Devil's advocate on Starbucks 4 years college

[Kurska]

I think a critical piece of information is missing from national debates. There is this idea that everyone in our country needs to get a college degree. There is some idiotic idea that a college degree in every hand is a way to a better national economy. While a college degree is certainly a wise investment for individuals, getting everyone a college degree isn't the magical solution to income equality.

This may sound like heresy, but understand what I'm saying. I'm not saying that it is bad that people with less resources are getting a shot at a college degree. What I'm saying is there is an insane push to get everyone in America to go to college.

There are only so many skilled labor jobs in America. Educating more people doesn't automatically create the jobs for people to use their education. Instead, what you're doing is just adding to the growing problem of credentials creep. Whereby, even the most basic entry position is being expected to have some kind of college education. Which in most cases doesn't actually help the person do their job any better.

In fact, I think this idea that "If you wanted a better life you should have gone to college" is the exact kind of right wing reasoning that continues to enable our society to look down and scorn low education workers. These kinds of jobs will exist for the foreseeable future and will have to be filled by somebody. If you give everyone degrees they will just be filled by massively overqualified and unhappy people.

More degrees and a better educated populace isn't bad thing. That isn't what I'm saying. A more educated populace would probably attract more skilled jobs and allows America to stay competitive, but we also need to realize that giving people opportunities is not an excuse for treating people on the bottom end of the totem-pole like trash. We still need things like universal health care, a higher minimum wage and more sane worker protections laws that guarantee things like vacation days for all workers.

We can't lose sight of that by thinking that more degrees means everyone is going to get a great job. We also need to realize that our society depends on low skill labor just as much as we depend on highly skilled labor. Some people are better with their hands than their minds. Some people would be better served by a vocational school (not that they are unskilled, just that it is a perfectly valid alternative to "COLLEGE COLLEGE COLLEGE&quot . Some people will always need to work in low-skill jobs. Without that low skill labor our society would collapse. People want to use college opportunities as an excuse to treat low skill labor like crap, don't let them.

I say this as someone who has a 4 year degree and on track to eventually get my Ph.D. We need to treat both the highly educated and not with dignity in our society. More education is a way forward, but it isn't the magical cure all that some people claim it is.

[aikoaiko]

1. A liberal education may be our last hope for our country.

And I don't mean just the Sarah Lawrence kind. It can happen in public universities, colleges, community colleges and even be a part of vocational training certificates (writing, reading, and math).

[malthaussen]

2. Which would be a more relevant point if US colleges gave liberal educations.

Instead, we have adopted the college-as-trade-school route and most of our graduates are scarcely more capable -- or desireous -- of critical thinking than when they entered. Did you not see the recent DU thread that talked about how Republican college grads were more likely to "not believe in" global warming than those without college? Most of us, it would appear, only use our reason to support our prejudices. Keep in mind that the most far-out crazy in Congress is likely college-educated, and in some of the most distinguished universities in the land.


-- Mal

[NaturalHigh]

3. Absolutely.

A lot of people these days actually find better jobs with technical degrees or certificates that take less time to complete than bachelors degrees.

[yeoman6987]

4. Statistics don't agree with your assessment

Workers with a Bachelor's Degree make more money then high school graduates and that is why "if you want a better life, you should have gone to college" is reality and not political.

[SheilaT]

5. Skilled labor is not what I think of when

I think of the kinds of jobs someone with a four year college degree would have.

There are an amazing number of jobs that the junior colleges/community colleges can prepare a person for. More people should be looking at those.

All too often kids who get a four year degree get it in something like art history or anthropology or 18th century French poetry, and there are not a lot of jobs in those fields. Getting a PhD in the field doesn't actually help a lot, because there's still a real limit on the university teaching positions out there.

When my younger son told me he wanted to major in psychology, saying it was really a major for someone who didn't know exactly what he wants to do, I suggested he get a more practical minor of some sort to go along with it. So he did a marketing minor. Excellent combination in my opinion, although I'm not out there hiring anyone.

After college he went back to delivering pizzas, which is what he still does. He loves the job. He doesn't ask for money because he knows if he did we'd tell him to get another job. Meanwhile, he really loves what he does, and to me that's important.