Jul 15, 2026
Another day, another talking head or study suggesting that the era of the four-year college degree is over. This time, it’s not a career expert, social media influencer or self-made millionaire who is questioning the worth of a hard-earned diploma in 2026 and beyond, but U.S. Vice-President JD Vance.
Vance sat down on July 9 to chat with Mike Rowe, America’s most famous proponent of the skilled trades, which he highlighted on his hit show, “Dirty Jobs.”
Advertisement
In this episode of Rowe’s Podcast, “The Way I Heard It,” the VP appeared to promote his forthcoming memoir, “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith.” The conversation turned to a discussion about what defines dignified work, the state of employment in America and, by extension, the role of higher education.
Thanks for subscribing!
The money news that actually matters.
By signing up, you accept Moneywise Terms of Use, Subscription Agreement, and Privacy Policy.
White collar versus blue collar jobs
Reflecting upon his grandfather’s influence on his own career trajectory, Vance pointed to what he sees as a persisting fallacy from earlier generations who believe that white collar work means you’ve made it — and that working with your hands is less admirable, desirable and overall below careers where a degree is a prerequisite. It’s a stigma Rowe has slowly chipped away at with his own show and advocacy work.
“If you were blue collar, somehow that wasn’t as good or as prestigious as the people who went to college. But I do think our society has learned a lot since then,” Vance said.
One of the main things he believes we’ve learned: that many white collar jobs are “kind of bulls**t” and “kind of fake.”
“A lot of the people who are going and getting four-year degrees, they aren’t engineers or doctors, they have effectively fake jobs,” he said, giving the example of the COVID era, which he said really put into perspective those roles in which “people sit at a laptop and don’t actually do much.”
Must Read
- The ultra-rich use these 5 real estate strategies to build wealth while they sleep — you can start with just $100
- Here’s the average income of Americans by age in 2026. Are you keeping up or falling behind?
- Insurance companies profit most from drivers who auto-renew without shopping around. Comparing 100+ quotes takes 2 minutes and costs nothing
Join 250,000+ readers and get Moneywise’s best stories and exclusive interviews first — clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now.
Redefining dignified work
The duo went on to define, in contrast, what dignified work means to them: something, they agreed, that benefits another person or adds value to society, regardless of what the day-to-day of the job looks like.
“Whatever the conditions, If you do something that you know is valuable, it’s very hard to get bored with it. Whereas if you do something that you know is not valuable, it doesn’t matter how much you’re paid, I think it’s very hard to actually take meaning from that,” Vance said.
He provided examples of dignified work across both white and blue collar professions, such as building homes, fixing plumbing or solving someone’s dispute as a lawyer (for which you most definitely need a college degree). He said military service topped the list of careers that have felt the most meaningful, noting “this false dichotomy of dignified work being white collar or blue collar.”
Advertisement
“The cultural shift that has to happen is that we need to persuade [people] that we still need skilled trades in this country. You can’t just tell everybody that they’re going to go to a four-year college,” he said.
College degrees coming into question
As trashing college has become a trend among TikTok creators, professionals are questioning higher ed, too. International recruitment executives are telling young people that “the days of going to college and doing something in an office are over” and tech CEOs are calling this the era for technicians and builders, all while more of the general public is doubting whether schooling is worth the money — and stats are suggesting it may not be.
Some argue that AI and the availability of information to teach yourself anything have rendered certain programs obsolete, while the progression of AI itself makes manual jobs ever more valuable and future-proof — as well as higher-paying than some desk roles.
There may be something to this shift in narrative. Rowe said in his conversation with Vance that in the most recent round of his trades scholarship program, he received 10 times more applications than a year prior, despite “not doing anything differently.”
Still, he estimates that for every five tradespeople that retire, only two replace them at current rates. And, at the same time, data still shows that college grads do better financially than non-grads over time: As The College Board reports, four-year grads earn around 60% more than high school degree holders, and they are less likely to be unemployed.
It’s also worth noting that both Rowe and Vance are college degree-holders – Rowe with a communications degree from Towson and Vance with an undergraduate degree from Ohio State and a law degree from Yale.
You May Also Like
- JP Morgan sees gold hitting $6,000/oz before 2027 — and a Gold IRA lets you hold the physical metal while deferring the tax bill. Get your free guide from Priority Gold
- Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake — here’s what it is and the simple steps to fix it ASAP
- Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how
- Millionaires under 43 are reshaping investing — just 25% of their portfolios are in stocks. Here’s where their money is going
Becky Robertson is a senior staff reporter at Moneywise and a lifelong writer. Along with more than a decade covering news at outlets like blogTO and Quill & Quire, she's attended writing residencies around the world. With 33 countries visited, she finds travel to be among her greatest inspirations.
