Summary, Analysis, And Response

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31 January 2019

What does it mean to be a College grad?

The author Jennie Le aims to throw light over the existing challenges for current college grads and balances them against the potential benefits of being a graduate. She is of the view that for many jobs, a college degree helps you break glass ceilings and enables one to gain jobs which a person without college degree might never get. I personally agree with her beliefs since people with college degrees out-earn people without college degrees, by about $450/week on average (compared to someone with only a high school diploma; Unemployment rates and earnings by educational attainment). The Department of Education has calculated that, even with the missed years of work and the expense of college, one with a college degree will have out-earned someone who never went to college by their early to mid-30s.

Just like the author asserts that there are jobs that do not require a college degree and which pay better than most jobs for people with college degrees, but nonetheless I believe that such jobs are hard in nature i.e. hard to get, and the pay is not good while one is learning and require far more effort and work load as compared to reputable jobs after a college degree.

As far as Jennie Le believes that most new jobs (roughly 2/3) require some postsecondary (after high school) education (not necessarily a college degree, though), nonetheless I believe that this might only be the case in a few scenarios i.e. when the nature of the degree is arts of social sciences, while in cases of STEM field, one might be able to gain a really good job after their graduation. I personally believe that the main issue here is not about a graduation degree or a post-graduation one, but that it is hard to start a career. It’s not unusual for recent grads to work in jobs that don’t require a college degree for a year or two after school, but they’re typically able to start careers by the time they are 25, and out-earn others who don’t have degrees. This is why career planning is so important. If one’s major is something tied to a career with high demand, that’s great. If not, there might be a need to add some concrete skills that are in demand and not necessarily a post-graduation degree in itself. All majors will make one notionally employable, but if one looks at computer science, information systems, or accounting, those grads are employed, which is much preferable. So the need is to get equipped with a variety of skill set to enable one to major in their passion, and minor in a career.

As per author’s opinion, many jobs do not require a higher education and still pay well. In my opinion, regardless of what is going on in the job market currently, education is still necessary. It enables one to learn how to think and reason about what life presents to them. An educated individual will be more confident and happier in life as compared to one without a degree. He will also have more success in the future. In fact, it would not really matter what degree you obtain. In my opinion, if one looks ahead 10, 20 and even way into your 60’s, he will be making thousands of decisions about their life. At that time one will be grateful for that education because their brain will be trained to learn, compare, compete, rationalize and just think better. Life will be much different in the future compared to what you see around you now. Their cognitive skills after a degree would be shaped in such a way that they would make life decisions in a much better way as compared to an uneducated one.

I would say that getting a college degree is always worth it, because you’ll gain an education, meet people, and become a better-rounded individual. You’ll gain good experiences through getting a college degree, and life is all about the accumulation of experiences. However, if you are struggling financially, the worthiness of a college degree is debatable topic. While you can certainly increase your employment opportunities with a college degree, many college graduates struggle to find employment opportunities. This is especially true for some degrees, such as those centered around the humanities. Even some engineering majors struggle to find jobs; no job is guaranteed with a college degree in today’s competitive work environment.

There are people who will imply that most people with college degrees are unemployed or underemployed, but this is so misleading as to be inaccurate. Unemployed is bad, sure, but underemployed is very, very different, and one measure of underemployed for someone with a bachelor’s degree is to determine if the bachelor’s degree is a requirement. Bill Gates is a multi-billionaire without a college degree, but to assume that what he achieved is possible for most people with the same level of education is absurd. Most people with college degrees find themselves employable and employed. Depending on your skill set, your career goals, your socio-professional network, and how you search for a job, you will have an easier or more difficult time on the job market so in a way career development.

To conclude, it is incumbent on each person is to research and explore careers, choose careers goals, and develop and follow a career path/plan. If that is not the case, even a graduate will be at the whim of a brutally unkind job market, and this is true with or without a degree. One of the valuable services a college or university (especially a traditional brick-and-mortar institution) can offer is a career center with professionals, tools, and information to allow you to research, choose, and plan which any graduate is equipped with.