Several states have moved to remove the requirements for college degrees from government jobs. Jobs that require licensing, such as nurses and attorneys, still demand degrees, but for many positions where people with degrees used to receive priority, that is going away.
For instance, in Pennsylvania, Governor Josh Shapiro signed an executive order titled “Creating Opportunities by Prioritizing Work Experience for State Government Jobs.” Meanwhile, Utah governor Spencer Cox said, “Degrees have become a blanketed barrier to entry in too many jobs. Instead of focusing on demonstrated competence, the focus too often has been on a piece of paper. We are changing that.”
A Change That May Not Produce Much Change
An HR manager in the Utah government (who wishes to remain anonymous) speculates that the state’s new policy started because someone high up wanted to hire a specific person without a degree and couldn’t.
To keep reading, click here: The Death of the College Degree
As someone who has worked in media and marketing, I can say most of what I learned to be successful on the job came via training and working, not so much college. I don’t want to devalue my college education; it’s just that when it comes to job-specific knowledge and expertise, that came from on-the-job training and work. Of course, to even get there I needed a degree.
When I was growing up — a long, long, time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away — everyone drummed into our heads that we had to get a high school diploma in order to succeed. Now, a 4-year degree has practically replaced that mantra. I’m multi-degreed, and a huge supporter of higher education. I don’t have a problem with requiring college. However, right now the costs are out of sight. Free public education was a radical concept when it first arrived. We now need to make free college education a reality.
The outrageous cost is indeed a huge problem, and it tends to block out anyone who doesn’t have rich parents (especially people of color) unless they get predatory loans that can’t be discharged in bankruptcy.
Then wages that haven’t risen with the cost of living trap graduates in an endless cycle of debt trying to pay off those loans. So you get your degree but then all you can get is a low-paying job that’s not even in your field while paying what you can that doesn’t even go toward the principal amount. Meanwhile, someone’s making bank off the interest on your student loans and the amount never goes down. It’s like legal loan sharking and it needs to stop.
Costs have been out of sight for some time. Tuition and fees have been rising faster than inflation since I was in college, and when I started college we were still using typewriters to write papers. (wassat? get off my lawn!) Between the perceived necessity of a college degree for so many employment opportunities, and the ability for students and their families to take out almost endless student loans, there has been little or no incentive for most colleges and universities to keep costs down. Even costs at state schools are ridiculous.
I also have multiple degrees. I value the knowledge and experience involved, but for the most part I could do my job without them.
You may have already seen this, but just in case:
latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-caplan-education-credentials-20180211-story.html
Two comments here, are agreeing with the basic concept that it is not the degree that determines one’s job skill but how one applies the learning to apply to real-life situations in job-related skills. Going to college or any type of schooling beyond grammar school is learning how to think and act to create real-life solutions. This is not just making theory statements but viable solutions. Talk is cheap (despite the overcharged price demanded ) Most scammers don’t need degrees to achieve money and power but they do lack the capacity to see past their narcissism for the long-range goal. Until value is placed on skills that make the business concept work, people will continue to believe in illusions of power. It is not the school degree that makes one think but how one thinks using the knowledge learned.