Want Fries With That Degree?

Employers are requiring college degrees more and more, for jobs that have never needed a college education. Many companies these days won't consider hiring applicants without that degree. It doesn't seem to matter to employers what the degree is for, because that expensive education may not even be needed. It's simply being used as a screening tool. So now we've got receptionists, store clerks, office support, day care workers, you name it - thousands of dollars in debt for a college education so they could get a job somewhere, doing something. And the longer they're away from their specialized field of study, the more likely they'll be left behind and will never work in that field. Got a degree in architecture? You might wind up working as a waitress at Red Lobster, to try to pay those bills. After a year or two goes by, what are the odds that some architecture firm will hire you? It gets less likely with every passing month. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 317,000 waiters and waitresses have college degrees (over 8,000 of them have doctoral or professional degrees), along with over 80,000 bartenders, and over 18,000 parking lot attendants. All told, some 17,000,000 Americans with college degrees are doing jobs that the BLS says require less than the skill levels associated with a bachelor’s degree. There is a growing disconnect between labor market realities and the propaganda of higher education. We keep raising the educational bar (and the resulting debt) higher and higher. I just don't understand the logic of it.

It's the same in Canada.

It's really, really horrible. Back in the day, you graduated highschool or got a bachelor's and you were set with a career? These days? Nah.

I have a feeling I'll be stuck in retail for a long time.

Yep. Now to get a career, you have to have a BS and 2 years experience in that field.

In my department, we had people with Masters applying for an OPS position (no benefits) and about $10 an hour.

It's a shame that such high requirements are necessary for such rudimentary positions. Working at PetSmart for the last year and a half brought me to the conclusion that I want to work with animals permanently. This year I will be attending The Vet Tech Institute of Houston, and I'm very excited to do so. This is a great time for such schooling since the Vet Tech field is growing very close to having a National certification be the standard requirement for employment. And for the rest of my life if I stay in the same field the school will do my job searching and wage negotiating for me.

That is a lose-lose situation.
Over-qualified people tend to be unhappy with their jobs and it can show. It is unfulfilling for the employee and, the employer won't get that persons A-Game for very long.

There really does need to be more reliable labour market analysis available for kids just starting college or university. Atleast give them good data to make choices based on. Flooding a market with people qualified for something that offers little to no employment prospects helps no one at all.

More and more do I count myself lucky that my husband and I are doing alright for two 24-year olds with only some college and no degrees. My job doesn't really seem to use it as a filter. They hire anyone but have a quick turnaround for people that don't cut it. It doesn't pay much more than most retail places, but it's good enough for now.

For my husband, it seems that the world of computer science government contracting doesn't really care about degrees. Displaying practical knowledge of programming languages is good enough, and a lot of the degree-holders actually know the least and don't fare well. He's been jumping from contract to contract since high school, and they're now paying for part time college that will eventually get him a big raise for doing the exact same job. Once that happens, then I'm going back for biology; or staying home and making babies if finances agree...

My husband is experiencing the opposite effect right now. He's been looking for a job for the last 4 months. He has a degree, 4 years as an Army officer and is a veteran (tax break for companies that hire him!). He's continually being denied because he's "over qualified".

I'm really worried about getting a job, I'll have a bachelor of science with a double major in Marine Biology and Captive wildlife by the end of this year, but the field is so competitive I almost have to go to graduate school to get anything above being a lower zoo employee. Who knew it took so much schooling to be qualified to pick up poop! :P
Seriously though, $40,000 in debt and who knows how long it will take me to get a good job in my field. My boyfriend is a bartender who took a 6 week coarse and now makes more money an hour then I will at an entry level job.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by sorraia

He's continually being denied because he's "over qualified".

---

That's been happening to me and I hate it.
The 'higher' stuff won't hire me because I don't have the right qualifications, yet the 'lower' stuff won't hire me because I'm over qualified.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by satomi325

That's been happening to me and I hate it.
The 'higher' stuff won't hire me because I don't have the right qualifications, yet the 'lower' stuff won't hire me because I'm over qualified.

---

Isn't it awful?! The latest was an entry-level type position as gate guard. He's "over qualified", but they'll have openings for other jobs he'll be better suited at "soon"! However, instead of hiring him for the gate guard position (he needs a job NOW), and then moving him up later, they are waiting for one of those other positions.... He needs a job NOW. He's going to keep looking, if they wanted him that bad they would have hired him already.

"If I'm over qualified then give me the job and PAY ME MORE!" :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TheSnakeGuy

"If I'm over qualified then give me the job and PAY ME MORE!" :D

---

Sadly that is the issue. Overqualified means they think you will expect more and or be looking for better work because you are not. I feel for the vet being told this I heard it a lot as well. It is about the most frustrating thing ever. It is not a compliment to hear "we would have hired you but though you would be board doing this job, you are over qualified for it."

All those stats about resteraunt workers having their degrees.. I was in the industry for 7 years.. The last couple I seriously couldnt believe how someone could have whatever degree they had and not have the common sense to do basic tasks.. That is what is wrong with the country


A lot of educated ppl that can't apply their education in real life situations.. I don't really blame the "students" with that but more the teachers and school systems.. I'm going to use my own family as an example here..

My sister 28yrs old has a masters in psychology.. Is on her 3rd school in 3yrs and makes 30k a year b4 taxes and because out parents are together she has about 250k worth of tuition debt

My cousin 25yr old pot head, straight A student since grade school, current PHD student as a mechanical engineer at UIC.. Parents divorced and due to that got free ride from our government for 5 years. No scholarships and is. Now only paying 2500 a semester to get his phd. Yet he gets paid by his school for various work and makes 2k a moth after taxes with a 3% guaranteed raise ver year...

Then there's me.. The black sheep I'm only 24.. Could have cared less in highschool... Bored idk maybe but barley graduated. Never did college didn't have any desire to.. Been laid off 4 times in the last 6 years. I bust my arse for everything I have.. Have 0 credit card debt and the only bills I have are your basic living needs.. Food shelter gas car indurance and a phone.. I am a "self taught" mechanic and make 30k - year after taxes at a small shop.. Been there almost two years and have been promoted from technician to service management.

Some will say well me making more then my sister is what's wrong.. It's not it's the lack of common sense amongst employers with such high education that that cannot see how things really work in life.. I make as much or more money then two ppl that combined have over 15 years of college experience..

The majority of college educated ppl will be getting out of school after several years and with so much debt that even if they make double ehat the avg non educated slacker makes its going to take them 30 years to come out on top..

Maybe we as Americans need to re think the whole structure of who gets paid what.. Why is some one like teachers of political science making what a brain surgeon does? Why do ppl pay 40k a year to go to school to get a job where the avg salary is less then one years tuition?

- - - Updated - - -

Sorry for the wall o text rant and it prolly doesnt even make sense as my UNeducated ass was all over the place but hopefully the basic message comes across

Not sure why you're complaining about your cousin. He seems to be doing decently enough. Not to mention, you're only making $500 more a month than him.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Raptor

Not sure why you're complaining about your cousin. He seems to be doing decently enough. Not to mention, you're only making $500 more a month than him.

---

Wasnt really complaining about him he is doing well.. It was more for comparison to my sister.. Now with my cousin what is messed up is he gets paid to do nothing really.. He fully admits he "works" less then 5 hours a week

Yep, I'm a telemarketer with an associates and a bachelors degree in Sociology. The sad thing is, majority of my coworkers have at least one degree. It's hard to find jobs that really should require a degree, and it's super frustrating to have school debt that doesn't even pay for itself.

And the sad thing, is its fixing to get a lot worse before it gets better.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AngelOtter

I'm really worried about getting a job, I'll have a bachelor of science with a double major in Marine Biology and Captive wildlife by the end of this year, but the field is so competitive I almost have to go to graduate school to get anything above being a lower zoo employee. Who knew it took so much schooling to be qualified to pick up poop! :P
Seriously though, $40,000 in debt and who knows how long it will take me to get a good job in my field. My boyfriend is a bartender who took a 6 week coarse and now makes more money an hour then I will at an entry level job.

---

Hopefully for very specific scientific fields having precise degrees will help...I graduated with a double major in biology and public health and in the fall will be departing for a Masters/PhD program in infectious diseases/tropical medicine (Masters) and microbiology (PhD)

There are some great points here. Part of the problem is that people pick winky dink degrees rather than job and market specific degrees. I know my specific field in IT and management has never lost a beat even with the economic downfalls. It just decreased demand from 30+ to low 20+%. The biggest injustice being committed is the colleges pushing for any student to get any degree. That's just unrealistic. There needs to be a plan in place. I was smart enough to do my own but many college students think that any degree will land them a job. That just isn't the case nowadays. Good topic!

Regards,

B

The field I'm in school for is hard to get a full time paid job, lots of applicants for one spot. More or less I keep adding on to my certifications and am getting a full degree in fire science in hopes that when the time comes I can be a little bit ahead of the next guy because of all of it. It's funny tho cuz during school I've been working as a CNA and last time I quit and was looking for work I had two smaller nursing homes turn me down because Im emt certified, I told both i thought that would be a good thing. They just said we don't want to pay more than minimum wage.. So like 8 or so in MN

I agree, a "Do what you like" degree choice is just dumb. Philosophy, art, etc. shouldnt be majors anymore. Seriously, if you're not in engineering/architecture , a technology field, or a business degree... What's the point? We have fire training here at my college, that's pretty relevant but until a fire fighter becomes a salaried position and not volunteered I don't see it being worth it.

I switched from Computer Science to MSIS, due to being mathematically stupid. I'm still in a tech field that's every expanding but it's still slim. I imagine I'll be working convenience store/management spots for a while before my degree kicks in.
Sent from my SAMSUNG Galaxy SIII using Tapatalk 2

Nice thing about my college they have it in place to help you get a paid fire fighter position haha not going through three years of fire, rescue and medic training to volenter :) but I agree if your going to school just to get a degree you have no desire to do just gotta get a degree in anything it's a waste, I spent time in college before I switched to FF and I had no clue why I was there what I wanted outta life or really anything but the collage was happy to take 10k a year while I stumbled around confused. Took five years off now I'm back an actually feel like I'm in right place

Yeah, if there was considerable money (or as much as is possible in tech) I'd be going to one of the top three vet colleges in the world to become a Herp vet. There's just not a promise of enough money to make the debt worth it. I don't want to spend the next 7 more years in school to be drowning in federal debt.

Sent from my SAMSUNG Galaxy SIII using Tapatalk 2

But the government wants you to spend 4-8 years paying for advanced knowledge! Haha or as I refer to it now dig yourself into dept as soon as you move out of your parents so that once your considered an independent adult you are already working to pull yourself out of the red. My favorite thing when applying for work is when they say you need two years experience in that field, how when you just get outta school are you supposed to have that. N now I'm rambling because this is a topic that frustrates me cuz in 7 years outta high school the Feds have spent 6 complaining about money I o for school yet they give me more student loans when I decided to go back after 5 years out of school.

It's not like that here. You cannot get a retail type job with a college degree. You are considered overqualified. They also see you as just using them as a temporary stepping stone to something else when they want people to be with them for a while.

I think there's a fundamental problem with assuming that everyone who pursues higher ed can/should pick a degree in a STEM field just because the job market is better. This accurately displays almost everything that's wrong with our society. We don't place enough value on the arts, or history, or education field. Not everyone is tech/science/math-smart, so not everyone can pursue those degrees. But what about the kid who could recite a world history text book from memory? He's no less intelligent just because history clicks and math doesn't, and no less deserving of a job that utilizes his talents. If he took your advice and got a degree in medicine anyway he could very well be the fumbling screw-up that never gets a diagnosis or dosage right because he isn't wired right for that line of work, raising the need and cost of liability insurance for everyone who actually belongs there.

Simply put, society needs people in every field that exists, we just have a problem with acknowledging the value of alternate studies.

The problem with being an art major is that almost anyone can be an artist. There are some degrees that aren't really worth the money that's spent on them.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SaintTawny

I think there's a fundamental problem with assuming that everyone who pursues higher ed can/should pick a degree in a STEM field just because the job market is better. This accurately displays almost everything that's wrong with our society. We don't place enough value on the arts, or history, or education field. Not everyone is tech/science/math-smart, so not everyone can pursue those degrees. But what about the kid who could recite a world history text book from memory? He's no less intelligent just because history clicks and math doesn't, and no less deserving of a job that utilizes his talents. If he took your advice and got a degree in medicine anyway he could very well be the fumbling screw-up that never gets a diagnosis or dosage right because he isn't wired right for that line of work, raising the need and cost of liability insurance for everyone who actually belongs there.

Simply put, society needs people in every field that exists, we just have a problem with acknowledging the value of alternate studies.

---

We don't place enough value on art?
Tell that to singers with more money than most will ever have.
What we have a problem with is people having unrealistic expectations that their "artistic basket-weaving" should be of the same value as say a geneticist or mechanical engineers or even skilled craftsmen/tradesmen.
A good cabinet maker is still artistic (with a side of math and engineering skills) and not hurting for cash. But, do you create a university or college course for them and then wonder why with 3000 new cabinet makers none of them are able to make a decent living?

I'm sorry, but what new ideas are going to arise in philosophy? Besides for gen eds, philosophy is next to useless in the modern society. I don't mean neglect it all together, but high school or gen eds is all its good for.

Sent from my SAMSUNG Galaxy SIII using Tapatalk 2

When i lived in NJ, i had a job working at Leslies Pools store. Any simple person could have worked there. But among the few of us that did work there, we held degrees in law, biology, and teaching, with the rest in college or about to start. When those of us who had degrees had this this same conversation, we all agreed on one thing....college was a waste of money and time :( ...paying for a higher education only made us smarter broke dumbasses.
Sent from my H866C using Tapatalk 2

Hey, I'm an Architect! But I don't work at Red Lobster ;) Thank the universe!

I will admit I am underpaid at my job simply because I am fresh out of school and I will work for basically nothing. I can pay my bills, set aside some money to save, spend some money. etc. etc. My job isn't magnificent, but I am thankful for everyday that I am employed steadily in my field.

Architecture has been hurting a lot lately. I can see it just in the clients we get. Everyone wants to do their projects for as cheap as possible..which means that we sometimes lose money on projects.. :/ It really sucks out there for a designer whose services no one really wants to pay for.

We had a potential client call us up and say they hate the firm they ended up choosing. They only picked them because they were cheaper. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!!!