Scale podcast, tnAchieves hosts Ben Sterling and Tyler Ford sit down with Dr. Jeff Strohl, Director of Research at Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce, to answer it with data instead of guesswork. Georgetown CEW's research has shaped tnAchieves' work for two decades, and this conversation gets at the heart of what students, families, and communities need to know: college and career training still pay off, but the path matters more than it used to.

Strohl walks through what the numbers actually show — that post-secondary education continues to raise earnings and improve long-term job stability, even as headlines about underemployment and "worthless degrees" get louder. He also introduces a clearer way to think about the goal students are chasing: not just a diploma, but a "good job," defined by fair pay, room to grow, and stability that holds up over time. The conversation covers where general education and specific job training work best together, and why balance — not an either/or choice between college and trade school — is what actually builds a resilient workforce.

For tnAchieves, this conversation lands squarely on where the organization is headed: helping students move from college access to college completion to a strong start in the workforce. As Tennessee continues building pathways from high school to college to career, this episode offers grounded, research-backed context for why that full pipeline — not just the college acceptance letter — is what creates real economic mobility. Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts.