Unpopular Opinion Thursday

wendyld

critti710:

Snowful:

wendyld:

I totally disagree about college being a waste for most people, including business degrees.  A lot of companies won't even consider applicants without XYZ degree.  I know in my field (and I'm sure many others) the degree isn't meant to teach you specifics of the job since the company will want to teach you their policies and practices anyhow.  The degree shows them that you know how to learn, understand the basic concepts, and can apply yourself.  

I don't think anyone said college is a waste for most people.  It may be a waste for some, but I think saying "most" is going too far. 

In my experience, once you get past entry level positions, companies look more at experience than your college degree. If I was hiring someone, I care more about what they know and their ability to learn than their degree. There are always those with degrees who have problems applying themselves and learning new concepts.  It's sad, but true. 

DH has been really into economics lately and he was actually telling me the other day about statistics he saw on an economist's blog about how much higher unemployment rates are for people without a college degree. 

We also were talking about a friend who has been looking for a job.  She found a listing for a job doing administrative work for a staffing agency, which is what she did at her prior job for several years.  They wouldn't even give her an interview, though, because the company requires any kind of college degree, which she doesn't have. 

I don't think that a college degree in any way guarantees you a job in your field of study, but it certainly gives you a leg up in the job market generally.

I think Critti may have made my point more clearly.  I agree that beyond entry level jobs, hiring managers do look more at experience than transcripts, but you have to actually get that entry level job, which often requires the degree, for this to even be an option. 

amanjay

wendyld:

critti710:

Snowful:

wendyld:

I totally disagree about college being a waste for most people, including business degrees.  A lot of companies won't even consider applicants without XYZ degree.  I know in my field (and I'm sure many others) the degree isn't meant to teach you specifics of the job since the company will want to teach you their policies and practices anyhow.  The degree shows them that you know how to learn, understand the basic concepts, and can apply yourself.  

I don't think anyone said college is a waste for most people.  It may be a waste for some, but I think saying "most" is going too far. 

In my experience, once you get past entry level positions, companies look more at experience than your college degree. If I was hiring someone, I care more about what they know and their ability to learn than their degree. There are always those with degrees who have problems applying themselves and learning new concepts.  It's sad, but true. 

DH has been really into economics lately and he was actually telling me the other day about statistics he saw on an economist's blog about how much higher unemployment rates are for people without a college degree. 

We also were talking about a friend who has been looking for a job.  She found a listing for a job doing administrative work for a staffing agency, which is what she did at her prior job for several years.  They wouldn't even give her an interview, though, because the company requires any kind of college degree, which she doesn't have. 

I don't think that a college degree in any way guarantees you a job in your field of study, but it certainly gives you a leg up in the job market generally.

I think Critti may have made my point more clearly.  I agree that beyond entry level jobs, hiring managers do look more at experience than transcripts, but you have to actually get that entry level job, which often requires the degree, for this to even be an option. 

Agreed- we call this "credentialling" in sociology. Essentially it comes down to, "We're too lazy to figure out if you actually know how to learn certain stuff or are hard working or not if this is your first job, so we'll use your degree as a proxy."

There are a lot of things in academia that are just hoop-jumping, though. Candidacy exams/final quals/capstone exams don't seem to be applicable in the information age. They're just academic hazing. "You have to do this because we had to do this." 

I'm not sure how to change the model without dumbing down education even further, though.