While our service academies were not included in this report (we didn't pay tuition in dollars, but in time and youth), I notice that schools with "maritime" in their names fare very well in "net present value" rankings. Toss in the US Merchant Marine Academy as well.
CSU Maritime is less than 90 minutes from me. Students can easily leave there making about what I do.
We need to put vocational training back in schools. The "everyone goes to college" meme is a losing proposition. I pay my car mechanic more per year than my doctor. Yet if you ask the high performing graduates they all say they want to be doctors b/c it's high status. We used to have a building trades program in a district near us. They built a street of houses. Students learned how to run electric lines, plumbing, framing, installing systems under the oversight of a contractor. We used to have a medical program that trained students to be EMT's on graduation. Welders, technicians, machinists, electricians, plumbers, mechanics are people we need EVERY SINGLE DAY. Yet the schools erased those programs to put in college ready programs and made kids who didn't want or need college take them, and often fail.
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