Plans for College Need Realistic Boundaries

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2012/06/10/plans-for-college-need-realistic-boundaries.html

Learn to Think If You Want to Get Hired

http://www.usatoday.com/money/jobcenter/workplace/kay/story/2012-06-09/learn-to-think-listen-interact/55467614/1

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/

I have learned that if something does not have a purpose in your life, then it really has no value. Of course, purpose is very relative to that person and their particular being. For the context in which we are speaking, however, I am evaluating the tangible value of my education at this very moment in my life.

Thankful is far beyond an understatement in describing my feelings for my support system. However, it’s a somber reality in thinking about those who have absolutely no support in their journey to success. With all that being said, when it comes time to financially invest in your daily responsibilities and obligations how do you measure the value of your education? Meaning, how much do you value your education when being a broke college student has disgustingly overflowed and oozed its way into your alumni era.

Most people, including myself have a very high regard and respect for those who have done the necessary work to earn their degree. But is it just me, or can that value become skewed when some of the critical purposes for earning your degree continue to go unfulfilled? Educated…now what?

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?

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?

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

In a day when you can gain an entire education online and specific job search firms such as The Ladders exist that a large service or search specifically catered to educated individuals has been created. It would certainly thrive in this economy with more job seekers than ever. There are a few niche job search sites, but what we need is a service who gathers all employers who only want those educated candidates and can then match them with job seekers whose education has been verified. This would be a huge advantage for job searchers and employers alike. Employers would have a trustworthy resource pool of educated candidates looking for employment and job searchers would have access to postings from employers they know value their education. This my friend would be The Ultimate Job Search! Hopefully somewhere between the niche job search websites and popular sites such as Career Builder or Monster this will be developed at some point. It would be a positive step in restoring value to a hard earned college education and giving the educated the leg up that they deserve in the job market.

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.

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?

Degrees in Arts, Humanities and Architecture have shown the highest rates of unemployment for college graduates. Architecture would make the most sense since the collapse of the housing and new construction bubble a few years back.

Degrees in Health, Education and Engineering have shown the lowest rates and seem to be able to find jobs more easily in the tight economy.  It seems hard to believe that education is one of those considering all the cuts that are consistently taking place in schools. Perhaps it is just easier to find employment opportunities in Education and whether or not that lasts more than a few months was not factored into the equation. Overall graduates with an education in a technical field seem to have a lower chance of suffering unemployment.

Currently the national unemployment rate is at 8.2 % and the unemployment rate among college graduates has been at a record high.

Stay tuned for a continuation of this subject in our next post.

Reverence for a college graduates desire to do whatever it takes to have a successful career often becomes void because they are working towards a “possible opportunity” that really does not exist. Graduates often have faith that their hard work, networking, or being in the right place at the right time in front of the right person will override the fact that their employers only truth is that they are going to capitalize on college graduates free labor.

At this point the whole unpaid internship or volunteer job shadowing game is quite disgusting. As bad as most people do want to work, and do want to obtain legitimate job skills that will make them an asset to the company of their choice, this choice does not make their bills vanish into the abyss of paid in full land!