Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I personally think you don't, but because of the competition for jobs--especially common jobs such as an administrative assistant/secretary--they have to reduce the competition in some how. While I think it may help if you intend to move up the ladder in certain fields, I think it could go overboard. I'm aware there's a great deal of communication, typing skills, and software knowledge depending on the field. I can see it as helpful if you plan to move up the ladder and get an advanced degree for a higher position; but apart from that, how much education is really needed? Are we going to need a Master's degree for the same job several years from now?!
Yes you will. The number of people actually employed is falling, while the number of people achieving degrees is rising.
We are pushing pretty close to nearly half of all people employed at all, have a bachelors degree or more, if you run the figures of total employed, percent of those with bachelors degrees or more out work, and make a few assumptions.
Probably in many of our lifetimes, we will see the day when all remaining jobs, no matter how low level or mundane will require a degree.
I am an administrative assistant (not that this is what i WANT to be doing right now, but that's a different story).
Here are some of the things I do:
travel: book and schedule travel, hotel, airfare, process travel reimbursements, research best price for hotels and airfare.
expenses: work with all outside vendors for supplies, materials, process invoices, check requests, etc etc.
meetings: plan all internal and external meetings including catering, negotiating rates on overnight rooms, meeting space with hotels, planning all the setup, audio visual, communicating with all meeting participants to help them with their arrangements and travel, and processing all of their travel reimbursements.
Word processing: formatting, editing, and proof-reading reports and proposals (sometimes up to 150+ pages), using styles, headings, complex tables and graphics and usually combining multiple documents that have a variety of different styles embedded in them.
data entry: currently i am entering survey data for about 100+ surveys that have approximately 50-80 survey items each that need to be entered as a number. (for instance a question that has check boxes where multiple boxes are checked will need to be entered as a 1 or 0)
IT: I am basically the IT person since our actual IT people are located in CA and are not always availalbe. I am the first person to troubleshoot anything that goes wrong.
Contracts: preparing and processing contracts for consultants and subcontractors. Arranging and compiling any contract docs needed for grants/proposals.
HR: orienting new hires (which is not often), ordering computer equipment, setting up space, ordering supplies for anyone new that comes in.
There is a lot more, I could go on and on. But yes it is a lot more than answering phones, filing, and entering numbers that an 8th grader could do!
Yes you will. The number of people actually employed is falling, while the number of people achieving degrees is rising.
We are pushing pretty close to nearly half of all people employed at all, have a bachelors degree or more, if you run the figures of total employed, percent of those with bachelors degrees or more out work, and make a few assumptions.
Probably in many of our lifetimes, we will see the day when all remaining jobs, no matter how low level or mundane will require a degree.
We'll see what happens, but there has to be a stopping point. We can't all have PhDs, and it won't be beneficial if everyone needs one for every job--especially if they didn't need one for years ago.
We'll see what happens, but there has to be a stopping point. We can't all have PhDs, and it won't be beneficial if everyone needs one for every job--especially if they didn't need one for years ago.
Truthfully, we should have already crossed the stopping point and said enough.
Instead, our student debt just passed up our credit card debt, is knee capping our youth, and is being talked about as the next big bubble.
I dont think there is any end to the amount of money people will be willing to spend for the chance of making one more penny an hour.
Too many of us adapt the race to the bottom mentality, and as long as the employer holds all the cards, and the alternative is starvation, we will continue to do so.
I am an administrative assistant (not that this is what i WANT to be doing right now, but that's a different story).
Here are some of the things I do:
travel: book and schedule travel, hotel, airfare, process travel reimbursements, research best price for hotels and airfare.
expenses: work with all outside vendors for supplies, materials, process invoices, check requests, etc etc.
meetings: plan all internal and external meetings including catering, negotiating rates on overnight rooms, meeting space with hotels, planning all the setup, audio visual, communicating with all meeting participants to help them with their arrangements and travel, and processing all of their travel reimbursements.
Word processing: formatting, editing, and proof-reading reports and proposals (sometimes up to 150+ pages), using styles, headings, complex tables and graphics and usually combining multiple documents that have a variety of different styles embedded in them.
data entry: currently i am entering survey data for about 100+ surveys that have approximately 50-80 survey items each that need to be entered as a number. (for instance a question that has check boxes where multiple boxes are checked will need to be entered as a 1 or 0)
IT: I am basically the IT person since our actual IT people are located in CA and are not always availalbe. I am the first person to troubleshoot anything that goes wrong.
Contracts: preparing and processing contracts for consultants and subcontractors. Arranging and compiling any contract docs needed for grants/proposals.
HR: orienting new hires (which is not often), ordering computer equipment, setting up space, ordering supplies for anyone new that comes in.
There is a lot more, I could go on and on. But yes it is a lot more than answering phones, filing, and entering numbers that an 8th grader could do!
The point is that you are making more than $10 an hour. Those low paying admin jobs are not doing the types of work that you are doing, they are strictly clerical in nature. Your job description is what I would call "typical" for a mid-level admin.
Truthfully, we should have already crossed the stopping point and said enough.
Instead, our student debt just passed up our credit card debt, is knee capping our youth, and is being talked about as the next big bubble.
I dont think there is any end to the amount of money people will be willing to spend for the chance of making one more penny an hour.
Too many of us adapt the race to the bottom mentality, and as long as the employer holds all the cards, and the alternative is starvation, we will continue to do so.
You might say that, but common sense has to set at some point. For example, people will commute further to work for minimum wage so far until commuting costs no longer justify your wage (i.e. it no longer makes financial sense). The price for eggs can only go up so far before people will decide it's cheaper to raise their own chicken(s). They'll become more creative and create their own jobs if they have to.
The employer won't hold the cards forever. With birthrates declining, and older employees leaving the workforce (albeit retirement or death), there will be too many jobs in the future.
The employer won't hold the cards forever. With birthrates declining, and older employees leaving the workforce (albeit retirement or death), there will be too many jobs in the future.
Make it so, Mr. Scott.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
