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That is true but employers insist on people having bachelor's degrees. That's the problem so you have lots of people going to college that really only want to f

That is true but employers insist on people having bachelor's degrees. That's the problem so you have lots of people going to college that really only want to focus on career growth. Also these same employers are always complaining about how the new grads don't have the "skills" they want.

shirakawasuna 6y ago
Sounds like we need to figure out why employers want things that are not necessary for excelling at positions.
- Jtsummers 6y ago
  Because they've externalized training costs, and the closest thing to what they want (without training people themselves) are people with BA/BS degrees. The best I've seen with an employer focusing on employee education to a non-BS/BA target was a USAF base that partnered with a nearby technical school to get a lot of mechanical and electronic technicians. But that's not the norm, and I suspect politics were involved to set up the program in the first place. EDIT: The other positive case I know of was NC partnering with the pharmaceutical (drug manufacturing) industry in the late '00s, but I have no idea how that turned out. They were partnering with community colleges and universities throughout the state to develop a targeted non-BS program for the drug manufacturers to pull from.
- newguy1234 6y ago
  Employers, in general, just want to hire "smart" people and the BA degree has become symbolic of something that "smart" people have. So every employer uses it as a way to just screen out the "dumb" people. At the same time, employers increasingly want new employees to have some sort of skill set that can be applied to the job. If you listen to complaints from new grads you can see a common trend - "college did not prepare me for the real world", "college did not give me the skills I need to succeed" and so on. This is why I say we need to move away from the one size fits all view of college. We need BA degrees that are "career focused" and we need BA degrees that are more academic focused. It may also be wise to have a hybrid version as well.
  - Pet_Ant 6y ago
    > Employers, in general, just want to hire "smart" people and the BA degree has become symbolic of something that "smart" people have. So every employer uses it as a way to just screen out the "dumb" people. At the same time, employers increasingly want new employees to have some sort of skill set that can be applied to the job. Definitely this is the case. A degree is merely a signal. Eployers want the smartest 10% of the population. If they were left handed, employers would require left-handedness. What I find discouraging is how routine and repetitive most work is. It's like you are the paramedic at the county fair and you're job is bandaids on elbows, but you need to be an expert brain surgeon in case that comes up.
- fullshark 6y ago
  Risk management. When every entry level position has 1000 bachelor's degree grad applicants to them why would you consider hiring someone without one? Then they build a resume and you only hire from junior pool when filling senior positions.
- colinmhayes 6y ago
  Undergrad is 100% signaling if you're not STEM. Employers just want people who have what it takes to succeed in a difficult environment.

shirakawasuna 6y ago

Sounds like we need to figure out why employers want things that are not necessary for excelling at positions.

Jtsummers 6y ago
Because they've externalized training costs, and the closest thing to what they want (without training people themselves) are people with BA/BS degrees. The best I've seen with an employer focusing on employee education to a non-BS/BA target was a USAF base that partnered with a nearby technical school to get a lot of mechanical and electronic technicians. But that's not the norm, and I suspect politics were involved to set up the program in the first place. EDIT: The other positive case I know of was NC partnering with the pharmaceutical (drug manufacturing) industry in the late '00s, but I have no idea how that turned out. They were partnering with community colleges and universities throughout the state to develop a targeted non-BS program for the drug manufacturers to pull from.
newguy1234 6y ago
Employers, in general, just want to hire "smart" people and the BA degree has become symbolic of something that "smart" people have. So every employer uses it as a way to just screen out the "dumb" people. At the same time, employers increasingly want new employees to have some sort of skill set that can be applied to the job. If you listen to complaints from new grads you can see a common trend - "college did not prepare me for the real world", "college did not give me the skills I need to succeed" and so on. This is why I say we need to move away from the one size fits all view of college. We need BA degrees that are "career focused" and we need BA degrees that are more academic focused. It may also be wise to have a hybrid version as well.
- Pet_Ant 6y ago
  > Employers, in general, just want to hire "smart" people and the BA degree has become symbolic of something that "smart" people have. So every employer uses it as a way to just screen out the "dumb" people. At the same time, employers increasingly want new employees to have some sort of skill set that can be applied to the job. Definitely this is the case. A degree is merely a signal. Eployers want the smartest 10% of the population. If they were left handed, employers would require left-handedness. What I find discouraging is how routine and repetitive most work is. It's like you are the paramedic at the county fair and you're job is bandaids on elbows, but you need to be an expert brain surgeon in case that comes up.
fullshark 6y ago
Risk management. When every entry level position has 1000 bachelor's degree grad applicants to them why would you consider hiring someone without one? Then they build a resume and you only hire from junior pool when filling senior positions.
colinmhayes 6y ago
Undergrad is 100% signaling if you're not STEM. Employers just want people who have what it takes to succeed in a difficult environment.