How Do Employers Look At Online Degrees?

Despite of whether going to college is worth it or not, recent college graduates have become more successful in their lives. Some people may think that attending college is a waste of time and money, while others feel that college gives them valuable skills in the real world. College will help the person gain the necessary work skills for his or her future job career. Moreover, the job that a person gets after college can outweigh the money and time the person spent in college. College graduates will be more favorable to have a better job than those who does not have a college degree. As our generation is rapidly changing, the work- force is getting tougher which means having a higher education is important in today’s world. Having a college degree is an obvious part of the candidate and is expected by the many employers. Nonetheless, going to college can also give students the opportunity network and develop personal connections among other students who are also interested in the career field.

Many young people think that obtaining a college degree is the best way—perhaps the only way—to get a good job anymore. So is it still possible to get a good job without one? According to Professor Blanche D. Blank, attaining a college degree doesn’t always guarantee success. In his published article “Degrees: Who Needs Them?”, he argues that American college is not teaching young adults the actual skills they need for the workforce, instead the education system is becoming a jumble of generalized credits that amount to a degree. College is becoming a mold for one to fit in the technological culture, rather than to release one to actively engage in the pursuit of knowledge. Blank begins building his credibility with personal experiences and

The system of higher education in America could be in trouble. Due to dramatic change in what society values, they could soon be under attack. In the two articles that I analyzed, these issues were discussed in further detail. The first article was titled, “The Future of College” and was written by Graeme Wood. Its purpose was to draw attention to a new approach at education. The second article, “The Troubled Future of Colleges and Universities”, written by Gary King and Maya Sen, focused on the obstacles that universities are facing and gave suggestions of ways to overcome them. Along with this, both articles, addressed what education may look like in the future. With the development of technology and information from new studies, many wonder what the outcome could be. Will lecture style classes remain? Could higher education convert to a completely online experience? What is the most effective teaching method? In the first article, Wood argues for a completely online education. Whereas, the other article believes that universities need to focus on the importance of research. However, students learn in different ways, therefore, today’s higher education institutes should offer a variety of instructional methods.

Because having a degree has become so common, employers now use it as a way to eliminate people who would not make good candidates for employment—even if a degree isn’t a totally accurate determinant of one’s talent or work skills. The mass availability of college education may actually “debase its intrinsic value” (Bankston, p. 338).

The degree is seen as a free (to the employer) screening tool to filter through the applicants. The employer sees the degree as a representation of the individual’s ability to learn as well as a level of perseverance desired in employees. Considering the social and economic pressures in today’s world, all individuals with the ability to attend college and achieve a degree should do so in order to better prepare themselves for a competitive job market.

One thing a college degree provides is a valuable job, right? Or maybe not. Due to the introduction of people analytics— a method of hiring which replaces human intuition and bias with computerized tests and database searches— employers are now able to look past someones origin of education. Employers are now realizing that a college degree is just a piece of paper and does not fully represent a persons intelligence or capabilities. If this is not convincing enough, take a look at some of the most successful people in the world; for example, Bill Gates, one of the wealthiest people in the world and a college dropout. The new people analytics method being applied in the workforce is happening thanks to programs like Knack, which give statistical analysis based off of several factors including, how a person solves problems and the sequence of their actions. In Don Peck’s article, “They’re Watching You at Work,” Peck argues, without

Cofounder and executive chairman of LinkedIn Reid Hoffman calls for the broadened acceptance of alternative routes to higher education. He states, “there are an expanding number of ways to acquire specific skills and knowledge faster and less expensively than one can manage through a traditional four-year degree program” (Hoffman 1). Siemens and similar manufacturers have kickstarted programs that use real life experience in factories and other entry level jobs to build advanced skills in recent high school graduates. The employees are given the opportunity to earn their way up within the company, eliminating the need for a diploma. Although these programs exist, the underlying issue is most employers’ outlook; to employers, a four year bachelor’s degree signals a multitude of positive attributes: commitment, proficiency in at least one subject area, and self-sufficiency. However, the completion of a training program demonstrates these same qualities and is a more fiscally responsible route to preparedness for a job. Furthermore, expendable courses taken to fulfill the mandatory amount of credit hours for graduation waste time and money. School administrations impose such standards to ensure a sizeable profit, and students in turn are being forced to hand over the majority of their savings for knowledge not relevant to their

The article brings to some interesting views on the futures of colleges and the experience that goes along with that first important step into adulthood. He brings some serious points to the argument. First, the traditional college experience versus an online college experience. Next, the quality of the online course information, as well as, having a tenured professor or an average non-degreed person teaching/monitoring a course. Then, he asks the question “Will employers take a person with an online degree just as serious as a traditional means degree?” Will they hold the same water so to speak? And finally, he weighs the pros and cons of the cost of

Companies are benefitting from their employees increased training and education. However, they are paying out higher wages for the same employees. Additionally, working adults are putting in longer hours after work to study. The students that cannot attend a traditional college or university are finding that online degree programs fit their needs and schedule better, which helps motivate them to complete the journey they set out on. These new programs are already being accepted by most employers, resulting in an increased number of online students.

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 real world. Finding a career after earning a college degree is challenging, and “it’s true that 2017 graduates are having a hard time finding jobs.”.(Callahan, paragraph 9) This came to light during a presidential debate, when a college student asked “How can you make it possible for me to be absolutely sure I can get a job with my degree?”, this kind of instability shows that college isn’t necessary for any kind of success.

Hiring competent workers with accredited online business degrees in Alabama is a big part of the state's campaign to make competitive employment available for its residents. Alabama is actively encouraging small business start-ups to apply for federal grants for business expansion, especially in high tech areas. Businesses of every size are also on the forefront through the Alabama Department of Commerce's "Made in Alabama" program which highlights industry and businesses that take Alabama's products and resources nationwide. Burgeoning industries on the cutting edge in the Cotton State include: Aerospace, automotive, agribusiness, bio-science, metals and logistics/transport industries. As a result, it's never been a better time to pursue accredited online business degrees in Alabama.

Carnevale, Dan. “Employers Still Prefer Traditional Degrees Over Online Learning, Study Finds.” The Chronicle of Higher Education 5

In today’s society, so many people are continuing their education beyond high school. We realize that in order to make a decent living, a degree is most likely a requirement. In some cases even a bachelor’s degree is not enough to qualify for many positions. Nevertheless, thanks to technology, we now have the option to learn online or in a traditional classroom setting. There are very few differences between the two, and students need to understand that as much time and energy will need to be devoted to the online courses as on a campus. “A 2010 meta-analysis and review of online-learning studies concluded that online learning was as good as or slightly more effective than traditional face-to-face instruction” (Mendenhall, 2011).

Over the past few years there has been a significant increase in the number of students enrolled in online graduate programs. Before online graduate programs existed, an undergraduate student could only receive a graduate degree if they physically attended a university. However, with the improvements in technology, students can now receive a graduate degree from their home by simply attending lectures online, and submitting their work through email to the professor. Although there are conflicting ideas about whether or not a student can retain the same amount of information from an online program as opposed to attending a graduate school, research shows that online graduate programs are equally as effective as