There’s an interesting article in New York Times, “Plan B: Skip College.” As the title suggests, the argument is being made here that maybe it’s best if a lot of students skipped a four-year degree for trade school and/or the world of work. I don’t completely disagree with it, but I don’t agree with it either.
First off, the argument they make is that a lot of the jobs with the fastest projected growth rates really don’t need a college degree. Here’s a quote about that:
College degrees are simply not necessary for many jobs. Of the 30 jobs projected to grow at the fastest rate over the next decade in the United States, only seven typically require a bachelor’s degree, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Among the top 10 growing job categories, two require college degrees: accounting (a bachelor’s) and postsecondary teachers (a doctorate). But this growth is expected to be dwarfed by the need for registered nurses, home health aides, customer service representatives and store clerks. None of those jobs require a bachelor’s degree.
As an aside, in order to believe that the demand for “postsecondary teachers” (e.g., professors) is rising, you have to ignore an enormous amount of data that suggests that the number of full-time and tenure-track (or something like tenure) postsecondary teachers has been steadily declining for 30 years. But that’s another story.
But beyond that, let’s think about these “in demand jobs” a bit:
- I’d dispute the lack of need for a college degree among registered nurses– EMU and lots of other places have rather vibrant undergrad programs that are designed to prepare students to be registered nurses.
- The rest of the jobs listed here– home health aides, customer service representatives and store clerks– are not exactly high-paying positions that one can make into “a career.” I mean, you might be able to work as a customer service rep in a call center someplace with nothing but a high school diploma, though I suspect that even those places would prefer a college degree or at least some college experience. But if you ever want to move beyond the entry-level call center rep into management or something, you’re going to need a college degree.
Second, this article doesn’t really address directly one of the main purposes of college degree for employers nowadays, and that is of a certain marking of social class and someone who has achieved a certain level of maturity and professionalism. The article puts it like this:
Professor Lerman, the American University economist, said some high school graduates would be better served by being taught how to behave and communicate in the workplace.
Such skills are ranked among the most desired — even ahead of educational attainment — in many surveys of employers. In one 2008 survey of more than 2,000 businesses in Washington State, employers said entry-level workers appeared to be most deficient in being able to “solve problems and make decisions,” “resolve conflict and negotiate,” “cooperate with others” and “listen actively.”
I think what it boils down to for a lot of employers nowadays is they know that the best way to get employees that have these skills is to hire folks who have a combination of a little work experience, a little “life wisdom,” and as much education as possible, ideally at least a BA or BS. Or another way of putting it: most young people are not coming out of high school with this skill set.
And finally, this article makes absolutely no mention of the idea that education might be a “good thing” in and of itself: that is, it is good to “get an education” beyond high school because it makes us better people. Instead, it’s all about earning potential, jobs, money, money, and money. I realize that attending college– even a cheap reasonably priced one like EMU– is an expensive proposition that requires some kind of pay-off in the form of better career and job prospects. But it ain’t all money, people.
