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Given the situation on the ground you can comment that it'd be great to stop de-valuing college degrees but I think it's pretty clear that ship has sailed. A l

by munk-a 5y ago

Given the situation on the ground you can comment that it'd be great to stop de-valuing college degrees but I think it's pretty clear that ship has sailed. A lot of jobs do unnecessarily demand college degrees, even going so far as to accept irrelevant degrees... anytime you see "Our ideal candidate has a BS from an accredited university" you can be confident that an arbitrary and discouraging requirement is being placed on the post. Now, in reality, a lot of employers don't actually care about those "requirements" but young people often don't realize that, and the ones that do can't be certain their uncertainty won't be invalidated by the time they secure a diploma. I don't have a specific comment on the policy under discussion, I'm not a californian and I'm not familiar with the specifics - but telling people "You'll be fine without a degree" isn't going to go over well and, honestly, is asking the recipient to accept a large risk regarding their future while you, an employed person, have already passed that hurdle. American colleges definitely have issues with over enrollment but even if wanting that state is a "bad belief", it's certainly an accurate belief.

nradov 5y ago
Employers only demand unnecessary college degrees because it's a quick and easy way to filter down a huge stack of applications. If there were fewer college grads available in the labor market then employers will just remove that filter and hire based on other criteria. It's not like they're going to leave those jobs open.
- munk-a 5y ago
  Does the why materially change what new market entrants experience? Right now a good chunk of High School students assume a college education will be necessary to get any sort of good job, unless we can reverse that conception[1] college will remain an assumed necessity for most folks. I don't disagree at all that it's mostly BS, but, much like the stock market, it is functioning primarily on the social valuation - and currently degrees are seen as close to a necessity to enter the job market. 1. The only thing I've seen on this front is some advertising for trades work which can pay equal or better to non-SF software engineers.
hyperdimension 5y ago
"BS from an accredited university" indeed, for most jobs. The boss of my first internship at Cisco majored in Geology.

by munk-a 5y ago

nradov 5y ago

Employers only demand unnecessary college degrees because it's a quick and easy way to filter down a huge stack of applications. If there were fewer college grads available in the labor market then employers will just remove that filter and hire based on other criteria. It's not like they're going to leave those jobs open.

munk-a 5y ago
Does the why materially change what new market entrants experience? Right now a good chunk of High School students assume a college education will be necessary to get any sort of good job, unless we can reverse that conception[1] college will remain an assumed necessity for most folks. I don't disagree at all that it's mostly BS, but, much like the stock market, it is functioning primarily on the social valuation - and currently degrees are seen as close to a necessity to enter the job market. 1. The only thing I've seen on this front is some advertising for trades work which can pay equal or better to non-SF software engineers.

hyperdimension 5y ago

"BS from an accredited university" indeed, for most jobs. The boss of my first internship at Cisco majored in Geology.