Posted on 05/30/2016 9:19:41 AM PDT by Lorianne
We dont send our young into the wilderness for a vision quest as a rite of passage. There are few things in modern society that signify a transition into adulthood. Going to college is one of them. And in debt addicted America, it is no surprise that for many, college debt is the first debt they will take on. Getting a college education is supposed to give someone a well rounded view of the world and a potential skill set. Some argue that college is not about vocational training. That to some degree is true but when students are going into $50,000 or $100,000 of student debt, then what is this modern day life quest really teaching and why is the price tag so incredibly high? As college graduation season comes into full bloom, many are left with the prospect of having no job lined up. It is also startling to see how many recent college graduates are working in jobs that really dont require a college degree (so clearly the vocational piece doesnt matter here).
The chronically underemployed college graduate
There are over 5,300 colleges and universities across this country from Harvard to beauty schools. The market is enormous and students now carry $1.3 trillion in debt, the biggest debt sector only behind mortgage debt.
Many recent college graduates are severely underemployed and this is for the lucky group that actually finds work:
Nearly 50 percent of recent college graduates are working in jobs where a college education isnt typically required. So that life quest was indeed an expensive one, more so than taking drugs and roaming around in the forest. And the bills are coming due since student loans normally start being sent to graduates six months after graduation.
The underemployment rate is troubling because as the cost of a college education soars beyond the typical inflation rate, the yield in the marketplace isnt very observable. College tuition is up 145% since 2000:
[snip]
At nice restaurants you can make a very nice living if you are really good. Certainly nothing to be ashamed of.
Voice of experience and I agree completely. It also dovetails nicely with something I've believed for a long while: the degree is merely the piece of paper that keeps the door open. After that, it's the intangibles that some just can't manage to learn: showing up, engaging in the work, don't be a jerk, work effectively in a team setting, seize learning opportunities. These are sometimes called "soft skills" but I call them "employability skills". It's been my observation that these are skills missing among many in their 20s & 30s that allow unemployed people in their 50s and 60s to grab the jobs.
As a 61-year-old manufacturing consultant, I am asked to be a networking contact for lots of experienced job-seekers in my age group so I'm always encouraged by seeing this group succeed in gaining new employment. Most employers would probably like to go younger in getting new employees but have been burned so the door remains open for the senior set.
Sure you can - for the government.
When I attended college I was taught by American professors.
Today, many students complain that their teachers are foreign graduate students who speak poor English.
The kid next door might benefit from hearing from you exactly what you just wrote. he might take advice from someone other than his parents. If something doesn’t change to force him out of his stupor he will end up committing suicide. No one can live very long without purpose.
They want to hire someone to solve a problem they have today, and when the problem is solved they let the person go.
Spot on.
One of my daughters is at community college, and I wish we would have encouraged my son with that route.
My son had excellent grades and a high ACT and seemed responsible in high school.
My daughter had okay grades and a low SAT. She said she wasn’t ready for college.
He’s struggled with classes and she has a 4.0.
My other daughter is doing well too. She got a great scholarship and has a 4.0. She didn’t know what to major in so she took classes to help her figure that out and she went to the career center her first week of school. She’s had several jobs that she’s found herself.
My son is only 21, so he has time to grow up. His degree is in economics with a minor in business. We just can’t enable him any more. No more money!
That’s what they do in Europe.
When the libs say “they have free college in Europe” what they neglect to mention is that there are very high standards for entrance and once you are in you have to keep up academic standards or you are out ... so yes, free college to those who meet rigorous entrance exams and keep up academic standards. That’s not the same as “free college for everyone” that they are spouting about.
I would have no problem with the European model whatsoever. However, to the left that would not be ‘fair’.
That’s the way it was in chemical engineering at Texas A&M back in the early 80s. The foreign teachers made a hard major even more difficult.
I switched my major to computer science and it was mostly taught by Americans. It was a much easier major.
Now, most of the CS professors are foreign.
I tell people that if they are really wanting to work, starting at Mickey D’s at the fry station is a start. Show initiative, work hard, show up early, KEEP THE PANTS PULLED UP, be polite and customer service oriented and that can be flipped into an assistant manager position.
Work hard at that following the same rules and flip it into a store manager.
Work hard at that and flip it into a multi-store district manager and so on.
I know people who have done it, and I know people who had the work ethic, but not the desire. She’s in her mid-40’s making $16 per hour. Smart, but unwilling to put in the work to advance.
The root problem is the federal grant and loan system.
Like most problems, this on was created by Uncle Sam.
Ethiopian Transgendered Studies.
My first job, in 1978, was as a Drafter for Edwards Labs, making artificial heart valves. I had no Degree but had been to college, it was free in California. At that time Drafting was done with pencil, paper and eraser. Fast forward, I am now a CAD Engineer, reverse Engineering tools for the Semi-Conductor industry. We sell to Micron, Intel, RFMD,..I am 63, have a record, hehheh but am employed because of my skill set and my experience. I have been back to College many times in the past, mostly to be current on the latest Technology. I make more than I ever have, company pays for my phone, UNLIMITED PTO. Two jobs ago I worked on Lawrence Livermore Labs’ National Ignition Facility. Life is good.
Instant Unemployment Degrees have been a problem since the 1970’s.
People with these IUD’s often have zero personal skills, zero job skills, and zero work experience in their 22+ years of life, required for a good paycheck.
The final nail in their unemployment coffin, often is a negative attitude and the world owes me a living attitude which comes across if they get a job interview.
It protects those making the hiring decisions. If a hire turns out to be a complete doofus -- as in, "How could I know he (she) was a complete moron? He (she) went to Harvard?"
The price tag on the college isn't the whole story. Many of the elite colleges offer generous financial aid (MIT has a $21,816 average annual net price according to College Scorecard). Like with everything, the asking price isn't the entire story.
At about the same cost as a new Honda Accord it's not a bad investment. (Cost of 2 years community college + 2 years State U in my state. There are always places for Juniors and Seniors because the dropout rate is so high)
At $250K in loans for a degree in a useless field that qualifies the graduate mainly to be a Starbucks barista -- it's not a very wise investment.
There is actually one useful thing that the Obama administration has done in 7 years. You can now look up how much graduates of schools earn after graduation. https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
ie. the average Harvard grad makes $87,200 10 years after graduation. (I don't know how that compares with the average Trump U. graduate 10 years after graduation.)
That’s so true. We’re renting our house to a couple of millennials. One just got a new job at an artisan chocolate/ice cream place. She said her boss never stops thanking her for showing up to work.
I have a degree, but I don’t work in the field that my degree is in. By choice, and I am definitely NOT complaining. I absolutely love my career, and wouldn’t trade it for my original choice for anything.
I do not object to having foreign professors, but they all should be required to speak proper English. Our colleges have become monetary black holes. Our students do not get what they pay for in tuition.
I do not object to having foreign professors, but they all should be required to speak proper English. Our colleges have become monetary black holes. Our students do not get what they pay for in tuition.
Mostly LIBERAL Arts..
Yep, a dad I know went to his son’s graduation at MSU and wondered how all those non-salable degrees were going to be paid for.
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