It's also no secret that those who take that pathway are more often than not ending up in the mire of student debt – and struggling to get out.

This dilemma has caused many to look elsewhere for alternatives to college, particularly apprenticeship or career and technical education. Unfortunately, these ideas are still so cutting edge, that many students must blaze the trail alone with relatively little direction and information.

But individuals like Robert Luddy are seeking to change that. As a recent profile in a Philanthropy Roundtable report explains, Luddy has established a number of engineering career and technical education programs at various private high schools in North Carolina: