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I agree, gig economy is just a symptom. College grads aren't working as baristas and Uber drivers by choice, it's because the economy is absolute garbage and ha

I agree, gig economy is just a symptom. College grads aren't working as baristas and Uber drivers by choice, it's because the economy is absolute garbage and has been for nearly a decade now.

smsm42 10y ago
Or because they got a garbage degree because they bought into an idea that getting an overpriced useless degree is the only entry way to the job market.
- John23832 10y ago
  That's not necessarily their fault though. These people were sold a dream, and they did what they thought they had to do to enter the market. I'm sure their parents weren't great forward thinkers either, it just so happened that the (blue collar job) dream they were sold worked for them until recently.
  - TheAdamAndChe 10y ago
    It's not like young people were deceived either. The economy sucks for young graduates, but it's absolutely savage for high school graduates.
    - smsm42 10y ago
      You're saying, working as Starbucks barrista while holding a useless degree and $50K in student loan debt is actually way better than working as Starbucks barrista straight out of high school? Not sure I see why it is so.
      - TheAdamAndChe 10y ago
        I'm saying statistically, college graduates get decent jobs much more frequently than high school graduates. Whether or not the cost/benefit analysis pays off for them depends on how much debt they have, what degree they got, where they live, and the socioeconomic status of their parents.
  - smsm42 10y ago
    It's not their fault maybe but selling not only continues but actually increases. We are learning nothing from it. Now we're being sold that if we make all that scheme taxpayer-financed and produce even more degree-holders, no matter what that degree actually does or whether the market needs it, the situation somehow would become much better because statistics looking 30 years behind says going to college back then increases potential earnings now. It's like saying if we see that CEO earns much more than janitors, then calling janitors "CEO" would make them millionaires. Pure magical thinking.
    - John23832 10y ago
      I guess what I'm saying is that we should hold the influencers responsible, not those that were influenced.

I agree, gig economy is just a symptom. College grads aren't working as baristas and Uber drivers by choice, it's because the economy is absolute garbage and has been for nearly a decade now.

smsm42 10y ago

Or because they got a garbage degree because they bought into an idea that getting an overpriced useless degree is the only entry way to the job market.

John23832 10y ago
That's not necessarily their fault though. These people were sold a dream, and they did what they thought they had to do to enter the market. I'm sure their parents weren't great forward thinkers either, it just so happened that the (blue collar job) dream they were sold worked for them until recently.
- TheAdamAndChe 10y ago
  It's not like young people were deceived either. The economy sucks for young graduates, but it's absolutely savage for high school graduates.
  - smsm42 10y ago
    You're saying, working as Starbucks barrista while holding a useless degree and $50K in student loan debt is actually way better than working as Starbucks barrista straight out of high school? Not sure I see why it is so.
    - TheAdamAndChe 10y ago
      I'm saying statistically, college graduates get decent jobs much more frequently than high school graduates. Whether or not the cost/benefit analysis pays off for them depends on how much debt they have, what degree they got, where they live, and the socioeconomic status of their parents.
- smsm42 10y ago
  It's not their fault maybe but selling not only continues but actually increases. We are learning nothing from it. Now we're being sold that if we make all that scheme taxpayer-financed and produce even more degree-holders, no matter what that degree actually does or whether the market needs it, the situation somehow would become much better because statistics looking 30 years behind says going to college back then increases potential earnings now. It's like saying if we see that CEO earns much more than janitors, then calling janitors "CEO" would make them millionaires. Pure magical thinking.
  - John23832 10y ago
    I guess what I'm saying is that we should hold the influencers responsible, not those that were influenced.