Agree very much with flyer and JoeC. Connections are the #1 way to get a good job, at least from what I’ve seen.
I think a lot of people are trying to find a solution without defining the problem first. The problem isn’t your kid or his/her education, but the economic system and the way in which resources are allocated in a world with a growing population, finite resources, and a handful of truly wealthy people who control those resources…almost always because of their connections, not because they “worked hard” to become successful.
If we seriously care about our children, we need to work collectively to fix the system. We, the workers, are being pitted against one another by those who own and control the system, and that includes the hyper-competitive push for everyone to get the “best” and increasingly expensive education so that we can become the best cog, with the lowest possible wages, in someone else’s machine.
People are too focused on tearing others down in order to get their kid to the top of the pyramid. IMHO, that is the wrong approach to the problem, and will only end up making these problems worse.
We have power in numbers; it is well past time we use it.
