Well, actually, there was a good article in the WSJ today saying that the college degree requirement discriminates against a lot of people. There are many people who could do the job in question, but whether they’re black or white or purple, they won’t apply for a job where a degree is required because they don’t have one.
A college degree now seems to give you and your employer absolutely nothing in terms of value. Go back to requiring a high school degree or equivalent (GED, which just shows you know the basic stuff) and forget the useless, meaningless college indoctrination degree. Or just have a basic skills test and an interview. Do on the job training, respect private initiative, etc.
This was how many of our most creative people learned their trade or even created their industry. I think it was Steve Jobs who didn’t even get a (symbolic) BA until he was already a billionaire.
The problem is that Supreme Court ruling on Griggs vs Duke light & Power. Because of that its easier & safer for corporations to just require the degree even though its superfluous to the job.
If I were hiring a young nuclear physicists or a chemical engineer, I would be interested in their academic background; what their doctoral dissertations concerned and referenced.