We've discussed the topic of "credential creep" on this forum before. This is a great article from the New York Times on the issue.... http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/education/edlife/edl-24masters-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
Sad people think this way. My brother made around 60K as a carpenter/cabinet maker. He is a pro at his job or I should say he is an artist. His only pre job training...four years of high school wood shop. He leads a crew so it’s a management job but still, he has no degree. The only reason the guy in the article is waiting tables is he’s lazy.
I am just a little curious as to what he thought his career options would be with an undergrad in history? Perhaps if he continued on to become a history teacher it would be a good degree, but other than that.... a HS school friend of mine went and obtained a BA in history - he then managed a Wendy's for many years after that, then I lost touch.
Two in 25 would represent 8 %; "nearly 2 in 25" would be slightly less. According to Census Bureau data, the exact percentage is 7.6 %. This represents the percentage of the US population, aged 25 or older, who have a master's as their highest degree. However, this figure does not include people who have professional degrees or doctorates. If you add them, then the percentage of the US population, aged 25 or older, with a master's or higher degree rises to 10.5 %. Furthermore, this 10.5 % number includes everyone aged 25 or older -- including retirees who represent a generation that was much less likely to pursue advanced degrees. For people in the current workforce, the number is probably higher still.
Yeah, I wondered the same thing. I doubt that employers will be beating his door down with a master's degree in Jewish studies either.
Agreed... Well, I had a quick gander at the CIA's career opportunities, and I failed to see one that the master's in Jewish Studies would help in. Once he's done, he'll complain that the CIA won't take him even though he has a masters. He would be well advised to check the site himself and perhaps find a graduate degree that will help him towards his goal...
*chuckle* indeed. I would think that to pursue his dreams in that field, he would know how to keep quiet... kind of an essential quality for a CIA agent, n'est pas?
You don't need a college degree to get a good job and make good money. People in the trades (Plumbers, Carpenters, Electricians) are a perfect example of that; good wages, good benefits, and retirement. People who makes absurd claims like the one in the title of this thread assume that you need a master's degree to remain competitive. When in reality, your abilities within your given profession determine how successful you will become. A degree will simply open the doors and give you an opportunity to showcase your skills, but that's it.
It really depends on the profession. The three examples you pointed to above are all blue collar jobs. Obviously they can pay very well, but for those of us that prefer white collar jobs, a college degree has become the defacto standard. I look at my area, IT. Back in the late '90s, no one expected the network guy to have a bachelors. The best you could ask for were some certs. Heck, many of the best programmers (the part of IT that is most degree conscious) were college dropouts. Now, certs alone will get you an entry level job, at best. Some folks are able to move up the ladder in their company with just certs and their experience, but most eventually experience one (or both) of two things. Either a) they reach a glass ceiling in their company that they need a degree to crack, and/or b) They find difficulty getting work at other companies because they are competing with folks with experience AND a degree, and as a result are stuck working at their current company.
Well, the problem that Kids nowadays go to undergraduate school, and do not know what they want to do for a career. Isn't that the majority undergraduate students have undeclared major during the first two years? Partying and easy classes are still in the American college students mind. As much as I love to have a degree in Philosophy, but I don't know what kind of job I have with that degree. Maybe I can use the reasoning in philosophy how to make coffee at Starbucks. I have a roommate, who don't like to work for the Government...especially politic. He has a Bachelor in Political Science, and a Master degree in National Security from Johns Hopkins. He lost his job recently, and blamed that hard to find a job in security area. He complains that there are more job in IT, and how lucky I am.
Last year, there was a degreeinfo thread called: "A bachelor's degree is the new high school diploma" This year, there is a degreeinfo thread called: "The Master's as the New Bachelor's" So it shouldn't be long until someone starts a degreeinfo thread called: "The doctoral degree is the new master's"
hahahahhaahaa... What will I have to earn next to be considered fully competent??? How many doctorates must one do?
Personally, I prefer the idea of a HIGH QUALITY undergraduate liberal arts education, followed by a professional master's program. Maybe you guys are much more focused than I was, but at 18 I had no clue what I wanted to do. Actually, that is not correct. At 18 I THOUGHT I knew what I wanted to do, but by 23 it was completely different. That is what I loved about my liberal arts undergraduate education. I got exposed to a ton of different fields and discovered what I really enjoyed doing. In fact, if I were a liberal arts program, I would formalize a 4+1 system, whereby students do a 4 year Liberal arts curriculum, and a 5th year professional (or academic) masters program that they decide on in their senior year.
I like that idea, especially for recent high school graduates going straight to college. I spent a decade in the military before finishing college and graduate / post graduate (seminary). At 18 I would have actually done the same thing but I don't think I was nearly as ready as I was in my mid / late twenties doing it after some real life experience to confirm it.
