Employers Rethink Need for College Degrees in Tight Labor Market (universities, tuition)

[Avondalist]

This is just the start of a decades-long shift in power from employers to workers, as low birthrates makes labor scarcer.

[KellyXY]

Originally Posted by Avondalist

This is just the start of a decades-long shift in power from employers to workers, as low birthrates makes labor scarcer.

Also, no one has mentioned probably the biggest culprit with the current labor shortage: Those born during the high-birthrate baby boom years are now retiring en masse. Unless we have a very high immigration rate (one that most on the political right would not be happy with), or another high-birthrate generation is born and then comes of age, the looser (from the employee's perspective) labor market is probably here to stay for the medium term.

[springfieldva]

Originally Posted by Avondalist

Long licensure processes are discriminatory against women because women often have to choose between having children at a healthy age and their career.

Men have childcare responsibilities, too. More and more employers are offering paternity benefits for the birth or adoption of a child.

I don't really see licensure processes and requirements as being discriminatory towards women, in general. They are necessary requirements to ensure that professional standards are being met in a given field. Fast tracking licensure processes and watering down requirements in a given field could be pretty disastrous, if not downright dangerous, to the industry as a whole.

Obviously, if you are pregnant and have a 1 and 2 year old at home, it might be best to wait until the kids are a little older before you go for a license. But the same could be said for a man with small children at home.

[2Loud]

I celebrate this!

I have hired dozens and dozens of people over the years… not a one of them are using their degrees for the position I offered. Mechanical Engineering would be the closet to the role, but I have hired History majors, psychology majors, computer majors, …you name it. As a college drop out myself after 3 years, it’s all BS garbage. Nearly all of them have gone off to become project managers, product specialists, application engineers, sales, programmers, you name it.

Do well in the interview, and be willing to work and learn is all that should be needed. Ironically the most successful people I have hired over the last 20 years only had high school diplomas. Frankly I think it’s because they were an open book and didn’t need “de-programming” from the vacuum of the current upper class education system.

[Meester-Chung]

Originally Posted by Vision67

Why require a 4 year college degree for a job that really doesn't need it?

-It demonstrates grit. The applicant had what it takes to overcome the obstacles and perhaps demonstrates cognitive ability.

-It's an easy and legal way to screen out minorities.

30% of Americans have degrees. are you saying that most Americans don't have grit and cannot overcome obstacles and lack cognitive ability?

[Meester-Chung]

[Ice_Major]

Originally Posted by springfieldva

Men have childcare responsibilities, too. More and more employers are offering paternity benefits for the birth or adoption of a child.

I don't really see licensure processes and requirements as being discriminatory towards women, in general. They are necessary requirements to ensure that professional standards are being met in a given field. Fast tracking licensure processes and watering down requirements in a given field could be pretty disastrous, if not downright dangerous, to the industry as a whole.

Obviously, if you are pregnant and have a 1 and 2 year old at home, it might be best to wait until the kids are a little older before you go for a license. But the same could be said for a man with small children at home.

If anything the requirement for a college education has benefited women, since women are completing college at much high rates then men.

[Ice_Major]

I come across job posting for my occupation waiving the degree requirement, unfortunately it's only for highly experienced candidates. Basically, if no degree, that individual will need at least 10 years industry or closely related experience instead. This experience typically hard to come by, making this route difficult. The few I see come in this way were in the military. One good thing about the military. They are willing to train inexperienced workers. The civilian world, not so much these days. At least for higher skill/knowledge-based occupations.

I do agree that requiring degrees for many occupations does seem unnecessary; however, I suspect most employers are probably using the degree requirement to filter out applicants. The college grad (love it or hate it) is more likely to have attributes needed for certain roles. After all these attributes drove them to commit 4 years of their life and who knows how many years paying off student loans. Not saying non-grads don't have what it takes, but the chances of an employer finding a successful candidate are stronger drawing from a college pool then a general population pool especially at the entry level.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by 2Loud

I celebrate this!

I have hired dozens and dozens of people over the years… not a one of them are using their degrees for the position I offered. Mechanical Engineering would be the closet to the role, but I have hired History majors, psychology majors, computer majors, …you name it. As a college drop out myself after 3 years, it’s all BS garbage. Nearly all of them have gone off to become project managers, product specialists, application engineers, sales, programmers, you name it.

Do well in the interview, and be willing to work and learn is all that should be needed. Ironically the most successful people I have hired over the last 20 years only had high school diplomas. Frankly I think it’s because they were an open book and didn’t need “de-programming” from the vacuum of the current upper class education system.

Per your opening stanza.......that was some combination of your fault and your company's fault.

Also this bit fails the smell test........."Ironically the most successful people I have hired over the last 20 years only had high school diplomas".

I've been in and around a good number of businesses over the years, even if somehow your claim(s) is/are true per your slice of life they are absolutely untrue broadly.

[2Loud]

Originally Posted by EDS_

Per your opening stanza.......that was some combination of your fault and your company's fault.

Also this bit fails the smell test........."Ironically the most successful people I have hired over the last 20 years only had high school diplomas".

I've been in and around a good number of businesses over the years, even if somehow your claim(s) is/are true per your slice of life they are absolutely untrue broadly.

We'll have to agree to disagree. In my experience in highering in a high-tech cutting-edge technology company:

The college grads all repeat the same practiced lines and talking points to the point they are indistinguishable from one another regardless of the interviewer's questions. Answers are not authentic. Clones.

The high school grad comes just willing to work. The answers to interview questions are more authentic, less practiced, and honest. Not clones and unique from one another. Considerably more diverse background.

In either case for the positions, it takes a year of training to fully do the job independently. I never saw a college grad short-circuit the process and come out ahead.

I am unimpressed with the state of higher education as a result of this first-hand glimpse for a couple of decades now. The degree is nothing more than a punch card to gain entry into a position because so many companies require it. Hence why the actual degree doesn't really seem to matter. College grad? Check the box. But it does not lead to a more skilled employee in my experience.

(And yes I understand that many careers should certainly need a degree (doctors, structural engineers, lawyers, etc), but let's face it... Most open positions just need a 12 or 24-month apprenticeship within a company would do the same thing. The entire higher education system needs to be overhauled.)