More than half of recent college graduates are underemployed. Let me repeat that. More than half. Not struggling to find their dream job, not working in a different field, but straight up underemployed. As in, congratulations on your degree.

Here's a job that only requires a high school diploma and pay $17 an hour. That mountain of debt you've taken on, oops. But make sure you start making those payments right away. And by the way, it'll only take you the next forty five years to pay off. This is the part where everyone gasps and clutches their pearls and asks, but how could this happen?

We told them that if they just followed the steps, sit still, do your homework, go to college, success would magically appear. Well, it didn't. So today, we're not gonna talk about how to get your kid a 6 figure job by the age of 22. No. Today, we're gonna talk about why the system doesn't work, why it's not your fault for questioning this outdated advice, and why your homeschool doesn't have to mimic a conveyor belt to be successful.

Oh, and also that kids don't need to have their entire life figured out by the age of 18. Man, that's so much pressure. But homeschooling homeschooling is not about reproducing the same old broken system at your kitchen table. Right? That's why we're doing this.

It's about giving your kids time. Time to try, time to learn. Yes. Time to fail, and time to explore what lights them up and to define success outside of the factory mold. So today, we're gonna get into what underemployment really says about our current system and how homeschooling might just be the most future focused educational path out there.

Before we get into this, hi. Welcome if you're a first time listener or welcome back. I'm Christy Faith, author of the book Homeschool Rising, speaker, homeschool mentor, and founder of Thrive Homeschool Community. A lot of people find me because I'm a funny face on social media, but there is so much more to what I do and why I do it, and it all is encompassed in Thrive Homeschool Community. It's something I created because I saw a problem in the homeschooling community.

I saw eager and motivated moms trying to build the best possible education for their kids, but they were left to doom scrolling and internet searches to try to make it all happen. And I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure giving your kids a world class education doesn't involve piecing together advice from Karen's blog and a random Reddit thread. And I was really sad about this because homeschooling is the answer to so many problems kids are facing today socially, emotionally, academically, more. And I've been homeschooling a long time. And what I discovered along the way is that true homeschool success is built on six key pillars.

And if you're missing even one of these and most moms are missing more than one, you're likely to hit a lot of roadblocks and feel completely overwhelmed in your homeschooling. Is that you right now? Are you feeling overwhelmed? Thrive is your opportunity to stop trying to piece together scattered advice and lean on a process and a path that works for you, your kids, and your family. So if you need partners that also want your kids to have the best education possible, Thrive Homeschool Community is where you will find it.

It is proven, it is effective, and we are pretty darn cool in there. I'll put a link in the show notes. Okay. So back to the show. So what does underemployed actually mean?

It's not just that these grads didn't land their dream job at Google. According to the Insire Higher Ed article, it means they're working in jobs that don't even require a college degree. Jobs they were technically qualified for at age 18. And this is not just a blip. This isn't one bad graduating class.

The numbers show that this is a consistent pattern going back at least a decade. Some reports suggest only about 45% of four year college grads are working in jobs that require a degree even five years after graduating. And here's the kicker. The odds of a graduate ending up underemployed actually go up the longer they've been out of school. So we're not just talking about just give it time.

We're talking about a system that is cranking out diploma holders and then just crossing its fingers. But sure. Let's just keep telling 17 year olds that if they just pick a major right now before they've even lived outside of their parents' house besides summer, that they'll be set for life. See, this is what happens when school becomes an assembly line. People stop thinking.

They just go one step after another. Kindergarten, first grade, fifth grade, SATs, college apps, then what? It's as if the last stop on the conveyor belt is college, and after that, the machine just shuts off. No one in the system is really teaching kids how to explore, how to pivot, how to build. We've trained them to sit, obey, complete worksheets, and chase gold stars.

And now we're shocked that they graduate, feel a ton of pressure, and feel lost? Yeah. No kidding. Here's the thing. Homeschooling isn't just some shortcut to perfection or a guarantee that your kid will launch a startup by the age of 19, but it is a way to step off the conveyor belt and say, maybe we should rethink this whole process.

And that process, that traditional system, we're gonna take a deep dive into how that whole system works right after a word from our sponsors. As a homeschool mom who values a family together approach and leans towards the classical and Charlotte Mason styles, I often struggle to bring my educational vision vision to life with my kids' diverse ages and learning needs. With all our interests and super packed schedule, bridging that gap between the dreamy homeschool I want and reality, I gotta be honest. It's a challenge. Now, yes, I know perfection perfection isn't isn't the the goal.

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They are second to none in integrating a biblical worldview, stimulating critical thinking, and offering tons of hands on activities in the lessons. To find out how BJU Press Homeschool can come alongside you in your homeschooling goals too, visit bjupresshomeschool.com or click the link in the show notes. Is your child struggling with attention, memory, reading, writing, or math? If you're experiencing this, you know how heart wrenching it is to watch them face these hurdles. You've poured love, time, and attention into their education, yet the struggle persists, leaving you feeling stuck and desperately searching for answers.

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Alright. The system. Year five. Sit in a chair. Learn letters.

Learn numbers. Stay on grade level. Test. Test. Test.

Pick a career interest by middle school. Here's the form. Keep up your GPA. Take the right classes. Apply to college.

Get in. Choose a major. Make it count. Hope it pays off. The end goal, a piece of paper.

One piece of paper that's supposed to prove you're ready for the real world when you've never actually experienced the real world. And here's the twist, real life doesn't care about that piece of paper nearly as much as we were told it would. You know what real life wants to know? Real life wants to know if you can solve problems, if you can adapt, if you can work with people, sell yourself, take initiative, communicate clearly, and figure stuff out when no one gives you step by step instructions. Now, I'm not knocking that piece of paper.

I went through the system. I have a graduate degree. I'm glad I went to graduate school. It's helped me very much. They also were very expensive pieces of paper.

I also prefer for some people to have lots of those expensive pieces of paper if they are, say, operating on me or a loved one. Also, maybe if they're standing in front of a judge on my behalf. Hasn't happened yet, but, you know, better safe than sorry. So I hope you hear me. I'm not saying that a degree is a bad thing.

That's not my lane. Maybe you have a life goal of getting a degree, and I'm all for that. But these young adults that are being launched into the world need to know all of their options and to make decisions with more information. Don't you think? I can tell you for certain that I probably would have done a few things differently had I taken a few steps back from the conveyor belt.

Okay. Now let's talk about what homeschooling can look like and why it is the answer to preparing your kids for a bright future. When you homeschool, you can say, hey, we're not gonna wait until you're 18 to learn about real life. Let's do it now. Wanna learn to cook, budget, build something, or explore graphic design?

Let's do it. The cool thing about homeschooling is you can do it without grave consequences like grades. You're allowed to try things, and you're allowed to quit them, and you're allowed to try something else. Because when you homeschool, your education is not a performance. It's a process.

We're cultivating human beings here. We're not churning out products. This doesn't mean zero structure or no expectations, but it does mean structure that serves your child's growth, not their compliance. It means expecting progress, not perfection. It means modeling curiosity and resilience, not burnout and box checking.

Because what's so cool about homeschooling is it gives your children time. They can breathe, time to explore, time to be wrong, time to figure out what actually excites them, and what absolutely doesn't. Because don't we all want our kids to just become who they were meant to be? That doesn't happen when they were stuffed into a system of conformity for 12 straight. Homeschooling can give our kids autonomy, which is the foundation of adult decision making.

It can give them context because they're not just memorizing dates and facts. They're learning how those things connect to their lives. And it gives them relationships because they're not being shaped by peers on a school bus as much as they're shaped by conversation, mentorship, and real world interactions. And you as the parent, you're not racing towards some arbitrary finish line. You're helping them build something that actually lasts character, confidence, and capability.

So even if your kid ends up going to college, we're not raising future college applicants. We're raising future adults who might go to college and might not. Now if you're nodding along with this but still thinking, okay, but what about college? I really do want my kid to go to college. I'm in that boat too.

So let's talk about that after the break. Before we continue, I wanna share with you a program that's been a game changer for our homes chool. At our center, we instructed and helped kids through pretty much every math program on the market and know firsthand just how important a solid math foundation is for our kids' futures. As a career educator with high standards, finding the right program that checked all the boxes felt like too tall of an order until one day I tried CTC Math. CTC Math is an online math curriculum for k to 12 students with motivating interactive lessons that allow kids to learn at their own pace.

It does all the teaching and grading so you don't have to, and their adaptive lessons adjust so your child is progressing confidently. With CTC Math, your child is getting a top notch education, and you just made your homeschool life easier. Visit ctcmath.com to start your free trial today or click the link in the show notes. The show will resume in just a minute, but first, I wanna share with you an incredible resource that is totally free to homeschooling families everywhere. Have you ever felt like you were on trial for your homeschooling choice when visiting a doctor or another service provider?

It's unsettling, especially when someone misinformed has the power to threaten your family. Unfortunately, we have heard countless stories of parents who have felt trapped in offices and met with suspicion rather than support simply because they were homeschoolers. I've been profiled and interrogated myself, and I'm sure many of you have as well. Enough is enough. It's time we proactively vet service providers before giving them our business and our money.

Enter Christy Face List, a directory 100 free to homeschooling families connecting you with homeschool friendly service providers who promise to support you in your homeschooling choice. We want every homeschooler in America to know about and be using this list. So here's how to make Christy Faith's List a household name. One, tell all your friends about it. Let's show the market just how powerful the homeschool movement is.

Number two, check Christy Faith's List website before stepping foot into any service provider's office to make sure they are on there. And number three, if your favorite service provider isn't on the list, make sure to refer them. There's a button on the homepage of the website. It takes only thirty seconds, and that way we can send them a lovely invite. If you're listening and you are a homeschool friendly professional, we want you on the list.

We're eager to connect homeschooling families with you, shout your name from the rooftops, and bring you tons and tons of business. We have plans for every type of business, both small, local, nationwide, and worldwide. Check out christy-faiths-list.com today. So here's what I want you to hear clearly with today's show. Homeschooling doesn't mean your kid can't go to college.

It means they don't have to go just because they're being told it's the next box to check. It means that they'll go if it serves their future, not because they're afraid what people might think if they don't. And if we're talking college, actually, the truth is homeschooled students are often more appealing to colleges. They're accustomed to learning independently. They have followed their interests.

They're interesting kids. They've often built portfolios, volunteered, held jobs, or taken community college classes by the time they even apply. Homeschoolers aren't just GPAs and test scores. They're humans with really cool stories and backgrounds. But even more importantly, they're going in with purpose.

They're not scared of falling behind. They don't think that their entire future depends on picking a major by the age of 18. That's not how we raise them. They know their future is bright, and they know that anything they need to learn, they'll be able to do because they've been given tools. Their education wasn't just the stuffing of content, their education was skill building.

And how cool is that? So I do wanna normalize asking, is this degree worth the cost? Is it necessary for what my child wants to do? Or are there other paths that fit better? Because when we give our kids the chance to explore, take ownership, and really get to know themselves during these young adult years, college becomes a tool, not a rescue plan, and that's what we want.

So yes, college is still an option and a great one, but it's no longer the default. And look, I'm not here to bash any college or anyone who went to public school. I went to public school. I went to college. I went to graduate school.

The goal of today's show is to wake up to the reality that the conveyor belt is not working. It is failing those young kids who are graduating. The outcomes aren't matching the promises. More than half of grads are underemployed. That's not a glitch.

That's a system feature. And homeschooling, it's a way to build a completely different blueprint. One where ownership, exploration, and flexibility aren't fringe benefits. They're the foundation. It's okay if your kid doesn't know what they want to be by the age of 12 or even at 17 or 22.

The beauty of the life that we can build with our kids is our kids get to grow up practicing decision making and not just following directions. So you don't have to copy the school model. You don't have to run your home like a classroom. You get to lead with curiosity, creativity, and connection. And, yes, not only are you allowed to do it differently, but I hope you do.

And if you're sitting here thinking right now, I believe this, but I'm still trying to figure this homeschool thing out, please remember that's exactly why I created Thrive Homeschool Community. Because it's overwhelming to leave the system, but then not know how to build what you wanna build on the other side. I get it. That's why we exist. If you want a proven path to build your custom homeschool that does right by your kids and experts to lead you, please check out Thrive Homeschool Community.

And remember, with homeschooling, we're building a life, not just a transcript. And that, that's something worth striving for. See you next time.