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College is not for everyone, seems to be the consensus here. Unfortunately, it has come down to the fact that there are so many unemployed bachelor degree holders that you have to have a bachelors to get past the HR screening process just get an interview.
I have seen a few places require a bachelor requirement for an administrative assistant position for chrissakes. You NEVER saw that before.
Everyone needs some extra trade school or a certificate or an associates at least, but some other type of education. HS is definitely not enough anymore to make a decent living. Even if you plan to be self employed, you need to know finances, marketing, etc and the best way to get that is to take a couple classes at your local community college.
Besides, things change SO FAST nowadays, chances are what you learn with your degree now, will be completely invalid 20 years from now, thus the need for continual professional development, no matter what career you choose.
This is sometimes called "credential inflation". The same job that would have been filled and performed adequately and learned-on-the-job by a mere high school graduate 60 years ago now requires a college degree (and they still have to learn-on-the-job). It means that our society is wasting huge amounts of people's time and money on education that does not have any real economic value. Sadly, few Americans, pundits, or politicians understand that.
College may not be for everybody, but the problem is is that the job/ career field is becoming more and more demanding. Associate degrees are pretty much worthless, unless you learn a trade like plumbing, electrical, or HVAC. The value of bachelor degrees is begining to drop. You practically need at least a master's degree to get near the top of the ladder. So what are good opportunities are available for non-college grads?
I have seen a few places require a bachelor requirement for an administrative assistant position for chrissakes. You NEVER saw that before.
That's par for the course in NYC. I imagine it'd be tough to pinpoint the one person who started this trend, and there likely isn't one person, but man, whoever pushed this trend early on deserves a lot of blame - They probably thought they were sooo smart, sooo revolutionary. Or perhaps they were insidious. Anyway I want to thank everyone so far for not bringing politics into this thread - Let's keep it that way and don't take any political bait that you might see going forward in this thread. Again, none have appeared thus far. Thanks again.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bhaalspawn
It means that our society is wasting huge amounts of people's time and money on education that does not have any real economic value. Sadly, few Americans, pundits, or politicians understand that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bhaalspawn
What the higher education peddlers don't realize is that even if 100% of the populace went to college, we wouldn't have nearly enough college-education-requiring jobs for everyone. Instead we would end up having the world's most highly-educated truck drivers, waitresses, and Walmart and McDonalds employees. After the 10-15% of jobs that actually make use of a college education are filled, all higher education does is for society is to just rearrange the deck chairs on our nation's economic Titanic (at great economic expense).
I guess I'm patting myself on the back but folks, I saw this coming.
The world needs medical professionals, legal professionals, engineers, architects, scientists, teachers, designers and business professionals.
But it also needs janitors, construction workers, electricians, plumbers, truck drivers, farm workers, repairmen, short order cooks, shelf stockers, cashiers and wait staff.
I think that the 'college for all' concept is driven by the educational community - the more students headed for college, the more need for teachers to prepare them for college and the more need for college professors to teach them.
And those jobs (eletricians, plumbers and truck drivers) can make a LOT of money. My brother is a college drop out and now is a truck driver. He makes six figures a year.
I have a cousin who isn't academically inclined whatsoever. He is 18 and in the 10th grade. I keep telling him he should just go get a trade, become an electrician or a plumber of some sort. But of course, those jobs don't get the prestige or the respect that doctors, lawyers, and engineers receive.
You practically need at least a master's degree to get near the top of the ladder. So what are good opportunities are available for non-college grads?
Sometimes I truly wonder if "the ladder" is a huge part of the problem.
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Originally Posted by TiltheEndofTime
And those jobs (eletricians, plumbers and truck drivers) can make a LOT of money. My brother is a college drop out and now is a truck driver. He makes six figures a year.
This makes me smile. Good for him. I imagine it's a tough job especially if it's an 18-wheeler. I think it's safe to say most of our sofas and dining tables and mattresses rode on a large truck at some point. Although I'm not blue collar, I have blue collar in my family and my respect for the blue collar world is, I would guess, higher than normal. Certainly higher than the typical ladder-anxious brainwashed dime-a-dozen egotistical college senior.
This makes me smile. Good for him. I imagine it's a tough job especially if it's an 18-wheeler. I think it's safe to say most of our sofas and dining tables and mattresses rode on a large truck at some point. Although I'm not blue collar, I have blue collar in my family and my respect for the blue collar world is, I would guess, higher than normal. Certainly higher than the typical ladder-anxious brainwashed dime-a-dozen egotistical college senior.
I agree. I have far more respect for someone who learned a trade and worked all the four years learning marketable skills than someone who goofed off in college and graduated with a not-so-fantastic gpa.
What people fail to realize is that while the number white collar jobs, jobs that usually require a college degree, are decreasing, the number of blue collar jobs are increasing. And yet some people STILL would rather go into more debt (via grad school) than learn a trade that is "beneath them."
while the number white collar jobs, jobs that usually require a college degree, are decreasing, the number of blue collar jobs are increasing. And yet some people STILL would rather go into more debt (via grad school) than learn a trade that is "beneath them."
Much of it is ego-driven. Good point about student debt and choice. If these ladder-climbing types wish to enter and linger in a white collar stratum of society, they pay a high entrance fee for that (especially nowadays), and many will face residual financial woes which are hard to get rid of. If they can't see those things going in, well, then maybe they're not as smart as they think they are.
College is also better for some after a few years out in the real world instead of straight out of high school.
This is what I did and I believe it really has helped me be more focused on school-related work than if I would have gone straight after HS.
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