Quote from Ashikoki;1086180:
A...are Canadian colleges cheap?
Indeed.
Colleges here typically offer 2 or 3 year programs that are very industry-focused. Tuition is usually between 2,000 and 3,000 per year, depending on the college and the program of study. You can of course get financial aid and government student loans if for some reason you can't come up with that money.
Universities cost between 6,000 and 10,000 for undergrad programs. Sure, most of our schools cannot compete with the elite American universities, but unless you're aiming to become a world-class scientist, then it doesn't even matter.
As Chokeh said, it's even cheaper in Quebec, but Quebec is a crazy place where everything is heavily tax-subsidized and mediocre at best, so it's not a realistic comparison.
And it seems that a lot of 'muricans don't like to differentiate between 'college' and 'university'. :v ... Regardless, the Return on Investment should be considered:
Fifty Affordable Colleges With the Best ROI
After taking into account the amount of financial aid that the average student there receives, many of those schools' costs are comparable to what we pay in Canada.
The key thing that a lot of nubs here seem to be forgetting is that deciding to go to university isn't supposed to be done in the same manner as when you decide you wanna go on an impulse shopping trip to Walmart or whatever. It's something you plan and save money for--years in advance:
You get a job and work throughout high school save money, rather than spend it on crap.
You study hard in high school so you can get top grades and qualify for scholarships.
You work while you study in university.
In most cases, your parents have set aside at least some money to help you out, too.
The rest can then be covered by government student loans, which are very generous.
Financial aid alone covers half the cost for the average student in the US to begin with.
At the end of the day, where there's a will, there's a way. Learn to manage your money, work hard in school, and you can make it.
Quote from Osayidan;1086190:
Can't speak for other areas of the world but over here so many people go to college and university and then have to move out because there's no jobs for their fields of study. Companies here want people who know what the hell they're doing, not people who spent the past 5+ years of their young adult life memorizing text books.
I don't see anything wrong with moving out. If you find an opportunity, go after it. That's what I did--moved to a different city. Toronto is in some ways more cool than Ottawa, anyway. Thanks to the Internet, you can find a job and even do interviews before you move out, so really, I don't see what the problem is.
As for the companies not wanting people with degrees, you are wrong. They want both. And in many places, you cannot advance to a higher position if you have no degree...not to mention about getting hired in the first place. A degree is worth more than just the skills you learn while studying for it. Universities often don't even focus on practical skills that much, but rather focus on theoretical stuff that teaches you to think and makes you a smarter person. Many people can learn basic practical skills right on the job anyway, so focusing just on that would be short-sighted and perhaps appropriate only for smaller-scale companies and simple jobs where you don't really have to think a whole lot.
Being relatively uneducated was OK in the past, but as the global economy moves towards a knowledge-based economy, higher education becomes increasingly important--especially in the STEM fields. Consequently, the people who got screwed the hardest during the US recession were those who had no degrees.