Quote:
Originally Posted by pourmeanother
We're in agreement on random degrees not guaranteeing any job, we don't need to beat that anymore. However, by and large yes a degree is better than no degree. On a person-to-person basis that is not necessarily true... There will be high school dropouts who get hired for certain jobs over college grads, and there are certainly other factors that come into play. Looking at the big picture, though, yes, a degree can yield better, higher paying jobs. One big point I wanted to make is that I'm not going to get caught up in some anecdotal evidence of one person's cousin (or was it sister?) working at a Starbucks after college. That happens all the time, sure- but on average it is not the case. Statistics show that degrees lead to these higher positions, better salaries, etc, so obviously that little piece of paper deserves more credit than it is being given here.
I am thinking in reality. I would hedge my bets that if you had 50 qualified applicants with a high school diploma and 50 qualified applicants with a college degree applying for the same job - whether that be burger flipper, CEO of a fortune 500 company, coal mine worker, engineer, teacher - that it would be 70/30 hiring in favor of college degrees. All things being equal. Yes, I'm talking about a piece of paper- but it goes beyond just ink, paper, and a dean's signature... It's everything that it represents.
Just to go along with your side for a second- this does tend to create a fallacy, where students think that just showing up to class, making the minimum grades, and walking towards grabbing that diploma is going to guarantee them a job. It works both ways. "C's earn degrees" is not a great outlook, but one I see all the time. So, yes, tons of college students have coasted through with the wrong mindset, and then reality sinks in after graduation that they aren't ****. However, it's unfair to lump those guys in with the students who come in with a drive, a desire to learn and gain real experience that is going to work in their favor down the road... That same how you don't want to lump a convict Burger King employee in with a skilled worker with a GED.
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I agree, largely, with what you're saying.
My main point was to put these square pegs we're talking about into square holes. In reality, if you're apply at any job that requires technical or field-based skills, it's obvious your chances of getting hired are higher with a degree... and people know this. This means that in these fields, you're likely to be competing against other applicants who hold degrees. We realistically don't even need to consider the applicant with a highschool education and no experience.
My point is that between the applicants with degrees, the ones who hold a degree that actually has something to do with the job they're applying for are better off than those who have degrees that don't.
I think we can both agree on that.
I'm just saying that realistically we can assume that you won't always be competing against no-contests unless you're applying for a labor job and not a field-specific career.
I apologize if my previous posts were misleading.