x2 on a lot of this. I know more people who have become impoverished because of higher education and not being able to find jobs in their field that are available or pay enough to offset said education costs. Many of my friends got a bachelors degree and left the country. Japan, Russia, several places across Europe, Korea, Australia, etc. Several went abroad to teach English for a few years, which definitely wasn't their major. Some left permanently. The traveling I have done and the variety of people I've interacted with points largely to what Mr. GOH said. Sans a few people who hit home runs and work for Microsoft or became pro athletes, most of the people I know are scraping by working 3+ part time jobs both in and out of their field to offset living expenses. Between education and required health care costs, many have had to move back in with their parents or find a way to set up group living situations to scrape by.
I work in IT, and it's a very hit and miss field in terms of work conditions and pay. My last job ran my health into the ground. Over-worked, underpaid, and fighting in a field that is so overloaded with qualified candidates that the job field largely changed into a short-term contract field. 3, 6, 12, and 24 month contract jobs abound, but the lack of job security and inconsistency with benefits combined with the huge supply of IT people available makes IT a drastically less lucrative field than years past. I found a solid full-time job with okay pay and good benefits that allows me to use vacation time. I've declined jobs that have offered upwards of triple what I'm making because I refuse to do 24-7 coverage anymore and won't won't take a contract job when I'm currently full time.
I definitely have suggested trade schools to people who were undecided on what to do after high school. I only have a handful of friends who went through trade school, but they are largely the most financially stable people I know right now. Their jobs are by no means easy or glamorous, but they're necessary and they are certainly deserving of the extra money they earn for performing them.
About the only route I've actively warned people about is entrepreneurship and starting a business. It's a high risk gamble that requires absolute dedication of a person's life in order for it to have a chance to succeed. The couple entrepreneurs I know that have succeeded largely did so at the expense of others.