America is often seen as a gateway to freedom, a country where value is found in equality. Immigrants come to America to seek refuge from the oppressions of their homelands and to build a new life, hoping for stability and economic growth. Even natural born citizens chase this American dream of social mobility. As a people, we work hard to acquire wealth through material possessions, savings, and our network of human connections. The effort by individuals to achieve this mobility focuses on continually branching the network, working hard in their careers to gain promotions, and investing in future careers through training and education. Yet, despite the determination, an abyss separates those who chase the Dream and those who are born living it. This gap creates a dichotomy between people, those who are lucky enough to be born into privileged families and everyone else. According to Allan G. Johnson, there are many social constructs in society that create a system of privilege and oppression. One category to which many others, such as racism, sexism, ableism, and ageism, often contribute, is classism. Classism is defined by the “unjust treatment of people” because of their socioeconomic class (Webster), a “hierarchy in which individuals and groups are ranked on the basis of esteem and prestige acquired primarily through economic success and the accumulation of wealth ” (businessdicitonary.com). Education has often been touted as the primary vehicle for social mobility, leading the unfortunate to freedom and financial stability. While this ideal may have been true decades ago, the standard no longer applies. Today, education comes at a price never seen before, which means that most students' investment in their future careers, in the form of a student... a construction site? According to Mike Rowe of the TV show Dirty Jobs “we lend money we don't have to kids who can't pay it back to train them for jobs that no longer exist. It's crazy." Rowe also goes on to say in his Blaze interview that 90% of available jobs now require skills that can be learned in a trade school or on-the-job training rather than a university. Perhaps instead of pushing every student to get a college education, we need to place more emphasis on trades and professions that don't necessarily require a college degree but rather require a more hands-on educational approach. This could ideally narrow the gap between classes as adults acquire less debt due to student loans and earn more money by filling available and needed jobs, but are also unable to finish college and earn a college degree..