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A Degree of Insignificance (College Degrees getting to be useless nowadays)
WorldnetDaily ^ | 12/29/2007 | Phyllis Schlafly

Posted on 12/29/2007 4:25:58 PM PST by SeekAndFind

.S. News & World Report, which has made a name for itself by ranking and announcing the best colleges every year, is now ranking and listing the best careers for young people. A comparison of the latest lists shows a shocking disconnect and makes for dispiriting holiday reading.

While the price of a college education has skyrocketed far faster than inflation, many careers for which colleges prepare their graduates are disappearing. U.S. News' Best Careers guide concludes, "college grads might want to consider blue-collar careers" because bachelor's degree holders "are having trouble finding jobs that require college-graduate skills."

Incredibly, U.S. News is telling college graduates to look for jobs that do not require a college diploma. Among the 31 best opportunities for 2008 are the careers of firefighter, hairstylist, cosmetologist, locksmith and security-system technician.

Where did the higher-skill jobs go? Both large and small companies are "quietly increasing off-shoring efforts."

Ten years ago, we were told we really didn't need manufacturing because it can be done more cheaply elsewhere, that auto workers and others should move to information-age jobs. But now the information jobs are moving offshore, too, as well as marketing research and even many varieties of innovation.

The flight overseas includes professional as well as low-wage jobs, with engineering jobs offshored to India and China. Thousands of bright Asian engineers are willing to work for a fraction of U.S. wages, which is why Boeing just signed a 10-year, $1 billion-a-year deal with a government-run company in India.

Society has been telling high school students that college is the ticket to get a life, and politicians are pandering to parents' desire for their children to be better educated and so have a higher standard of living.

(Excerpt) Read more at worldnetdaily.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: ba; bs; careers; college; degree; highereducation; insignificant; jobs; ma; ms; outsourcing
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To: wayoverthehill
Sometimes it says that the person didn’t have rich parents to pay for him to lay around for 4-5 years.

Obviously you haven't spent any time in a physical science, mathematics, or engineering program. Nobody who graduates with such a degree "lays around" for four years.

My stepson has a degree in History from a well-known university... my husband spent $50K just so his kid could say he had a degree. A stupid waste of money in that case.

If he "lay around" for four years, and your husband paid the bill after the first semester, that was the problem. I do share what I think is your view - that far too many people wander aimlessly in college, which is a very expensive place to "find yourself." Such a person should work to support themselves until they develop the conviction and drive to relentlessly pursue excellence in whatever they see as their future field of endeavor.

161 posted on 12/29/2007 8:42:06 PM PST by RochesterFan
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To: RochesterFan

There are some fields where a degree is an absolute necessity. I’m not knocking all degrees. But yes, there are far too many kids who are in college just to avoid having to get a job for 4 more years. Believe me, hubby and I went round and round about the money he spent on his kid but unfortunately, it took him a while to realize that I was right.


162 posted on 12/29/2007 8:47:48 PM PST by wayoverthehill
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To: SoftballMominVA

$500k? Do you mean $50k? I mean, even the most expensive colleges still don’t cost much more than $200k total.


163 posted on 12/29/2007 8:50:42 PM PST by Young Scholar
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To: Conservativegreatgrandma
Is the degree from Rose Hulman worth that much more than the degree from Iowa State?

Absolutely, no questions asked.

164 posted on 12/29/2007 8:51:31 PM PST by AndyJackson
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To: sheana
Prospective employers may be impressed with your degree. It shows that you were willing to work hard to get it.

Unless the employer somehow stumbled across this thread and saw what a whiner and conspiracy theorist she is.

165 posted on 12/29/2007 8:51:58 PM PST by Minn (Here is a realistic picture of the prophet: ----> ([: {()
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To: wayoverthehill

You are right...I might be missing a find. However, with the amount of resumes, we need to use some kind of basic sorting parameters. At the level we are looking for, (journeyman vice lower level) the lack of a degree is by choice. Its a bad choice.


166 posted on 12/29/2007 8:55:43 PM PST by Starwolf
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To: bert

Not completely. A liberal arts degree can be good preparation for law school, and many liberal arts majors at top schools can get jobs in investment banking and consulting, where they care less about learned skills than general thinking and communication skills.


167 posted on 12/29/2007 8:56:01 PM PST by Young Scholar
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To: ottbmare

Nope, but what you say is certainly true for people paying full tuition at lower-ranked law schools (especially if they have college debt as well). I’m at a school where I can walk into a firm job if I want it, and since I went to a lower-ranked college with some scholarships I don’t have any college debt.

It’s true that many people in law school probably shouldn’t have gone, and even in my position I’m still spending three years and $100k where I could have been earning money if I’d gotten a job instead. But financially I’ll be fine if I can get used to the 70-hour weeks.


168 posted on 12/29/2007 9:27:06 PM PST by Young Scholar
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To: EDINVA

Don’t forget the other option:

“What do you call the person who graduates last in his law school class?

...

“Your honor.”


169 posted on 12/29/2007 9:32:56 PM PST by Young Scholar
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To: GinaLolaB
GinaLolaB said: "They [the Globalists] are maximizing profits for the shareholders. "

Really? I had no idea. And here I wasted all my retirement money buying stocks.

I thought that all these companies were dedicated to reducing greenhouse gases, hiring affirmative action candidates, and reducing poverty in third-world countries.

Are you sure that your degree is in ACCOUNTING? What possible use for accounting could the average company have if not for the purpose of maximizing profits?

170 posted on 12/29/2007 9:33:22 PM PST by William Tell (RKBA for California (rkba.members.sonic.net) - Volunteer by contacting Dave at rkba@sonic.net)
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To: GinaLolaB

If you are still without a job you should be able to get a deferment from your Student Loan payments..Have you talked to the lending institution about this ?..There used to be several kinds of deferments available...

As for not being able to find a job with a Masters in Accounting i am shocked..Always thought that was like a golden Diploma...what happened to the accounting field ?...


171 posted on 12/29/2007 9:35:13 PM PST by billmor (MSMDS= .Main Stream Media Derangement Syndrome. .causes extreme stupidity)
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To: RochesterFan
Image hosted by Photobucket.com i agree with you, but... you have a better chance of getting a job of some import than somebody with a lets say a degree in Philosophy or Womens Studies or Black Studies or french or etc.

these people litter the mall kiosks and shops selling everything from earrings and candy to jockstraps and oldnavy.

172 posted on 12/29/2007 10:01:48 PM PST by Chode (American Hedonist ©®)
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To: RochesterFan
Image hosted by Photobucket.com i agree with you, but... you have a better chance of getting a job of some import than somebody with a lets say a degree in Philosophy or Womens Studies or Black Studies or french or etc.

these people litter the mall kiosks and shops selling everything from earrings and candy to jockstraps and oldnavy.

173 posted on 12/29/2007 10:04:41 PM PST by Chode (American Hedonist ©®)
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To: SeekAndFind
The jobs that go to China are the ones we don't even want to do (would you like a job that asks you to assemble toys ? ).

Nope. Sure happy my college years was in the late fifties after 3 years of Korea. Worked hard for my education and got almost no sleep.

174 posted on 12/29/2007 10:20:40 PM PST by Logical me (Oh, well!!!)
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To: stuartcr

Articles like this really boil my grits.

Not everyone just wants to earn a paycheck. Sheesh.


175 posted on 12/29/2007 10:26:40 PM PST by Constantine XIII
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To: SeekAndFind

My degree in Psychology was wasted since I didn’t further my education after graduation. I ended up in a business that virtually no education is required (and it’s obvious!) Many employers also claim a degree is required so many won’t even apply or they won’t get slapped with any lawsuits.


176 posted on 12/29/2007 10:38:33 PM PST by peggybac (Tolerance is the virtue of believing in nothing)
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To: GinaLolaB

So take a stop loss job and pay your bills.


177 posted on 12/29/2007 10:38:44 PM PST by Mygirlsmom (Realtiy check: Fred is the only VIABLE conservative in this race.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Education degrees are not certificates of attendance. The anti-teacher attitude in this forum astounds me.


178 posted on 12/29/2007 10:40:58 PM PST by SALChamps03
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To: SeekAndFind

Great. We get to see our daughter off to college next fall.

Money, meet rat hole.


179 posted on 12/29/2007 10:52:55 PM PST by Darnright
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To: GinaLolaB
"I think George Bush eliminated the accounting jobs and outsourced them to India."

-----

Yes, I remember that.

It was Executive Order #32. He signed it early in his administration - in 2002, I believe.

"Executive Order: Outsourcing of Accounting Jobs"

"By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to degrade the national economy, it is hereby ordered that all accounting jobs be outsourced to India, effective immediately.

It is further ordered that institutions granting degrees in accounting be paid directly for any student loans taken out by accounting students, and that only the suckiest teachers be allowed to teach accounting."

Looking back, that was probably a mistake.

Hank

180 posted on 12/29/2007 11:19:19 PM PST by County Agent Hank Kimball (Well, really just plain Hank Kimball. Well, not "just plain" Hank Kimball, just Hank Kimball....)
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