Charlie Kirk’s advice to Gen Z men: forget college, find success on your own terms

The late Charlie Kerk spent most of his time as CEO of Turning Point Usa not in the corner office but in universities, where he flows with students in open discussions. The challenge he carried was simple: “I have been mistaken.”
One of his favorite topics was the value of higher education itself. Kirk, who left Harper College outside Chicago before building a non -profit institution worth $ 85 million per year, has argued that many young people are following degrees of habit instead of the purpose.
“The college is supposed to provide a path to financial security and job success.
Kirk believed that universities have moved away from teaching critical skills such as writing and problem solving, with a focus instead on matching while students burden debt. His philosophy: Do whatever it takes to get your foot in the door – then reassess if more education is really necessary.
“You know, something that lacks it when I speak to employers is hunger and desire,” Kirk told Fox News at the launch of his book for 2022. College fraud: How American universities have escaped and the brain wash in the future of America’s youth.
“What is this paper that you will really do for you?”
Many Gen Z agreed with Kirk: the college is not worth it for everyone
While Kirk was explicit about his views on the return on investment in higher education for years, many General Zires share his doubts.
About 51 % of Gen Z College graduates are now looking at their degrees as a “waste of money”, according to a recent survey of. It may be worse among young people: a Financial timeSoli analysis found that men with a university degree now have the same unemployment rate as young people who did not go to college.
This shift has left more than two million young men now classified as NET – which is not at work, education or training – with average students ’debts approaching $ 40,000.
For young people looking not to face the same struggles, Kirk’s advice was simple: “Do anything” except to seek a four -year degree. Instead, make your dreams reality by doing this on your own conditions, and encouraging people to pursue entrepreneurship.
Meanwhile, Kirk often framing his arguments from an ideological point of view, concerning that universities were controlled by “left -wing professors” who said “anti -United States and progressive ideologies for students.” However, he admitted exceptions.
“I would like to say, very frankly, that perhaps if you want to become a doctor, lawyer, accountant, or engineer – which, by the way, is a huge minority of people who go to colleges – you may have to go to the kidney but a suitable one choice,” Kirk continued. “But the vast majority of children, the vast majority of children who go to the kidney, should not be there at all.”
2025-09-22 20:55:00