Entry level occupations and college requirements
Increasingly occupations are requiring entry-level employees to obtain a college degree. Twenty years ago someone could find a decent paying job with benefits without a college degree, but times are changing. While this is not absolute, as there are still small gems of jobs out there where someone can step foot in the door and make a decent living wage, the dominant worldview as of right now is a college degree is necessary.
Is this hurting or helping our society? Is it wrong to force people to attend college just to live comfortably, or, is this actually a positive thing because college can educate individuals, which can in return cause self-improvement and increase the stability and wealth of our nation?
Positive; it’s helping
Side Score: 10
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Negative; it’s hurting
Side Score: 11
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Attending college is extremely beneficial and is similar to an investment into your life. College increases a person's education levels which would make them help society more efficiently. Your question is whether raising job reqs to a college degree is beneficial or not to society. To answer this question, we must ask another one: Is higher college attendance (in the U.S.) a consequence of higher job requirements or is higher job requirements a consequence of higher college attendance? I believe both of these scenarios do help improve society. The first scenario is that higher college attendance is a result of a higher job requirement. In this scenario, companies will raise the bar on the value of their jobs in order to get more talented workers, which would in turn help them compete in a worldwide economy. Students with higher level degrees will earn the most money, so more people will attend college in order to get that degree. This helps our society because more people will be going to college ("forced" as you said but this is debatable because capitalism works this way) and attending college helps propel society forward. The second scenario is the reverse, in which students gradually attend college more. In this scenario, there will be a surplus of students with college degrees but undervalued jobs. Since there is a surplus of talent, companies will raise their job requirements higher because companies with higher talent levels will compete better in our capitalist society. This will again help society because the overall education level has increased, which will help our society grow. Personally, I think our society has leaned towards the first scenario. You also ask whether it is wrong to force students without a college degree to obtain one. My answer to this is that since our society is largely capitalist, partly communist from government interventions, it is not wrong. This is because in a capitalist society, many companies compete among themselves to have the larger wealth and influence. Some will become large and others will go bankrupt. It is the same on a lower level. Students have to compete with each other to have the highest degree possible to obtain the best jobs to live a better life. Some students will become highly successful while others will fail. Unfortunately this is the consequence of a capitalist society. Thus, to answer your question based on those two scenarios, I would say that raising job requirements to a college degree does help our society. If you disagree with me about whether forcing students who have disabilities or come from poorer backgrounds to have get a college degree is wrong, then you have to argue on the side on communism, where education is free and wealth spread out much more evenly. Side: Positive; it’s helping
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A recent study shows that 50% of college students that graduate have student loan debt. In 2008-09, more than $126 billion in financial aid was awarded to undergraduate students. USA Today reports that the average college graduate owes about $19,000 in student loan debt.This is a horrible "investment" in my opinion. Society's view that college is needed to "live comfortably" is in my opinion an elitest attitude. College is not needed to live comfortably,a budget with no debt and solid investments beats a large debt coming out of college into a career that pays so little that it takes graduates 30 years to pay off. A college education is not needed to live comfortably so don't let those who have one convince you that is the way to go.Hard work,no debt and long term investment strategies will out produce college every time. Just go out and get you some. Side: Negative; it’s hurting
So, what you are saying is that no one should get a college degree because the debt isn't worth it and is a "horrible investment"? Well, if that's what you believe, don't send your children to college Now for others who know math, 94% of freshmen graduate from MIT and they earn on average 3.1 million dollars over a 30 year working lifespan. This is almost three times the average amount that high shoolers with no higher degree than a high school diploma can earn in 34 years, around 1.1 million dollars. Now MIT is a top school but even if you go to an ordinary college and earn a college degree, on average you would earn around 2.1 million dollars, twice as much as someone with just a high school degree. Now you also say that college students have a lot of student loans, reaching around 40000 dollars. This is not the point of the question. The point of the question is asking whether a college education is beneficial for society, it is. But to dispute your claim that college is a terrible investment, consider that the opportunities are endless. If you were in high school and decided that college would not be a good investment, where would you work? As a CEO? As a doctor or lawyer? NO, OF COURSE NOT. Opportunities include working in a fast food store, working in construction, building structures for the city. You could become a policeman, which is a respectful job, or join the army. The fact is that there aren't nearly as many opportunities for high school graduates as there are for college graduates...and you can't argue that more opportunities=better. You also point out that "living comfortably" is elitist. Well, if you ask anyone except the most austere people, they would say that they want to live comfortably...so it isn't only the elite who want this after all. You also can't argue that college will give you more opportunities to have a better life, therefore more chances you have to live comfortably. A college degree isn't required, its just easier to get to that dream job and dream house of yours. A college education is not needed to live comfortably so don't let those who have one convince you that is the way to go.Hard work,no debt and long term investment strategies will out produce college every time. Hard work??? Who really want to work extremely hard in order to get the job done?? Isn't that what efficiency and inventions are for? You have a college degree, how hard do you have to work? Harder than if you only had a high school degree? Of course! If you really want a better chance at a comfortable life, study hard to earn a college degree, unless of course you're like MegaDittos and would love to farm the fields in the sweltering sun everyday. Side: Positive; it’s helping
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Wonder why some of you can't hear another opinion without going to the extreme and putting words in people's mouths? "So, what you are saying is that no one should get a college degree because the debt isn't worth it "- not even close to what I said. For some people college is a great investment but you try and make it seem like it is needed by all,it clearly is not. College is a bad investment if you go into debt,the numbers I posted are only for graduates,what about all those who borrow money and drop out? Sure you can post examples of college as a great investment as I can post examples of large debt making less than others who did not attend college. My point is that you state that college is needed to "live comfortably" and I call bullshit on that. Side: Negative; it’s hurting
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"You also point out that "living comfortably" is elitist"- wrong again I stated that if someone believes you must go to college to live comfortably , THAT is elitest. The original questioner stated , "force people to attend college just to live comfortably" and I believe that premise is wrong. Side: Negative; it’s hurting
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MegaDittos: I am new to the site so maybe I did not word correctly or given enough specific information based on my curiosities. The reason for my question was a curiosity based on a personal friend of mine’s thoughts. She has a high school degree and raising two children. She is currently looking for a job and in the search has found that the only jobs she can qualify for are low minimum wages that would barely cover her fees per week in childcare costs. The fields she would love to work in have minimum entry level requirements of a bachelors or master degree. In talking with her she feels as if she is “forced” to either go back to college to earn that degree or accept low paying jobs with little or no benefits which would still put her in a struggle just to pay the bills per month and necessary expenses. I realize there could be a different interpretation of “living comfortably”, but I was initially meaning it to cover just basic necessities of life without having to worry about paying bills, medical expenses, childcare expenses versus extravagant or luxurious living expenses. If my friend did not have any children she stated she would be in better condition with those wages (certainly not wealthy, but "okay"). This has caused me to question the role of college in our society in connection with the labor market. Sorry for any confusion and lack of information. Side: Positive; it’s helping
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No need to apologize on this site or to me,certainly someone in that situation is going to have a tougher road but it is a chosen one. My argument is only with the thought that she "must" go to college. Many have not gone to college, including myself and are quite comfortable and will be because we saw the situation and took advantage of it.Living comfortably is available to all Americans,it is just a matter of going out and getting it. Side: Positive; it’s helping
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Common sense goes out the door when the mind is taught what is acceptable. The higher the degree the less common sense one has. Somehow people believe that one cannot be self taught and must have a piece of paper to prove one's knowledge. Knowledge is of little use if one does not know how to apply it. This trend that a piece of paper determines one's abilities, is nothing more than a scapegoat. One cannot be at fault for hiring someone that has proof of schooling. Diplomas are worthless in all aspects abilities. It just proves that someone has conformed to the system and probably can conform to another system. Brainwashing, legally killing the mind of all individuality until conforming is the only known course of action. Side: Negative; it’s hurting
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Subsidizing college education is the downfall that is increasing the requirement for low entry level occupations with college education. This is known as underemployment. Subsidizing college education leads to many with college degrees where 25% to 30% are graduating from college on an annual basis, yet only 15-20% new jobs are created to maximum graduation efficiency, plus it doesn't include some fields have an plethora of graduates and few opportunities while some fields have little graduates and many opportunities. This is the result of free college or subsidizing education. Egypt Side: Negative; it’s hurting
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