Our Overeducated Workforce Summary

The second misperception claims that “The college graduates are finding it harder to get good jobs with liberal arts degrees” (Ungar, 228). But, Ungar explains that,

Factory jobs and other blue-collar jobs keep the working college student performing well in college to get out of those blue-collar jobs. The author supports all of his key points lightly, but effectively. While only barely giving examples, he illustrates why the factory job life has pushed him to do well in college. He has used his personal experiences to press him in his classes versus the experiences of his classmates that work mainly retail or restaurant jobs. The author has become more humble through his working experiences and uses it to better his education.

The Greek Philosopher Aristotle identified “The years between puberty and age twenty-one as the formative time for mind and character.” It was customary for young Greek men to attend a series of lectures that resembled our notion of a college “course”(Delbanco 36). Aristotle is a believer of education and the power it has on the development of the young mind. Likewise, he believes college is a place to establish one’s character. Caroline Bird’s essay, “Where College Fails Us,” definitely does not correlate with the opinion of Aristotle.

In our modern society, College is a key to success. As a result, people with college degrees tend to receive more respect than people without college degrees. In Anthony P. Carnevale’s essay, “College is still worth it”, published in January of 2011, Carnevale argues that the official Bureau of Labor (BLS) data is not correct. This is because the income data show that employers pay workers with college degrees a remuneration inducement. As specified by Carnevale, it would be illogical if the education associated with the college degree were not upscale for the job.

The fact that not everyone needs to go to college is the main point that Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill write about in great detail throughout their essay. Even though the authors do say that people that go to college usually earn more, they state that this is on “average,” and that the key focus of their essay is to focus on those that the benefits are not greater than the cost of going to college. (Page 211, Paragraph 1). They also include a graph right under the text that shows how “on average” people with a college degree earn more than those that are just high school graduates. (Page 211, Figure one).

In recent years, the economy and job outlook has become super competitive throughout the States. With so many people seeking and applying for the same job, employers can only afford to hire a very small amount of people. As a result, they choose the best qualified applicant, which most likely means the applicant with the highest education. With competition increasing exponentially, it is becoming more and more difficult to find, let alone keep a job. That is why college is a necessity in today’s society.

Delbanco explains how students have changed their reasons for attending a college when he states, “...yet on the assumption that immersing themselves in learning for the sheer joy of it, with the aim of deepening their understanding of culture, nature, and, ultimately, themselves, is a vain indulgence” (222). Secondary education has become too expensive for learning to be an indulgence. Students only go to college to get a degree in order to gain a high paying career. Davidson explains how dire the situation with low paying job is by saying how the process should work, “Only through productivity growth can the average quality of human life improve” (339). Unfortunately, the productivity growth only leaves a bigger pay gap.

In his Essay “Are too many people going to college,” first published in a 2008 issue of AEI, Charles Murray explores many insights onto the topic of furthering education as well as exploring various other options to pursue after high school. Who exactly would think that too many people are going to college? Well with more and more students flooding campuses at the end of every school year and less and less going into trade schools, a shift in the job market is just beginning to be seen on the horizon. Charles Murray’s essay “Are too many people going to college” shows that not only are there other avenues to pursue a potential life long career, but that much of the time pursuing these avenues may offer better results for some wanting to go to college.

In Rotherham’s article he says “According to the Bureau of labor Statistics, in 2010, the median weekly earnings for someone with some college but no degree were $712, compared to $1,038 for a college graduate. ”the evidence provided clearly shows that getting a higher education and investing time and money into getting a college degree can result in earning more financially for people to support themselves and their families. The opposing side of this argument might say that “even though begin a college graduate, and having a degree can lead to finding well paying jobs. Graduates are often left drowning in

College education doesn't guarantee employment. In 2012, there was a lot of evidence suggesting the education to work link being broken. (Allen, 2011) A lot of college graduates are searching for work today. A lot of college students feel that college is a waste of money.

, “Experts that have researched the performance and job success of college graduates have concluded that, nationwide, college graduates with a bachelor's degree earn 74 percent more per year than those who only complete high school.” This seems very logical when you look at the big picture, having furthered your education will open you up to more jobs that that require more education that will most likely pay more. The University of North Texas in their article “Why Go to College?” shows a graph from The U.S. Census Bureau that shows a professional degree could earn you around 4.4 million dollars compared to less than a high school diploma could earn you around 1 million dollars for a whole worklife. Seeing

A rising issue in today’s society is deciding whether or not college is worth the cost. There is an extreme amount of pressure that is forced upon high school students by parents, teachers, and peers to further their education and attend college. However, there is research that challenges the thought that college is the best possible path for a person to take. College may be a great investment for some people, but it is not meant for everyone. This is supported by the arguments that colleges are expensive, jobs do not always require a college degree, and students are forced to choose a lifestyle before being exposed to the real world.

Although a degree is not essential for those looking to work in the more hands on fields of work, such being a plumber or an electrician, degree holders can look to not only make more, but to also fulfill more brain satisfying tasks in more intellectual fields of work. Even with that in consideration, a degree can help those that work in fields where holding a degree is not commonplace. “Construction workers, police officers, retail salespeople and secretaries, among others, make significantly more with a degree than without one.” (Leonhardt)

There is a positive correlation between higher levels of education and higher earnings for all racial/ethnic groups and for both men and women. Furthermore, college graduates are more likely than others to enjoy employer-provided health insurance and pension benefits (Baum & Ma, 2007; Pacarella & Terenzini, 2005). To illustrate this point, compare the average earnings of individuals with a bachelor degree relative to the average earnings of individuals with a high school diploma, expressed as a percentage, it is reasonably clear that the premium to bachelor’s degree has increased in the past twentieth century (Boesel & Fredland, 1999; Bound & Johnson, 1992; Freeman, 1994; Grogger & Eide, 1995; Katz & Murphy, 1992; Levy & Murnane, 1992; Murphy and Welch, 1992; Pencavel, 1991). In 1971, both male and female bachelor’s degree holders had an average annual earnings advantage (adjusted for inflation) of 48.5 percent over those who only hold a high school diploma (Pacarella & Terenzini, 2005). The typical bachelor’s degree recipient in 2007 can be expected to earn about 61 percent more than the typical high school graduate (Baum & Ma,

What a lot of the jobs that the college graduates want are more interested in the students have skills such as critical thinking and communicating and solving complex problems. A lot of jobs consider the skills to communicating are more important than a college degree. I personally agree with the statements the author made about jobs care more about critical thinking and solving complex problems than college degree is because if you have a college degree it doesn't necessarily mean than you are well fit for the job,(“It Takes More than a Major”:) I can bring another example from my cousin who has a Bachelors of science for accounting who spent nearly two years looking for a job for accounting many of the jobs turned her down she was telling me about how many of the jobs didn't really care about her degree in accounting what they wanted was a candidate who had experience it goes back to show what the problem is with our education system is not preparing the students for the job difficulties they will face on the long