Political economy is defined by how political policies and economic processes work together to influence society. It encompasses the notion that political systems influence economic systems and vice-versa. Similarly, in America today, it is apparent that the economy heavily effects the education system. Evidently, the American education system also impacts the American economy. There is a complex relationship involving interaction between educational policy and the political economy, which includes concepts such as: race, class, democracy, and economics. Educational policy is embedded in larger social, economic, and political contexts which make up the modern political economy. American universities were poised to welcome millions of young adults who headed off to institutions for higher learning this fall. It is engrained in today’s society that a college degree is imperative to students preparing to enter the American work force. However, despite earning a college degree “83 percent of college seniors graduated without a job this spring” (is your student prepared for life?). It is an alarming reality for college graduates, the fact that upon graduating, positions are often part time, low wage, or unrelated to their college degree or career interests. In his article, Is Your Student Prepared for Life? Ben Carpenter suggests that in order to be certain that college students are prepared for life post- graduation: “colleges need to create, and require for graduation, a
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
Supporters of getting a college degree often point to the statistics that college graduates earn more than their high school educated peers over a lifetime. Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau reports that since 1977, “Adults with bachelor's degrees in the late 1970s earned 55 percent more than adults who had not advanced beyond high school. That gap grew to 75 percent by 1990 -- and is now at 85 percent.” A gap of an 85% pay difference is a huge figure and a clear reason why college is a great option for some people. But there are problems with that figure because when the number of college graduates who are either unemployed or underemployed is taken into account it changes the value of the statistic. In an article by Businessweek’s Richard Vedder we get statistics to counter that argument. He tells of how the number of new college graduates far exceeds job growth in technical, managerial, and professional jobs where graduates traditionally have searched for employment. As a consequence, we have underemployed college graduates doing jobs historically performed by those with just a highschool education. He says we have “more than 100,000 janitors with
In society today, a college education is often seen as a “the next step” in a young adult’s life. Whether they actually know what they would like to earn a degree in, they feel the need to continue their education as almost everyone around them is pursuing post-secondary education of some sort. It is often argued that a college education is not necessary to get ahead because of the manufacture based workforce that is up and coming in America, however, there are many benefits to having a post-secondary education such as a higher rate of pay and more job opportunities.
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
In the essay “College Value Goes Deeper Than the Degree” author Eric Hoover claims a college education is important to one 's well-being so they can get a job and be productive in other parts of life. Promoters of higher education have long emphasized how beneficial college’s value and its purpose. Many believe the notion that colleges teach students are life skills to apply anywhere, they also work hard to earn a degree and learn specific marketable skills which they can use to get a good job. Though obtaining a college education and a degree is helpful in countless of ways, it is not necessary to pursue a college degree in world where a college degree is seen different now, people without turn out fine, the growing average of debt that students who attend college have to pay off and people without a degree can obtain many jobs that do not require college degrees.
“What’s the key to success in the United States?”(Steinberg,2010), author Jacques Steinberg starts off his article “Plan B: Skip College” with a powerful question that has been asked by many Americans. Majority of Americans first thoughts would be higher education. The ideology that obtaining a degree is the best and sometimes only way to be successful in the American economy. This has been instilled in numerous children growing up. Steinberg states “perhaps no more than half of who began a four-year bachelor's degree program in the fall of 2006 will get that degree within six years according to the department of education”(Steinberg,2010). Students who tend to not excel in high school often take longer, or at times finish a higher education at all. These
Recent high school students are debating whether to or not attend college, should consider the benefits of attaining a college degree. For many low or middle income students, this a route to gain opportunities to improve their economic circumstances. An article, “Pathways to Prosperity,” states in 2008, workers with bachelor's degree make about 65 percent higher than high school graduates and workers with associate's degree make about 73 percent more than high school dropouts.. This is evidence obtaining a college degree can be an opportunity to have earnings higher and significantly increase one's income.
College graduates, on average, make a whopping one million dollars more in lifetime earnings than those with a high school diploma. Those with a college degree now make $17,500 more per year than those without — a wage gap that's doubled in recent decades. Those without a degree are four times more likely to be unemployed.One of the biggest and most important reasons for anyone to attend college is the upper hand it gives with regards to jobs and career. A college graduate has a higher chance of landing a job when compared to an individual with a high school qualification. Further, a college graduate also has better options and opportunities to progress in their
Attending college has become the societal and educational norm in this day and age. We high school students feel a tremendous pressure to work for a college degree in order to be successful. College is a very important stepping stone between childhood and an entrance into the workforce. While many studies indicate that obtaining a college degree leads to higher wage jobs, more recent studies disagree. This is extremely concerning as a prospective college student in the dawn of my application process. Not only is it terrifying to think that a well-earned college degree is unnecessary for a future job, but it is incredibly frustrating. After years of hard work just to simply get into college, it might lead
Many students are leaving college with uncertainties about their career and wondering if their chances of becoming successful are being taking away from them by politicians and rising debt. Concerns for the future is what’s making democrat candidate Bernie Sanders so popular amongst many millennials voters, because he cares about how helping students gain the life they want and need after college. By raising awareness on lowering students’ debt, and doing things the untraditional way, by holding big business accountable for their actions, millennials see Bernie Sanders as a way to stand up for their future. Future students and students that are entering the work force are worried about their mobility and wondering if higher education is the way to gaining a good job or career. The issues that are
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 United States is a unique place in our world today and one of the remaining true capitalistic countries. Generation after generation in the fifty states have been spoon-fed the idea of the American dream being the main goal to strive for in life. College has become more popular in the past few decades than ever before with more people realizing that it’s nessesary to get a head start on the rest of the field and to begin the journey to the American dream. With a little more than one-quarter of high school
In the competitive world today, having a college degree might not benefit a student as much as before, thus opening up numerous questions concerning its necessity. Not only is the number of students desperately trying to enroll in college increasing, but the tuition shoots up as well. However, will college enrollment necessarily be enough to increase your chances of attaining job security? The answer is hotly debated amongst adults and students alike, which opens up the second option for students, that is, joining the work force. Although this option is generally shunned by the new generation, the tough economy and slow restoration makes it quite a desirable choice at the moment. Joining the work force is a hard decision to make as it
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