Why Do College Graduates Get Hired?

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).

Higher education in America is facing many challenges, i.e., low retention, low graduation rates and less funding. Postsecondary institutions are scrambling to remain a competitive entity within society. In order to do so, students must remain in school (Talbert, 2012). The Office of the White House states (2014), educational attainment is critical to our county’s economic success. In essence, the work force is creating more jobs requiring more education and a higher level of skill than was previously achieved. Individuals with only a high school diploma will not make into the middle class sector because of

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 college degree is a valuable asset that could ultimately lead to a productive life in society due to the received education, but people without a college degree do turn out more than adequate in regards to societal success. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the forecasted 30 fastest growing jobs between 2010 and 2020, five do not require a high school diploma, nine require a high school diploma, four require an associate 's degree, six require a bachelor 's degree, and six require graduate degrees to get the jobs (College). In an article called “College Education” by ProCon.org,

Over the past decade, it has become evident to the students of the United States that in order to attain a well paying job they must seek a higher education. The higher education, usually a college or university, is practically required in order to succeed. To be able to attend these schools and receive a degree in a specific field it means money, and often a lot of it. For students, the need for a degree is strong, but the cost of going to college may stand in the way of a successful future. Each year the expense of college rises, resulting in the need for students to take out loans. Many students expect to immediately get a job after graduation, however, in more recent years the chances for college graduates to get a well paying job

Even though the rise in the number of college graduates had positively impacted the American economy by leading to the growth of the pay gap, yet it’s still not enough. The reason is that the short number of college graduates is mainly due to the lack of

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

“Universities teach students how to think, but they do not provide real world experience, so people leave school unprepared for the workplace” (Smith). “More than half of all companies (60%) said new graduates lacked critical thinking skills and attention to detail (56%), while 44% found fault with their writing proficiency, and 39% were critical of their public speaking ability” (Berr). Students find it very difficult to understand what they need to do to prepare for the workforce. Instead, students could have been doing other things that could increase their techniques to help them make money in different

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

Getting a “good” job is not straightforward as it used to be. In past generations, someone in an entry-level position could work their way up the ladder simply through hard work and determination; whether or not one had credentials or a diploma mattered very little. This is not the case today. Higher education is now critical to obtaining a better job because the demand for skilled labor is rising. For this reason, the value that a degree offers is higher than that of one’s actual intelligence or merit. Furthermore, workers without college degrees will quickly be outpaced in position and salary by degree

In the article, Colleges and Employers Point Fingers Over Skills Gap, Selingo informs his readers that most employers want future workers with adaptability (Selingo, 2012). Many students will graduate high school and attend college because they are told that a college degree is the only way to get a good job. The problem with this is that many students fail to improve their critical-thinking skills in the first two years (Selingo, 2012). Even though it is said that most employers want future workers with

In today’s society, employers look for workers with college degrees because they know what college students are capable of doing. Employers now hold their employees to a different standard compared to the 1900s. Back then, employers did not mind the level of education a person had because being educated was not as common. However, now that society has progressed, more and more people have the same level of education: a high school diploma. Today, employers want to hire someone that

“The Class of 2014: The Weak Economy Is Idling Too Many Young Graduates,” published on the Economic Policy Institute website, reported that the trend of the labor market would remain for ten to fifteen years (Shierholz, Davis, & Kimball, 2014, Para 10). The report showed that unemployment rate for college graduates was high, and college graduates had jobs requiring less college educations with low pay. Average pay was 7.7 percent lower than the great recession period 5 years ago (Shierholz et al., 2014, Para 9). Shierholz et al. (2014) explained that the great recession was not the factor for such a trend. With the weak market trend, employers did not have motivation to hire new college graduates (Shierholz et al., 2014, Para 23). In 2014, unemployment and underemployment rate for college graduates indicated 8.5 percent and 16.8 percent respectively (Shierholz et al., 2014, Para 4). New college graduates have relatively difficult time to get jobs. The report also identified that the employment rate was different among different race and ethnicity. Latino and African American’s unemployment rate showed higher than White (Shierholz et al., 2014, Para 4). The report indicated that less jobs required general intelligence associated intelligence quotient (Shierholz et al., 2014, Para 4). Employers may demand a new skill set.

Not only do the states’ low revenues cause affordability problems, but high unemployment rates contribute as well. As of December 2009, the nation’s unemployment rate was at ten percent (Boskin 22-27). The unemployment rate for people ages twenty to twenty-four is fifteen percent (Dickler). These numbers are still significantly high. This makes finding jobs extremely difficult for college students. Since the nation’s overall unemployment rate is high, students find themselves competing with everyone for jobs. This becomes very difficult for them. Without jobs,

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