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Why do we accept the out of control increase in cost to get a degree? Why is it possible to get a loan for a degree that will be highly unlikely to lead to a c

Why do we accept the out of control increase in cost to get a degree? Why is it possible to get a loan for a degree that will be highly unlikely to lead to a career that will pay off the loan? The schools seem to have way too much power here. If this was any other industry, there would be more oversight and regulation. The easy money from lending immunizes the schools from being cost conscious because it shifts the burden to the students, who are told they'll go to heaven if they only get a college degree.

mcherm 9y ago
> Why do we accept the out of control increase in cost to get a degree? Because that degree is valued, not for the education the student received, but as a formal gating mechanism: those who do not obtain it (and it better be from a "good" school) are (with a few exceptions) excluded from all possibility of ever having "good" jobs. In other words, our hiring practices are the root of the problem. Even in tech (where I know from experience that skill and education are only mildly correlated), education on the resume is still a gatekeeper and my company's recruiting of novices comes primarily from the better college campuses.
- a1b9c14e125bd58 9y ago
  I don't have a degree and never had an issue finding good work in the tech industry. I've found there are so many people trying to get into IT that your portfolio counts for more than your qualifications (much like with a photographer).
  - philh 9y ago
    > I've found there are so many people trying to get into IT that your portfolio counts for more than your qualifications I'd expect qualifications to matter less if there are few people trying to get into IT, since employers can less afford to miss a good candidate. If they get a hundred applicants for each position, they'll be more inclined to use a weak filter to throw out half of them on a first pass.
    - a1b9c14e125bd58 9y ago
      Maybe there is a glut of average candidates then? Either way I've found no issue getting jobs - even for positions which specifically state an IT degree as a requirement. And I'm always honest about qualifications as well. Obviously I'm not advocating people skip university. But I think it's important to remember that you can still compete in the job market without a degree.
teekert 9y ago
I'd say it's the banks/banking system. They skew the market and give money to the people from their own future. If this was impossible education simply couldn't be that expensive and perhaps only possible by paying it from taxes (which is money that does not require a "bank-owning elite fee" in the form of rent) and naturally limited to what a country can produce in the now instead of in some possible future that may or may not come to pass. Banks allow for an inefficient, non market driven educational system. Banks, as they are now, are not part of the free market, they even needed saving using public money instead of letting market forces decide their fate.

mcherm 9y ago

> Why do we accept the out of control increase in cost to get a degree? Because that degree is valued, not for the education the student received, but as a formal gating mechanism: those who do not obtain it (and it better be from a "good" school) are (with a few exceptions) excluded from all possibility of ever having "good" jobs. In other words, our hiring practices are the root of the problem. Even in tech (where I know from experience that skill and education are only mildly correlated), education on the resume is still a gatekeeper and my company's recruiting of novices comes primarily from the better college campuses.

a1b9c14e125bd58 9y ago
I don't have a degree and never had an issue finding good work in the tech industry. I've found there are so many people trying to get into IT that your portfolio counts for more than your qualifications (much like with a photographer).
- philh 9y ago
  > I've found there are so many people trying to get into IT that your portfolio counts for more than your qualifications I'd expect qualifications to matter less if there are few people trying to get into IT, since employers can less afford to miss a good candidate. If they get a hundred applicants for each position, they'll be more inclined to use a weak filter to throw out half of them on a first pass.
  - a1b9c14e125bd58 9y ago
    Maybe there is a glut of average candidates then? Either way I've found no issue getting jobs - even for positions which specifically state an IT degree as a requirement. And I'm always honest about qualifications as well. Obviously I'm not advocating people skip university. But I think it's important to remember that you can still compete in the job market without a degree.

teekert 9y ago

I'd say it's the banks/banking system. They skew the market and give money to the people from their own future. If this was impossible education simply couldn't be that expensive and perhaps only possible by paying it from taxes (which is money that does not require a "bank-owning elite fee" in the form of rent) and naturally limited to what a country can produce in the now instead of in some possible future that may or may not come to pass. Banks allow for an inefficient, non market driven educational system. Banks, as they are now, are not part of the free market, they even needed saving using public money instead of letting market forces decide their fate.