Written by Every news source seems to be reporting the same now that summer is here. More bad news for job seekers! Except this time its so bad even high school students can’t find temporary summer jobs. The lack of of seasonal employment is said to be at its lowest since World War II! How is any educated professional or recent graduate expected to find a job when even simple seasonal employment cannot be found? Something is terribly wrong and its just getting worse. Seems like its slowly trickling down to every workforce group. There are countless numbers of students set to start or return to college in the fall, but how can they justify that in this market. Of course many will feel its best to ride this out while getting an education. It could be that for some the better choice could be just forgoing the debt they will accumulate and college. What do you think? Would you start college in the Fall?
Posts in category education crisis
Some Education Information
Its summer time and that means new graduates and students are making big decisions for their future come the fall. The following are some great articles we have round up for the week that every educated person or even anyone considering a higher education will find very informative. Some paint a promising future for those committed to pursuing a higher education and others feature a painful truth about the tough circumstances that may continue for a lot of those who have found little payoff for their degree.
Plans for College Need Realistic Boundaries
Learn to Think If You Want to Get Hired
Graduates to Graduates: Stay Positive
http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/local/fox_cities/graduates-to-graduates-stay-positive
Student Loans Due? Here’s What to Consider
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505146_162-57448110/student-loans-due-heres-what-to-consider/
Education Epidemic
Plan C…
My journey includes significant experience working within the sports industry. I mention that only to emphasize the irony of the idea of having a Plan C. Yes…I made that up in my head but please be open to my rationale.
During all of the work I have done for organizations from little league all the way up to professional sports, the universal lecture to ALL is have a Plan B! Right??? Right! So I’m just a bit curious if there are any parents, or mentors out there in this fascinating time we are living cautioning young people in their lives as they run up to them with gusto and naivete saying, “I want to go to college”, replying to them, “I support your dream, but make sure you have a Plan C just in case that higher education thing does not work out!”
Historically a college education has carried the weight of being a solid foundation to implement your Plan B effectively. I’m of the opinion the solid foundation that has held our beloved Plan B for so many years has a severe crack in it. Could the irony now exist of having a back-up plan “just in case” our wild dreams of being a college educated, gainfully employed, financially productive citizen does not happen either despite all of your hard work, hopes, and dreams? Educated…now what?
A SELLERS MARKET
Not a Buyers’ Market…
Has the degree industry become like the real estate industry? (And yes, I did say degree industry on purpose) Are you upside down in the return on your investment? Did you pay more for your degree yesterday than its’ worth today? Upside-down mortgage…does that sound familiar?
Or perhaps the purchase of a college degree is metaphorically more reflective of the purchase of a car. What is exactly the total cost of ownership of a 2012 model college degree? The moment your drove that shiny new degree off the university lot, did it depreciate in value? If you sold your degree back to the university would you be upside- down in that car note?
Just like there is sometimes a great time to buy, or a great time to sell, could there possibly also be a great time to get educated?
CALLING ALL GUEST BLOGGERS!
We are looking for anyone interested in guest blogging and sharing their experiences,knowledge or just venting. Are you Educated, Now What? ….then we want to hear from you! You don’t have be an experienced blogger as we are all about sharing the real stories of the educated.
UNDEREMPLOYMENT IN 2012
Useless Degree Syndrome (UDS)
Just coming to realize you might have been infected by a useless degree? At what point did you realize there might be a bigger problem?
Symptoms of (UDS)
*Underemployment
*Past due bill payments and you want to pay your bills soooooo badly
*Inability to pay back the student loans for that precious degree hanging on your wall
*Endless job searches with no tangible results
*Growing resentment for trying to better yourself
*Inbox filled with rejections from jobs first thing in the morning
*Responses from jobs you forgot you even applied for
*Unexplained or unprovoked aggression towards underwhelming job descriptions *Uncontrolled twitching of the eye to the term “overqualified”
*Slight depression intermingled with overpowering determination to not be a statistic
*Reoccurring hallucinations that you are regressing in life instead of progressing
*Lack of mental understanding in areas such as:
-Earning a job in your field
-Making almost the same salary I did long before I had a degree
-Non-paid internships
-Not being hired because you are actually the best candidate
EDUCATED, BUT CANT AFFORD TO EAT!
A while back a special aired on Food Network about the Hunger Crisis in America and it featured a particular man and his family that could not help but touch your heart. He is raising his son by himself and doing custom furniture and upholstery in his garage just to try and keep them fed. Now go back a year or two and this man had a degree in Economics and a promising career in the mortgage industry. He bought a nice home and things were going well and his education was providing him with a nice life for his son. Now fast forward the to economy and mortgage industry tanking and this man is about to have his house auctioned off and struggles to even afford to feed himself and family. This is not the case of lazy person or someone who went down the wrong path. This was an educated gentleman who followed the system and worked to receive qualifications that were supposed to benefit him in life. Unfortunately, he is not alone and many have been failed by there education. Many worked tirelessly for degrees that now enable them to at best work a minimum wage job. Something is wrong here and needs to be fixed if we ever expect education to be restored to its former glory and value.
Zero Unemployment
An interesting article came out recently about zero unemployment. It claimed that the unemployment rate of certain niche degrees was 0 percent. Now of course everyone would love to graduate and find a wonderful job right away, but that’s far from reality. However, their seems to be some fields that claim their are more jobs than workers right now…hard to believe considering the economy. Students majoring in Astrophysics,Actuary Science, Pharmacology and Geophysics are said to have job offers rolling in even before they graduate. This may be true for some schools and some areas, but is certainly not the norm. Not to mention those majors are difficult and not what your typical college student dreams of pursuing. Another tricky thing to consider in the concept of zero unemployment is the fact that it does not count those students who move onto graduate school as unemployed. That is a major glitch considering that the majority of those involved in these fields go onto obtain a masters degree or higher during their education.
The point is there is really no guarantee of which education niche will land you a job right away. Even professionals in these highly sought after fields claim the abundance of jobs will change soon just like every other field as more graduates enter the job market. There may be some degrees that are safer bets than others, but the bottom line is a higher education should be worth more than it currently is no matter what the degree focus. If you are going to spend tens of thousands of dollars and dedicate four years of your life or more to specializing in something it should pay off in some way some how. That’s sadly not the case and degree is no longer a degree and education is going to have to change if we ever want to begin to fathom a zero unemployment rate.
STUDENTS BECOMING JUST ANOTHER CUSTOMER
As college costs are rising and so are the number of new graduates it makes you wonder if higher education is becoming a for profit industry instead of a service. A college degree has certainly never been cheap, but current costs are outrageous. The average cost per year of a four year public university is around $21000! Now no one expects tuition to be the same it was 20 or 30 years ago, but tuition seems to increase by giant leaps on a consistent basis. It cannot just be keeping up with operation costs, these schools are most likely making a profit. Has the high cost caused lower enrollment numbers? Not a chance, students are just taking on more debt. It makes you wonder if higher education has the student in mind or just the amount of money they bring in tuition. Is this what is wrong with education? If higher education was more student and service focused would graduates have abetted chance at finding employment and have their degree held in higher regard by potential employers.
DEGREE RIP OFF????
New college students are presented with a plethora of degree options and majors. Usually those who have trouble deciding or not sure where to start visit one of the college counselors at their particular school. These counselors then help you find out what interest you and what path you should take during your education.
Here is the part that no longer makes sense. There are numerous studies and data available that suggest certain degrees are not likely to lead to gainful employment much less a nice salary. However schools still offer them and counselors still encourage students to pursue them. My question to you is “How can we continue to offer and recommend an education that will not even come close to helping one provide for themselves?” We still charge them the same outrageous tuition and allow them to rack up loans. It almost seems like a scam and a situation that only benefits the schools and loan companies.
Let’s consider the following: In our society there are different levels of quality for our various products and service. We know and accept that often times the higher quality and service will cost us quite a bit more than the cheaper bargain end option which likely offers far less quality and service. Basically if you want the best you will end up paying for it and you get what you pay for!
Now educational institutions do not operate this way at all. They provide products that will greatly vary in their benefit and pay off to the student or “customer if you will”. However the high tuition remains the same for all offerings. It seems like the reward should justify the investment and this is far from the case in higher education offerings. Now certainly money isn’t everything to some people and there is nothing wrong with pursuing their passion in life whether they reap great rewards or not. It just seems as if schools and counselors should fully disclose the fact that an education no longer guarantees success. Many young people entering college have heard their whole lives that they must have an education to succeed. Now that our country, economy, job market and workforce have changed greatly it seems time that education do the same. Maybe some degrees have become irrelevant and perhaps many no longer warrant the high cost of tuition and large debt many will have accumulated when they graduate.
So do you think there are some degrees that are no longer relevant?
Should the cost of all degrees be the same despite their earning and employment potential?
Are Colleges and Universities doing a disservice to students and perhaps even being unethical by promoting degrees with little worth?
