Brian Whitehead, Veteran
Veteran Testimony
U.S. Education Department
October 7, 2021
Good afternoon. My name is Brian Whitehead and I am from Loganville, GA. I served in the U.S. Army from 2000-2005. After I left the service, I attended ITT Tech from 2006-2008 to study Computer and Electrical Engineering. I graduated from the program but after almost a year of looking for a job, I was never able to get one in the field that I studied. When the school recruited me, they told me that 90% of its graduates were guaranteed jobs right out of the gate, with average salaries starting around $60-$70,000 a year. That was not true. And on top of that, I have student loan debt around $50,000, even though ITT told me that my GI Bill benefits would cover my entire education.
Right now, I have a job that I got because of the skills I’d learned in the military. Not because of that degree from ITT. Still, it’s a job that barely pays the bills and I have to ask for help from my family and friends. I wanted to complete school to get into a career where I could earn a decent living. But ITT’s degrees aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. We had classes taught by people who admitted they weren’t qualified to teach computer programming or anything tech related. I know if I had gotten a degree from a more reputable university, along with my military experience, I’d be in a much better place.
ITT may be closed, but I have to live with the debt and frustration they left behind.
I wanted to testify here today to ask you to stop schools like ITT so they can’t get away with lying to get veterans to enroll in their schools. They need to be held accountable for their lies because they have the power to destroy our career goals and ruin our lives.
Thank you for your time.
Download Brian’s testimony here:
Brian Whitehead NegReg 10072021