Will getting a college degree guarantee a higher paying job? In theory, yes. In reality, apparently not at the moment according to this CNN article by Emily Jane Fox. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 260,000 people who had a college or professional degree are currently earning at or below federal minimum wage of 7.25 per hour last year. The worst year of low income college grads are in the past (327,000); however, 260,000 is still a significantly high number comparing to what it was before the Great Recession.
Consistent to my last blog post, the article mentions that the only jobs that are really growing in the U.S. are low-wage jobs; in addition:
"and at the same time, wages across occupations, especially in low-wage jobs, are declining."
This online article also features a short video (~ 3 min) called "The engineer drop-out problem", which is worth checking out.
Thank you for reading
Comments are appreciated.
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260,000 graduates in minimum wage jobs
It worries me to see that so many college graduates are forced to work minimum wage jobs. Minimum wage barely covers living expenses and it does not come close to covering our student loans. However, having a college degree is still better than a high school diploma. So we cannot say that is it worthless.
ReplyDeleteFrom watching the video, it seems like there are jobs lined up for those who are STEM majors. This makes sense because the world is becoming more capital intensive. Since there are less people with the skills needed to work with new technologies, wages in those areas will be higher.
I would be interested to see what types of schools they went to ex big, small, liberal arts... as well as academic prestige (community college vs ivy league) and if the role that students major played as well.
ReplyDeleteSomething to consider is the Alumni networking system at each school. It seems in the present day economy that Jobs have become so competitive that frictional unemployment can be reduced by the connections you make with other people rather then the actual degree you have. In some cases schools get so big that the student becomes just a number to them rather then a person with interest to help them.
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, a college degree serves as a screening process to a well paying job. Many jobs I have applied to wouldn't really use the skills I used in my Economics major, but the employer realizes I can go to class on my own, turn in assignments, and graduate from a private school. In my opinion, that is sad that a college education approaches $200,000 just for screening in the end.
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