Is A College Degree Outdated?
College Prices are on the Rise
The price of a college education is far outpacing the compensation one receives, making it difficult to justify obtaining a degree. Since 1980, the cost of college has tripled, while the average salary has only increased by 20%.1 As the costs of college continue to rise, the only option for most is to take out student loans. “Today, two-thirds of college students graduate with debt, which typically takes 17 years to pay off. The average loan balance at graduation has tripled since the ’90s to more than $30K — and nearly a tenth of borrowers owe more than $100K.”1 It doesn’t help that nearly half of recent graduates are living paycheck to paycheck.1 This begs the question, is a college degree even worth it??
How Does Having a College Degree Affect Your Salary?
Education and salary have a positive correlation. Those with higher education are open to a larger realm of higher-paying jobs. They are also subject to higher compensation for similar positions as those without a degree. Based on 2021 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary for different levels of education is as follows:?
By: Brittany Belnap - Based on information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics2
Unemployment is also affected by the level of education achieved. Data from 2021 shows the average rate of unemployment for different levels of education as follows:?
Thus, the higher the education achieved, the higher your salary will likely be, and the lower your chance for unemployment.?
How Does Having a College Degree Affect Your Ability to Get Jobs?
Some well-known companies are falling away from the requirement for a degree: Apple, Google, Netflix, Bank of America, and Hilton.3 About half of Apple's US employment in 2018 was made up of people who had no four-year degree, according to Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. He explains that a discrepancy exists between the skills that are obtained in college and the skills that will actually be needed for the future of our careers.4?
Technological skills, such as coding, are starting to supersede many skills that once required a degree. For example, experience with Salesforce is in high demand right now. By completing the Salesforce Trailhead Training Certification, which is a free online learning platform, you open the opportunity for a wide variety of jobs that require these certifications. Obtaining a certificate indicates that you have obtained a skill level and understanding specific to that company's proprietary software.
With an increase in these certification programs, the necessity of college degrees is called into question. Despite these advancements in technology, many companies are hesitant to take a new approach and are continuing with the traditional route of requiring a degree to even be considered. Harvard did a study on the requirement of degrees in job postings, and they noticed what they called “degree inflation”. They found that employers are starting to post the need for a degree for jobs that never required one before. Between 2007 and 2010, there was over a 10% increase in the requirement of at least a bachelor’s degree in job postings. Based on a survey, “employers believe that a college degree is more likely to deliver applicants who are workforce ready, in terms of soft skills as well as hard skills.”5 Employers don’t need applicants to know everything before they start the job. This is the point of training. Instead, employers need someone who can be molded into what the company demands. A college degree is a way to show that you fit this stipulation.
How Much of Your College Degree Education is Actually Utilized in the Workplace?
Picking a major is one of the most stressful parts of college. We tend to believe that once we decide on our major, we have to get a job in a related field because, otherwise, we won’t possess the skills needed to attempt something different. It turns out that the opposite is actually true for most graduates. According to Brad Plumar, in 2010, “only 27 percent of college grads had a job that was closely related to their major.”6?
Most employers want to know that you are able to learn what is necessary to do the job, but you don’t necessarily need to have all the skills when you apply. Regardless of your major, a degree is a great way to prove yourself. In addition to showing a great amount of fortitude, a college degree signals that you are teachable and capable of learning. It also indicates that you are able to communicate orally and in writing.?
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Continually learning and growing is going to be necessary for whatever future job you decide to take on, especially in this day when technology is becoming integrated into everything that we do. According to Ravi Kumar S. and Steve George, technology is likely to transform over one billion jobs—almost 1/3 of our jobs in the next decade.7 Most likely, skills that we don't even know about yet will be of importance in the future.?
Accounting demonstrates this well. Before computers, a big part of an accountant's job was making journal entries and posting them to the general ledger. It was a very scrutinous job that took all of an accountant’s effort just to keep up with the books. Come the 21st century, technology is able to make these entries and postings in a matter of seconds. Because of this, accountants have been forced to acquire a new set of skills. It is still necessary for them to know the basics of accounting, but analyzing and communicating data has become the majority of what they do. This requires new skills, such as coding, critical thinking, and problem-solving. So what exactly does college bring to the table??
College teaches us how to learn and grow intellectually as well as professionally. “On a personal level, many college graduates describe their own educational experience as having a generally positive impact on their personal and professional development.”8 Through professional development, many college graduates will be better prepared to enter the workforce. They will have a better knowledge of the hard work and determination necessary to achieve success. Although college isn’t going to prepare you for all the skills needed for your future career, it will prepare you to better grasp these new skills and give you a large set of skills that can apply to any job.
What is the Future of College Education?
While a college degree still seems to be the safest bet to landing that future job, technology is providing a way for us to steer away from this standard convention. According to the President of Infosys, and the Global CIO of Ernst & Young, it is only a matter of time until the requirement of having a college degree is deemed no longer necessary. They explain that leaving our education to a degree “implies that the nature of our work, along with the skills and knowledge required to execute it, remains unchanged for a lifetime – which of course is no longer true… Clearly, the future of work will not be about college degrees; it will be about job skills.”7?
Right now, even if you decide not to go to college, gaining some sort of education will be the best way to get your foot in the door. College alternatives, such as certifications (similar to those offered by Salesforce) as well as coding boot camps, are becoming popular. They are achieved in a shorter term, are cheaper, and are applicable to a wide variety of careers. Many companies accept these forms of education. Likely these skills training programs will become more sought out by employers and decrease the value of a college education. It is more important than ever to learn and grow throughout our careers.
Endnotes:?
1. Snacks, Robinhood. “The Graduation Edition - Robinhood Snacks.” Robinhood, May 16, 2022. https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/1sNyY1ogz3o6yy0QetHA6r/.?
2. “Education Pays, 2021.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2022. https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2022/data-on-display/education-pays.htm.?
3. Pelta, Rachel. “Education vs Experience: What Do Employers Want More?” FlexJobs Job Search Tips and Blog. FlexJobs.com, March 21, 2022. https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/education-vs-experience/#:~:text=Harvard%20Business%20School's%20study%20found,an%20applicant%2C%20not%20educational%20attainment.?
4. “Apple CEO Tim Cook Explains Why You Don't Need a College Degree to Be Successful.” Seattle Corporate Search, April 2022. https://www.seattlecorporatesearch.com/blog/news/office-news/apple-ceo-tim-cook-explains-why-you-dont-need-a-college-degree-to-be-successful#:~:text=There%20are%204%2C000%20schools%20in,and%20Hilton%2C%20according%20to%20Glassdoor.?
5. Fuller, Joeph, and Manjari Raman. “Dismissed by Degrees - Harvard Business School,” 2017. https://www.hbs.edu/managing-the-future-of-work/Documents/dismissed-by-degrees.pdf.?
6. Plumer, Brad. “Analysis | Only 27 Percent of College Grads Have a Job Related to Their Major.” The Washington Post. WP Company, November 25, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/05/20/only-27-percent-of-college-grads-have-a-job-related-to-their-major/.?
7. Kumar S., Ravi, and Steve George. “Why Skills - and Not Degrees - Will Shape the Future of Work.” World Economic Forum, September 21, 2020. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/reckoning-for-skills/.?
8. “The Value of a College Education.” Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project. Pew Research Center, September 28, 2021. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2016/10/06/5-the-value-of-a-college-education/.?
9. Peart, Lee. “The Future of Home Care Technology - Home Care Insight,” July 8, 2020. https://www.homecareinsight.co.uk/the-future-of-home-care-technology/.?
10. Graells, Esteve, and Goran Hinic Hinic. “How to Pass the Salesforce Admin Exam Using Trailhead.” Merivis Newsroom, February 27, 2018. https://blog.merivis.org/how-to-pass-the-salesforce-admin-exam-using-trailhead/.?