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Well, duh. The top 5-10% will always be in-demand. The problem is that the bottom 90-95% are of no use whatsoever. College is like a competitive tournament where most people lose, are left with student loans, referred to as a "mortgage but no house."
The problem is what are those people supposed to do? Young people are discouraged from going into the trades or manufacturing (where it still exists in the country, at least). The people who'd be willing to work their way up in a company are also discouraged, for fear of getting terminated later on without a degree (50-year old without a degree but job experience, aka "unemployable").
I get there are various problems with this, but what are the solutions when only the best of the best are in demand, and employers are demanding a degree for receptionist positions?
My point is, the students who major in economically useless subjects aren't necessarily fit for college, or have the personality traits to make them successful to be college graduates and office workers later on. A lot of these students major in the "-ology" studies, making it hard for them to secure employment after college. But if you don't have any technical aptitude what do you do? Some students know their next step is graduate school, but many can't do that or don't want to.
Academic degrees in themselves aren't useless, but it's a lot easier to find an internship to gain experience as an accountant than it is for global studies. Or sociology.
And since when was IT a bogus major? Last time I checked, IT wasn't the actual major but networking administration, computer forensics, computer science, etc. were majors.
I guess the bigger question is... why is there any sort of relationship between office work and higher education? The reality is that there isn't. For some reason people think they should get a degree to get a job. Unfortunately for them, college isn't about getting a job.
I mentioned IT because I see it on these boards a lot. Network administration and computer forensics are not academic field. Computer science is and forensic science is an area of research.
But when you talk about things like Network administration and computer forensic, you're talking about jobs. Not academic fields. These are skilled trades and don't belong in higher education. There's trade schools for these skills.
I guess the bigger question is... why is there any sort of relationship between office work and higher education? The reality is that there isn't. For some reason people think they should get a degree to get a job. Unfortunately for them, college isn't about getting a job.
I mentioned IT because I see it on these boards a lot. Network administration and computer forensics are not academic field. Computer science is and forensic science is an area of research.
But when you talk about things like Network administration and computer forensic, you're talking about jobs. Not academic fields. These are skilled trades and don't belong in higher education. There's trade schools for these skills.
While I agree that most office jobs don't require a degree or a degree in specifically X, not having a degree may result in HR throwing out your resume or not getting pass the computer screen strictly for not having a degree (though if you have experience, that may over write the degree part).
While I agree that most office jobs don't require a degree or a degree in specifically X, not having a degree may result in HR throwing out your resume or not getting pass the computer screen strictly for not having a degree (though if you have experience, that may over write the degree part).
This is exactly what happens. When employers mandate degrees for positions that don't require a degree, this is what happens. Employers aren't going to stop using applicant tracking systems anytime soon.
My point is, the students who major in economically useless subjects aren't necessarily fit for college, or have the personality traits to make them successful to be college graduates and office workers later on. A lot of these students major in the "-ology" studies, making it hard for them to secure employment after college. But if you don't have any technical aptitude what do you do? Some students know their next step is graduate school, but many can't do that or don't want to.
Academic degrees in themselves aren't useless, but it's a lot easier to find an internship to gain experience as an accountant than it is for global studies. Or sociology.
And since when was IT a bogus major? Last time I checked, IT wasn't the actual major but networking administration, computer forensics, computer science, etc. were majors.
Biology? Yes, a lot of biology majors either don't get into med school or decide not to go and get stuck in low-paying, lab jobs.
Major is overrated by some. While a major in, say, economics or chemistry is going to leave someone with fairly marketable skills, so will a major in history/art therapy that also combine a healthy level of "real world" courses. Back in college, I told all of my "art therapy" type major friends to make sure that they were also taking courses that would help them obtain jobs after graduation.
Biology? Yes, a lot of biology majors either don't get into med school or decide not to go and get stuck in low-paying, lab jobs.
Yeah, Biology is really not a good major, I would argue especially not for med school. Just not competitive enough, they're a dime a dozen. There are not even enough low-paying lab jobs for them. When I worked in health care HR, we used to get applications from BS Biology grads looking for $10/hr office/administrative jobs. Some with good internships and high GPAs. Of course they wouldn't get interviews because they don't have office experience. What happens then I wonder? Retail? Grad school? A lot of times, off to technical school to get AAS in Nursing, Dental Hygiene, etc. Could've saved on the tens of thousands spent on the BS..
Major is overrated by some. While a major in, say, economics or chemistry is going to leave someone with fairly marketable skills, so will a major in history/art therapy that also combine a healthy level of "real world" courses. Back in college, I told all of my "art therapy" type major friends to make sure that they were also taking courses that would help them obtain jobs after graduation.
Economics majors have high earning potential, but the unemployment rate for recent graduates was high a few years ago. Even sociology majors had a lower employment rate. Like most liberal arts (that includes the natural sciences), unemployment rates go down significantly with a graduate degree.
Yeah, Biology is really not a good major, I would argue especially not for med school. Just not competitive enough, they're a dime a dozen. There are not even enough low-paying lab jobs for them. When I worked in health care HR, we used to get applications from BS Biology grads looking for $10/hr office/administrative jobs. Some with good internships and high GPAs. Of course they wouldn't get interviews because they don't have office experience. What happens then I wonder? Retail? Grad school? A lot of times, off to technical school to get AAS in Nursing, Dental Hygiene, etc. Could've saved on the tens of thousands spent on the BS..
I was just looking at 2005 data for medical school acceptance rates. Because the largest group of applicants is biology majors and medical schools are looking for diversity, biological science majors had some of the lowest acceptance rates. Also, outside of the biology portion of the test, their MCAT scores were low. Math/statistics and humanities majors had the highest acceptance rates.
It doesn't matter what field because people want to study what they are interested in. In order to be successful in college, you need to have some interest in the subjects that you're studying because it's what's going to motivate you. If you take a class just to get credit or major in something because you had to (and have no interest), you will most likely not succeed.
While I agree that most office jobs don't require a degree or a degree in specifically X, not having a degree may result in HR throwing out your resume or not getting pass the computer screen strictly for not having a degree (though if you have experience, that may over write the degree part).
That's a completely different problem.
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