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Posted 11/23/2025

The Trump Administration has announced that certain degrees will be reclassified as "non-professional." Such a designation would limit the amount that students can borrow from the government in pursuit of their education. Only "professional degree" students would qualify for the higher $200k loan limit under Education Secretary Linda McMahon. Spending cuts outlined in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that was signed into law July 4, 2025, stipulate that the finances of several government entities and institutions would be affected, and student loans appear to fall under that umbrella... Click Here.

Concerns began to arise as nursing was lumped in with other professions that will no longer be eligible for the maximum loan amount because some consider nursing the backbone of healthcare. Other professions slated to be disqualified include educators, architects, accountants, physician assistants, physical therapists, and social workers in a move that may serve to further the financial divide across the country. 

As the Trump Administration plans to limit what students can borrow to attend college, Home Depot began offering free courses to shore up talent in the skilled trade arena with their 'Path to Pro' program, potentially torpedoing wage gains made over the years. The program is a supposed response to the skilled labor shortage in the U.S., with roughly 400,000 open positions in these fields as of January 2025. The Home Depot claims to be six years ahead of their projected goal, having already trained more than 60,000 people, and says it has introduced nearly a half million more to skilled trades.

The social gap now has the potential to widen across the country. If a job is considered non-professional, then essentially people have been separated into two classes - professionals and non-professionals (workers). With a larger labor pool to select from, employers typically pay less as the market is flooded with individuals with identical skills. Said individuals may find themselves confined in a role with a limited chance for upward mobility and even less opportunity to earn more money. Jobs the Trump Administration plans to classify as non-professional, and those classified as skilled trades, often propelled people into the middle class. The ramifications of these impending changes for January 1, 2026, are poised to redefine the landscape of higher education and equality across the nation.