06/02/2026
You Might Be Steering Your Kid Toward Debt and Away From a Great Living
Angie at Rog's Auto Inc.
Let's talk about something most high school counselors aren't saying out loud.
The average four-year college graduate walks across a stage with a diploma in one hand and somewhere between $30,000 and $50,000 in student loan debt in the other. Then they spend the next several years in entry-level positions, working their way up, hoping the degree pays off the way everyone promised it would.
Meanwhile, a skilled automotive technician who completes a two-year technical program — often with far less debt, sometimes none at all thanks to programs like Build Dakota Scholarships — can be earning $50,000 to $80,000 or more within just a few years of starting. Master technicians and specialists can push well past that.
We're not saying college is wrong for everyone. It isn't. But the idea that a four-year degree is the only path to a good living is simply not true anymore — and frankly, it may never have been.
At Rog's Auto, we've watched this trade for a long time. The technicians who are good at what they do are not scraping by. They own homes. They raise families. They retire with good retirement accounts. They do it without carrying a decade of debt into their thirties.
The skilled trades are facing a shortage right now, and that shortage has a flip side. When qualified people are hard to find, their value goes up. Supply and demand applies to people too.
If you're a parent pushing hard for the four-year path, we'd just ask you to have one honest conversation about alternatives. If you're a student wondering what comes next, we'd ask you to look at what the numbers actually say — not just what the culture assumes.
There's real money in knowing how to fix things. There always has been. The world just forgot to say it loud enough.
Rog's Auto Inc. has been serving the Wagner community for years. We support Build Dakota Scholarships and believe in the future of the automotive trade. If you have questions we encourage you to come in and have a conversation with us.
📞 605-384-3663 - Ask for Roger
📧 [email protected]
