Assignment 3: Today’s Bachelor Degrees are a Minimum Critical Thinking Henry Simoni-Wastila December 16, 2012 The job market and educational institutions are advancing, and outlooks towards the bachelor’s degree are unequivocally showing signs of change. While various establishments are particularly enticed by experience, dexterities, and attitude, other establishments unquestionably require postsecondary education from the very beginning. As the number of individuals obtaining a bachelor’s degree skyrockets, the degree becomes more commonplace (Lawrence, 2012). This phenomenon has prompted employers to slap a “Degree Required or Degree Preferred” disclaimer in their job descriptions. Logically, one would have to pose the question “Are today’s bachelor’s degrees a minimum, like high school degrees were thirty years ago?” Arguments can be made from both sides, but research is necessary to render a sound conclusion. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, an individual with a bachelor 's degree will earn practically double in salary as opposed to a person with a high school diploma over the course of their career. When deductive reasoning leads one to ask the question why, three primary reasons tend to surface. The first reason is the fact that bachelor 's degree holders receive higher starting salaries. Secondly, bachelor 's degree holders have an increased probability of earning potential, which includes but is not limited to raises and promotions.
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).
To start his argument, Murray points out that the work force is encouraging people to go to college. He even goes so far as to say “employers do not even interview applicants who do not hold a BA” (Murray 345). Some even say that a bachelor’s degree is “the credential for success in the world of work” (Wonacott n.p.). Murray believes that as a result of employers requiring a BA, students think of the degree as an “admission ticket” to a good job (Murray 346). Because of the increase in college graduates and the lack of growth in jobs requiring a bachelor’s degree “the job market will be less favorable to college
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
A look back at the institution of education over the past 20 years will reveal that once upon a time a bachelor’s degree was long since considered the marker of ultimate success, the highest level of achievement that one could make in their lives. In those days, if for some reason you failed to march across the stage on graduation day after an epic, four-year stretch of high tuition, long nights studying, and unrelenting professors that found great joy in riding your back, then you had indeed failed at life.
Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill report that bachelor’s degree holders make on average around 10% more than those with high school diplomas. They also write that a college education improve one’s standard of living. Gaining a bachelor’s degree is not accomplishable by everyone due to different reasons, so only a select few will be able to receive these benefits, given colleges’ selectivity.
As the competition to get a decent job is increasing, it is close to impossible to obtain a high paying job without at least a bachelor's degree. Many jobs that only used to want their workers to have a high school diploma now require some college education due to their extremely complicated nature.
“By 2020, 65 percent of the jobs in the United States will require at least one post-secondary education Community colleges serve close to half of all American students, enrolling 10 million students each year, but just under 20 percent earn an associate’s degree within three years.”(Georgetown recovery: job growth and education requirements through 2020) In contrast to the 20th century, a high school diploma was sufficed enough to fulfill
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.
Having a bachelor’s degree also comes with a high ranking position and an increased salary which leads to more responsibilities for the individual.
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).
Many people are confused on why to invest time and money of attending college. A reason for obtaining a higher education is that a college degree can possibly earn a much higher salary than the majority of the people who have a high school diploma. College can be expensive and time consuming for the most of the people that do not have enough money and spare time to go to college. Stephen Rose, a research professor at the Georgetown University, wrote an article on “The Value of a College Degree” to explain if a college degree can be valuable to people to have. Eleni Karageorge, an author on the United States Department of Labor, wrote an article “Is A College Degree Still Worth It?” to give some details on job occupations that compares with employees having a bachelor’s degree or a high school diploma on how much they annually make on their job. Finally, Paul E. Barton, a consultant and a writer for topics related on education, wrote an article “How Many College Graduates Does the U.S. Labor Force Really Need?” on giving details on how valuable to have a college degree in the near future are needed when certain occupations are on high demand with a requirement on having a least a bachelor’s degree. We need to know why going to college is so important for anyone who wants to have professional occupations.
Many jobs recently are requiring people to have at least a bachelor’s degree to even consider someone for a position. Now jobs are beginning to want people who have a master’s degree instead; for example “between 1973 and 2008, the share of jobs in the U.S. economy which required postsecondary education increased from 28 percent to 59 percent. According to our projections, the future promises more of the same. The share of postsecondary jobs will increase from 59 to 63 percent over the next decade” (Carnevale, pg 1). With that being said it seems more important know than ever for people to have a college
Rules of society/ our system say that having a college degree is important if you want to open up your possibilities in terms of employment. That’s because when it comes to picking someone to work for their company, employers often times lean towards the candidate with the most experience. “Many employers are using the bachelor’s degree as a proxy for quality employees. Employers believe in the college experience, not just as an incubator for job-specific skills but particularly for the skills such as writing, analytical thinking, and maturity” (Sigelman). Although some people may think that a college education isn’t essential, businesses, companies, and professionals in today’s society demand it for the competitiveness and problems in our economy.
In present day, it is expected that after high school students continue their education to college. Therefore, it is no surprise to say that most students follow the pedigree, making a bachelor’s degree dilute to the value of a high school diploma. Yes, it is great that you obtained a bachelor’s degree, but it doesn’t differentiate you from the other hundred people who apply for the job position. Now, advanced degrees like masters and doctorates are what count. Not only does it [bachelor’s degree] not give you a better chance at an entry-level job, but also, the majority of college graduates are swimming in a pool of debt. So in the end, after all those years of studying, the dollars in debt and the chance of not even getting a job in
Many people in the United States view college as being an excellent use of time and money. College is an opportunity to further your education and get the job of your dreams. Many employers will hire someone with a Bachelor’s degree over those with just a high school diploma because, college teaches many important skills giving these students the advantage. Mikahail Zinshteyn from HechingerReport reported that college graduates with a Bachelor’s degree scored higher on a literacy test than those without a degree. The study also showed that college graduates that earned a Bachelor’s degree got the top score on the literacy test three times more often than those with just a high school diploma