Brad Plumer Analysis

In today’s society, a college degree has become a requirement in order to obtain a well occupied profession. Prior to the recession, which the study defines as the period between December 2007 and June 2009, bachelor's graduates were already more likely to be employed than were associate degree holders, who were more likely to be employed than those without any postsecondary degree. After the recession, employment of college graduates dropped 7 percent, while associate degree holders experienced an 11 percent drop, and employment of high school graduates fell 16 percent. The percent of people excluded from the workforce, meaning they were seeking work but couldn’t find it, rose 31 percent for college graduates, 37 percent for high school graduates, and 50 percent for associate degree graduates, though associate degree holders were still excluded at a lower rate than high school graduates (Tilsley, 2013).

Why Focusing Too Narrowly In College Could Backfire by Peter Cappelli was very detailed about the author’s points in today’s society. I enjoyed reading this passage, because I agree with the author that there are not enough guaranteed jobs out there for students after they graduate. I have been experiencing this first hand because I will be graduating in May, and the job field is tough and very competitive. The author’s thesis in the passage is clear, “The economy is still shaky, and many graduating students are unable to find jobs that pay well, if they can find jobs at all.” I believe that professors need to tell their students more and prepare them more that the economy is very unstable at all times, and no job is ever promised or promised

Being in college has taught me that what you majored in does not matter when it comes to finding a career, as long as you have the experience you will be fine. I tend to question myself all the time as to “Why am I attending college when most employers probably would not care about my Bachelors or Associates Degree.” My doubtfulness of college brought me to come across the article “No, It Doesn't Matter What You Majored In”, by Carlo Rotella. Carlo Rotella is a director of the Americans Studies Program and the author of several books. The author believes that “Prospective employers frequently don’t really care what you majored in” Page 468.

There have been a study that most jobs in future won’t require a college degree According to the Times(, eight out of the ten job categories that will add the most employees during the next decade including home-health aide, customer-service representative, and store clerk—can be performed by someone without a college degree. It’s true that this small jobs don’t require a college degree but if we see ourselves and our history we have been developing too fast and in that development life got harder, and requirements for opportunity increased. The world is changing, the job that once required no education are now demanding GED or high school diploma and need not to be statistics that soon that requirement would change to college diploma as the world is advancing at a fast phase that it never did. It was 6 to 7 years ago when need a of computer skill wasn’t even a question and now whole world is

Colleges are struggling to adapt to society’s changing requirements for adults entering the work force. John Fawell laments this change and states that humans intrinsically desire to learn more for the purpose of knowing more. However, the focus has shifted away from this and has become more career-oriented. This shift is not well supported in the current college system. The education system is aware of this change and some have modified their programs, but they are too narrow and a broad college education is lost. Even though it has become almost mandatory in society, a college degree does not prepare students for a real-world work environment and is not necessary for most occupations. Many, such as lawyers or doctors, do require further education and a system that instructs them while also training the majority of the workforce would be an improvement.

A job requires skill and knowledge. Murray says, “ The increase in wealth in American society has increased the demand for all sorts of craftsmanship… work of specialized skills in stonework, masonry, glazing, painting, cabin making, machining, landscaping, and a dozen other crafts” (Murray 236). Murray says that college will not provide the skill set for these jobs. College is where. Murray wants these type of people with low academic ability to shoot for one job and not move from that occupation or move up the ladder. Sanford J. Ungar in “The New Liberal Arts” makes a counter argument saying “It is far wiser for students to prepare for change and the multiple careers they are likely to have than to search for a single job track that might one day become a dead end ” (Ungar 191). During the economic recession, many workers in the manufacturing industry were laid off without a guarantee that they would be rehired in the future or that their positions would still be available. Unfortunately some of these jobs will never come back because the positions have been modernized. Non-stop robotic arms have replaced humans in the assembly line, which have financially benefited the companies. The advancement in technology has brought the world to a state where skilled labor jobs are not needed as much as others such as jobs in computer information systems or computer networking. Ungar brings up Geoffery Grain, president of the Hart Research who says that the responsibility of higher education today is to prepare people “ for jobs that do not yet exist” (Ungar 191). Higher education will always be beneficial now or in the future, it will never be a

Everyone who decides to enroll in college must, at some point, think about what area they want to major in. There are many things that students consider when choosing a major. Some make their decision based on what they think can make them the most money once they begin their lives in the work force. However, many students believe that if you choose a major that interests you and challenges you then you can use those skills that can help you in any career. (R. Landrum & S. Davis, 2014) Let’s face it. Employers know that when they hire someone straight out of college they are not immediately going to know

As more and more students graduate, they begin to look for work; hoping for a job capable of paying off their debts and making their chosen degree worthwhile. In America, we are running into the problem of a lack of jobs, requiring a degree or not. From service-jobs to white-collar jobs, "...more than 14 million jobs are vulnerable to being outsources offshore." (Roberts).College graduates that are native to America are struggling to find work due to the outsourcing of jobs, in turn damaging our economy.

In her article “Not all College Majors Are Created Equal”, Singletary states that engineering major with relevant internship within the innovation industry results in higher chances of attracting a good job. Unemployment is higher among high school dropouts compared to 22.9%, which represents the rate of unemployment among post-secondary graduates. Therefore, rates of employment among college degree holders are much higher than the chances a high school diploma can fill at workplace because of the differences in skills.

Although the future of higher education may seem trivial, it is in fact crucial in terms of today’s concern over unemployment. With the way the job force has changed due to the fall of the economy, we can no longer rely on our trade or jobs that were lucrative and provided enough income for our families in the past. As it has been proven at Evergreen State College, “despite the university’s reputation as a countercultural bastion, 82 percent of its graduates found full-time employment within a year, and 93 percent of those who applied got into graduate schools” (188). This idea alone proves the fact that one has a larger change of attaining a job, if one has a college education. The notion of having a better likelihood of obtaining a job, or broadening my options, puts my mind at ease about unemployment.

The report of Robert Reich: “Why the Rich are getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer,” is an eye opener and a warning for society regarding unemployment that it will be facing and is currently facing due to a lack of technology and education. It clearly articulates that the jobs of routine producers and in-person servers have vanished totally as modern techniques have replaced them. The author has stated that the only people whose jobs are on the rise are symbol analysts. As stated in the report, symbol analysts are the real problem solvers. Their skills are highly in demand worldwide because they are the ones who first analyze the problem and then solve it. The Hart Report, on the other hand, also states the same problem of unemployment

not exist. Some of the worst majors in terms of the highest percentage of people who become underemployed are also some of the most popular ones like psychology, sociology, and criminal justice, making the situation worse. All three of these majors have underemployment levels of over 50 percent (PayScale). Adding to the problem is the fact that foreign exchange students account for 60 percent of math, science, and engineering degrees (Ron Wolff, News Herald). American students need to be more educated about the risks associated with majors that are undervalued by employers, especially because most individuals must make their choice of major at such a young age like 18 or 19.

In Robert E. Sullivan, Jr.’s “Greatly Reduced Expectations”, Sullivan discusses the lack of employment available to college graduates. Throughout the essay, testimonials are given by four college graduates who expected more opportunity when they graduated with a four year degree. I sympathize with these men and women who are working in jobs that do promote their ability.

Most expect that by attending college and graduating they will be able to find a good paying career with benefits in a field that will interest them. It seems that from high school it is drilled into our heads that we must attend college to be successful in life and contribute to our society. However, college graduates often find themselves working in a field that is unrelated to their degree. This could be due to how many people are also trying to apply for jobs in that specific field, or it could be that that job does not provide them with enough money to live off. The most important thing that students really need to ask themselves before they attend college is, “is a college degree really enough in today’s world to get a good career

“Too many students aren’t sure what job they could get after four, five, or even six years of studying a certain major and racking up education loans”(255). Singletary is given the fact that numerous students are confused on their own majors even though they have studied for years. And parts of the students even start realizing their majors might be in a hopeless employment situation after they graduate from that particular field. Therefore, before choosing a field of study, it is necessarily worthwhile for students and parents to check out the majors whether in the highest or the lowest unemployment. According to new statistics on unemployment for recent college graduates by The Huffington Post this June, majoring in social science and creative fields, such as anthropology, film, fine art, etc. have earned the top three of the unemployment rate. In contrast, engineering technologies, math, and computer science remain at the top of the employment chart. Alex Tabarrok mentions the harsh unemployment rate in his article, “…More than half of all humanities graduates end up in jobs that don’t require college degrees…”(250). The society has never shown mercy to students who are unlikely to be employed with the majors they have. Graduating without employment must be one of the biggest nightmares for most students; however, selecting an in demand major can surely decrease the chances of being