College degree no longer an avenue to financial success?

[wordcreatorushtwf]

Millions of young college graduates are finding that the promise of acquiring an upper level education would provide an entrance into a successful career has been a lie. Instead they are facing a new reality--many of them are either unemployed or underemployed and even if they do have a job, it does not necessarily require a college degree.

Not only have they spent four or more years of their lives trapped in classrooms while and listening to professors providing out-dated and irrelevant lectures, most have gone into debt that will hang over them for the foreseeable future.

Read more
http://www.examiner.com/article/coll...ancial-success

[leaningright]

I suggest they get degrees in something marketable. Underwater basket weaving or abstract art appreciation are not largely sought after skills. I know that some lucky ones get to make a living with stuff like that but really... I keep track of the few of my former students that have gone to and completed college. In the last 5 years there have been 15 graduate with their 4 year degree. Out of those 15, 14 are currently working within their chosen career pursuit. IT, Computer Tech, Nurses all found jobs easily, not to mention the one Math and one Science teacher. The one who is working in a steel plant got a degree in History Ed. The education market is saturated with those and those positions are hard to attain unless one is "connected."

[leaningright]

And yes, I know that my limited group doesn't indicate a national trend, but I'm just sayin'.

[tekkychick]

To me, the article seemed to be just an ad for the alternative schools mentioned; probably a press release that the Examiner just reprinted. So I didn't really take it seriously.

But that's just my opinion, of course.

[leaningright]

I still encourage my students to go to college. For some I recommend Tech School. Others I still steer toward the military. I fight against a culture here that encourages the guys to go right to work and the girls to marry and make babies immediately. Some (One young lady from church and her husband come to mind) do OK and get their degrees/eventual jobs as well as marrying and making babies along the way, but it is so tough without supportive parents and extended family.

A sad testimony is that for the past 5 years, out of the 10 valedictorian/salutatorian kids, only 4 have gone on to college. The rest are married and making babies. They'll do OK but it just seem they have chosen such a difficult life for themselves from the get-go. This is one pattern of culture that this guy who loathes change wouldn't mind changing.

[canceled.2021.1]

I still encourage my students to go to college. For some I recommend Tech School. Others I still steer toward the military. I fight against a culture here that encourages the guys to go right to work and the girls to marry and make babies immediately. Some (One young lady from church and her husband come to mind) do OK and get their degrees/eventual jobs as well as marrying and making babies along the way, but it is so tough without supportive parents and extended family.

A sad testimony is that for the past 5 years, out of the 10 valedictorian/salutatorian kids, only 4 have gone on to college. The rest are married and making babies. They'll do OK but it just seem they have chosen such a difficult life for themselves from the get-go. This is one pattern of culture that this guy who loathes change wouldn't mind changing.

Beats taking on $100,000 of debt for a bogus degree.

[tekkychick]

I still encourage my students to go to college. For some I recommend Tech School. Others I still steer toward the military. I fight against a culture here that encourages the guys to go right to work and the girls to marry and make babies immediately. Some (One young lady from church and her husband come to mind) do OK and get their degrees/eventual jobs as well as marrying and making babies along the way, but it is so tough without supportive parents and extended family.

A sad testimony is that for the past 5 years, out of the 10 valedictorian/salutatorian kids, only 4 have gone on to college. The rest are married and making babies. They'll do OK but it just seem they have chosen such a difficult life for themselves from the get-go. This is one pattern of culture that this guy who loathes change wouldn't mind changing.

Yeah, I tried real hard to get my step-kids to college after high school; one didn't go, the other at least got a certificate from a community college. I hope someday they both go to a full four year college; but they have to be motivated.

The one that hasn't done any post-high-school training - I also tried to get her to think about joining something like the carpenter's trade -going for apprenticeship and vo-tech training; not everyone needs to go to a full college, and she's very good at working with wood and crafts with her hands. That hasn't appealed yet either.

But at least neither one has gone the married/pregnant route! It made me realize just how tough it is to get kids to go to college when their parents haven't been. (Their mom, who they lived with, never went to college and didn't think it was important.) And even with supportive parents, as you found out, it sometimes just doesn't happen...

[Mott the Hoople]

And yes, I know that my limited group doesn't indicate a national trend, but I'm just sayin'.

No, you're right. You need to take a marketable major and it's hard to go wrong with science and math.

There are other marketable skills that don't require a college pathway to sucess. I know quite a few guys in my age group in the skilled trades who make damned good money. Some make more than I do and I earn well above the median income but in my experience earning skilled status in a trade is harder than earning a underwater basket weaving degree too.

[tinfoil]

I don't think the title is accurate. It's not an automatic route to success, but it still opens doors that would otherwise be closed. It might hurt you if you're trying to take a job intended for the unskilled.

[Mott the Hoople]

I don't think the title is accurate. It's not an automatic route to success, but it still opens doors that would otherwise be closed. It might hurt you if you're trying to take a job intended for the unskilled.

Depends on what you study and where you go to school. Sure, a good well rounded liberal arts education at a quality accredited university prepares well round individuals. That is their mission statement. It is not to make you a marketable commodity. That is what the market and your own work ethic are for. Having said that, not all major courses of study are created equal and some better prepare young people to compete and learn in the market than others do. Conversely none of them mean shit if you don't have a strong work ethic. Though that's a non-sequitor as you're not going to complete a science or math curriculum at a quality school if you're lazy.

[/MSG/]

Depends on what you study and where you go to school. Sure, a good well rounded liberal arts education at a quality accredited university prepares well round individuals. That is their mission statement. It is not to make you a marketable commodity. That is what the market and your own work ethic are for. Having said that, not all major courses of study are created equal and some better prepare young people to compete and learn in the market than others do. Conversely none of them mean shit if you don't have a strong work ethic. Though that's a non-sequitor as you're not going to complete a science or math curriculum at a quality school if you're lazy.

I dunno....I'm pretty damn lazy and just got my transfer to MSU accepted.

Anyways, this is basically the last of supply and demand at work here. The supply of college grads has gone up with demand remaining the same, hence price paid for those degrees (in terms of wages) goes down. I'm not all that well versed on economics that don't involve manufacturing, but even I understand this concept.

[Mott the Hoople]

I dunno....I'm pretty damn lazy and just got my transfer to MSU accepted.

Anyways, this is basically the last of supply and demand at work here. The supply of college grads has gone up with demand remaining the same, hence price paid for those degrees (in terms of wages) goes down. I'm not all that well versed on economics that don't involve manufacturing, but even I understand this concept.

Yea but how many of those grads have sociology and art history degrees? Trust me, demand for those with education in science, math and technology continues to rise.

[/MSG/]

Yea but how many of those grads have sociology and art history degrees? Trust me, demand for those with education in science, math and technology continues to rise.

I know, I wqs speaking of degrees in general.