7 ms·

"More and more of us know more and more examples of college graduates who live in their parents' basements because they can't support themselves with their coll

by elteto 14y ago

"More and more of us know more and more examples of college graduates who live in their parents' basements because they can't support themselves with their college diploma." Source? Or just speculation? I for one, know many people living in basements, but not a single one of them has a college degree. Anecdotal evidence only goes so far. "It's time to be more discerning consumers of higher education." Higher education is as necessary today as it has always been, and will continue to be for the forseeable future. We need trained professionals to work on highly technical areas, or we can't progress. How else are we going to have mechanical, aerospace, electrical, chemical engineers and many other professions? This doesn't mean that a college or university is for everyone though. It is left to each person to balance the very subjective pros and cons of deciding whether to go to college or not. Also no students are forced to attend highly expensive colleges, since most of the time there exists a high quality public institution available.

btilly 14y ago
http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2012/04/half_of_recent_college_grads_u.html http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2012/04/half_of_... quotes a number of stats on this. Over half of recent college grads are underemployed or unemployed. This figure used to be lower in the past. But the shift is smaller than I was honestly expecting, and largely can be attributed to the economy.
goostavos 14y ago
I'll balance your anecdote with my own: I too know several who are living at home that have degrees. Yes, we'll always need STEM people, but I think you're forgetting that STEM is a pretty narrow part of what colleges do. Heck, I've got a buddy who has his degree in Theater. Theater! Why that is a degree option at a university, I have no idea. Not to mention art, comm (which every other person seems to major in), History, English, etc.. These are a little more representative of the "basement" ex-college goers. For non-technical people, I kind of feel like college is a pretty poor investment. Going to a vocational school would probably pay off more in the end.
- stdbrouw 14y ago
  This may come as a shock, but not everyone goes to college solely in order to improve their career prospects.
  - zalzane 14y ago
    Then you're wasting tax dollars and a slot at a school that could be filled with a student who actually needs an education for the field they plan on entering. The devaluation of the college degree is partly because of the gross amount of people who go to college for no reason other than to socialize and enjoy themselves.
    - alexqgb 14y ago
      Uh, that's one possibility. The other possibility is that they're studying something they're truly passionate about, and they aren't focused on how - exactly - the're going to make a living. I know a number of folks who simply fed their curiosity, and still ended up in productive lives. Indeed, the original purpose of an undergraduate degree was to expand one's horizons. Graduate school was the time and place to focus on profession.
      - rsheridan6 14y ago
        The folks you know wouldn't happen to be over 35 or independently wealthy, would they? Tuitions have gone up tremendously in recent years, and following your bliss like it was 1998 would be a disaster now if you didn't have a good job lined up at the end, or at least a trust fund.
    - _delirium 14y ago
      It isn't some recent "devaluation" that the public universities are supposed to be about something other than purely vocational training. When Thomas Jefferson (successfully) advocated setting up the publicly funded University of Virginia, for example, his main aim was to produce a generally educated populace, which had sufficient grounding in all major areas of knowledge—philosophy, science, mathematics, political theory, etc.—to operate a democracy effectively.
cafard 14y ago
Out of the couple dozen of 2010 and 2011 graduates I know (I'm of their parents' generation) 20% or fewer are living with their parents. I would be embarrassed to ask whether they've had to move into the basement. Those who have moved out are not for the most part in STEM fields.

by elteto 14y ago

btilly 14y ago

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2012/04/half_of_recent_college_grads_u.html http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2012/04/half_of_... quotes a number of stats on this. Over half of recent college grads are underemployed or unemployed. This figure used to be lower in the past. But the shift is smaller than I was honestly expecting, and largely can be attributed to the economy.

goostavos 14y ago

I'll balance your anecdote with my own: I too know several who are living at home that have degrees. Yes, we'll always need STEM people, but I think you're forgetting that STEM is a pretty narrow part of what colleges do. Heck, I've got a buddy who has his degree in Theater. Theater! Why that is a degree option at a university, I have no idea. Not to mention art, comm (which every other person seems to major in), History, English, etc.. These are a little more representative of the "basement" ex-college goers. For non-technical people, I kind of feel like college is a pretty poor investment. Going to a vocational school would probably pay off more in the end.

stdbrouw 14y ago
This may come as a shock, but not everyone goes to college solely in order to improve their career prospects.
- zalzane 14y ago
  Then you're wasting tax dollars and a slot at a school that could be filled with a student who actually needs an education for the field they plan on entering. The devaluation of the college degree is partly because of the gross amount of people who go to college for no reason other than to socialize and enjoy themselves.
  - alexqgb 14y ago
    Uh, that's one possibility. The other possibility is that they're studying something they're truly passionate about, and they aren't focused on how - exactly - the're going to make a living. I know a number of folks who simply fed their curiosity, and still ended up in productive lives. Indeed, the original purpose of an undergraduate degree was to expand one's horizons. Graduate school was the time and place to focus on profession.
    - rsheridan6 14y ago
      The folks you know wouldn't happen to be over 35 or independently wealthy, would they? Tuitions have gone up tremendously in recent years, and following your bliss like it was 1998 would be a disaster now if you didn't have a good job lined up at the end, or at least a trust fund.
  - _delirium 14y ago
    It isn't some recent "devaluation" that the public universities are supposed to be about something other than purely vocational training. When Thomas Jefferson (successfully) advocated setting up the publicly funded University of Virginia, for example, his main aim was to produce a generally educated populace, which had sufficient grounding in all major areas of knowledge—philosophy, science, mathematics, political theory, etc.—to operate a democracy effectively.

cafard 14y ago

Out of the couple dozen of 2010 and 2011 graduates I know (I'm of their parents' generation) 20% or fewer are living with their parents. I would be embarrassed to ask whether they've had to move into the basement. Those who have moved out are not for the most part in STEM fields.