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It seems like the general advice for many years has been to just get _any_ college degree. If you have a college degree you are supposed to be able to get a goo

It seems like the general advice for many years has been to just get _any_ college degree. If you have a college degree you are supposed to be able to get a good job. I think the main problem with that advice is that it was good advice when a college degree was relatively rare. These days, everyone is expected to get a college degree so the degree itself becomes worthless. Instead students should focus on acquiring some kind of skill in their post-secondary education. For example, a history degree doesn't actually give you any useful skills while a computer science degree gives you skill in writing software which is a high-demand job right now. Actually, many students who get a college degree would be better off going to a vocational school to learn welding or some other skill. They'd probably actually earn _more_ money than whatever job they can get with a generic 4-year degree.

dalke 11y ago
"relatively rare" It was also relatively cheap. People work for a summer, at minimum wage, and afford college for the rest of the year.
hnamazon123 11y ago
I got that advice all my life and it never made sense to me. You have to demonstrate value to employers; to anyone with whome you desire to exchange goods or services for money. Simply having a college degree is a very weak signal for value.
- dalke 11y ago
  I believe blktiger's point is that it was a good signal for value but is no longer. I'll guess that most of the people who gave you that advice probably learned it some 30-40 years ago, when it was more applicable.
invalidOrTaken 11y ago
>Actually, many students who get a college degree would be better off going to a vocational school to learn welding or some other skill. They'd probably actually earn _more_ money than whatever job they can get with a generic 4-year degree. The reason they don't is simple: class. A librarian making $40K/yr is treated better than a welder making $80K/yr. A lot of people (self included, until a moment ago) imagine this whole thing crashing down when companies realize they can get good candidates without requiring a college degree. But I think that will be a secondary marker. The real tipping point will be when young tradesmen build a cool (as in, expensive) frat-like house, and a few sororities start hanging out with them.

dalke 11y ago

"relatively rare" It was also relatively cheap. People work for a summer, at minimum wage, and afford college for the rest of the year.

hnamazon123 11y ago

I got that advice all my life and it never made sense to me. You have to demonstrate value to employers; to anyone with whome you desire to exchange goods or services for money. Simply having a college degree is a very weak signal for value.

dalke 11y ago
I believe blktiger's point is that it was a good signal for value but is no longer. I'll guess that most of the people who gave you that advice probably learned it some 30-40 years ago, when it was more applicable.

invalidOrTaken 11y ago

>Actually, many students who get a college degree would be better off going to a vocational school to learn welding or some other skill. They'd probably actually earn _more_ money than whatever job they can get with a generic 4-year degree. The reason they don't is simple: class. A librarian making $40K/yr is treated better than a welder making $80K/yr. A lot of people (self included, until a moment ago) imagine this whole thing crashing down when companies realize they can get good candidates without requiring a college degree. But I think that will be a secondary marker. The real tipping point will be when young tradesmen build a cool (as in, expensive) frat-like house, and a few sororities start hanging out with them.