99 percent of new jobs go to those with some/graduated college

Wouldn't it also stand to reason that those with college degrees are settling for whatever they can get and taking jobs that don't require degrees?

I will preface my remarks by saying I have not read the article, at least yet.

During my long 6 year bout with being unemployed (as a result of The Great Recession), I had the time to notice a few things. For instance as more and more people became unemployed, the requirements for jobs began to rise. Secretarial positions which one only required a high school education now require a 4 year college education and often the ability to lift 50 pounds. Yes, I have seen those ads with my very own eyes

The general requirements of those jobs (filing, typing, basic computer use) certainly did not warrant a BA from any college. So, someone like me might wonder why the requirement all of a sudden. Could it be hundreds of thousands of people looking at many, many fewer jobs?

Many other jobs suddenly were requiring a much higher level of education than once required. In rare cases, the case could be argued, but not all by any means.

Jobs have been created that require more education than 50 years ago, but that is the nature of changing landscapes.

Is it that the jobs require that much more skill or is it that a high school education just isn't what it used to be?

Cool!! A paper on the advantages of a college education, from a college of all sources.
I really couldn't get past the disparaging graphic, and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation acknowledgement. https://www.pimco.com/insights/economic-and-market-commentary/investment-outlook/school-daze-school-daze-good-old-golden-rule-days&apos ;">Here's Bill Gross on the advantages of a college education from 2011. And http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-skills-better-than-degrees-2013-8&apos ;">here's Bill Gates, two years later, advocating, roughly the same thing, skills over education, in certain circumstances.

Around here they can't find hotel workers or anyone to flip burgers. Burger King is starting at $14/hr. Those not working flat out don't want to work. Makes it hard to find day labor.

I will state first I am biased, I don't think a college degree necessarily adds to anyone's intelligence. It may add to their knowledge, but what knowledge some instructors put in their head is not very useful. Now, that out of the way, I am in the middle of Texas, and we are overrun with college graduates, most with degrees such as liberal arts, or history of dance, or other things that they studies for several years and will write many monthly checks to pay for, but really offer no benefit. We have our share of english majors and the like, who also find out that this area has no great need for english majors. How many english teachers do we need here? But we have a shortage of welders. We have a shortage of competent grader operators. The plumber who owns the building next door is always hiring certified plumbers, he says he has more calls than he has certified guys. We need skilled workers, people to do the hard work. Our infrastructure in America is aging, from our water lines, to our bridges, to our power grid, and history degrees, liberal arts majors, nothing like that can repair a bridge. Computer techs may make our lives easier, but I have yet to meet a computer tech that can program a new highway from scratch. It is not wrong to value an education, but I think we as a society are valuing a piece of paper more than what we should be expecting of the people who are supposed to be doing something with the piece of paper they earned.

Mark, that's a good question. In 2002, the superintendent of the system I was teaching in was touting a concept that he called "high school plus two." Furniture and textiles, two long-time industries that could create skilled workers from hs dropouts, were beginning their exit from NC. Tobacco had been declining for years. Bottom line was that low-knowledge entry-level jobs were rapidly disappearing. Thus, at least two years beyond hs would be required for employment.

The old boy turned out to be prophetic. Meanwhile, increased pressure on graduation rates has lowered standards so that not all hs grads are qualified for the jobs available.

The perceived gap between someone with some college and someone with only a hs degree is huge. Also the number of jobs that require a masters degree is growing.

It's sad. My colleagues and I in the insurance industry used to joke about bankers; being a Vice President was only important if you weren't one. It looks as though an analogous statement is now true about a college graduate. It's huge if you're not one, and that's just stupid in my opinion.

Mark Mayer, post: 381185, member: 424 wrote: Is it that the jobs require that much more skill or is it that a high school education just isn't what it used to be?

That's certainly a good point. In 60 years, we've gone from teaching Latin in high school to remedial English in college.

Tommy Young, post: 381219, member: 703 wrote: That's certainly a good point. In 60 years, we've gone from teaching Latin in high school to remedial English in college.

My son starts high school next year at a public high school. He plans on taking 4 years of Latin.

I took 4 years of pig latin...does that count?

Oesday otnay ountcay. Icenay ytray.

Tommy Young, post: 381219, member: 703 wrote: That's certainly a good point. In 60 years, we've gone from teaching Latin in high school to remedial English in college.

Yup. I took Latin in 1954. Still remember the story about the bad apple spoiling the bunch. Was Latin worthwhile - absolutely.

I learned more about English from 2 years of high school Latin than I ever did in English classes.

[MEDIA=youtube]6gSj1G4Vf0w[/MEDIA]

Nowadays the world butchers the English language so frequently my junior high English teacher has turned over in her grave so often she has augered herself out of the ground.

diagram that...

[USER=10]@Jim Frame[/USER]

One year of high school Latin had that effect on me. Too bad it was my Junior year. Why we don't teach English similar to the way foreign languages are taught is a mystery to me. Many years later I took a college French class primarily for fun. So much of that Latin class came rushing back from the far distant recesses of my brain it was rather startling. I had no idea I had retained so much of that.

Holy Cow, post: 381501, member: 50 wrote: [USER=10]@Jim Frame[/USER]

One year of high school Latin had that effect on me. Too bad it was my Junior year. Why we don't teach English similar to the way foreign languages are taught is a mystery to me. Many years later I took a college French class primarily for fun. So much of that Latin class came rushing back from the far distant recesses of my brain it was rather startling. I had no idea I had retained so much of that.

that's cool.

It is hard for me to remember written words. Pictures and sounds are easy. If I'm trying to follow written directions I'm lost. The only Latin I can remember is the phrase vini, vidi, wiwi...;)

My HS selected students into
various designed curriculum majors. I don't know how. I was a scientific prep student so the language course was German, the language of science and engineering. There was a classical prep course of study that students took 2 year of Latin and an elective of 2 years of French or Spanish.
First year German teacher was a pretty wild Italian guy. Taught us how to curse in German, Told dirty jokes in German and taught us German beer drinking songs
They canned his arsch at the end of the year. Next year, they hired a Czech immigrant who was pretty tough and strong. His story was that he had swum the Danube River to escape communism for freedom. Very disciplined teacher and disciplinarian.
I still remember the beer drinking songs and I probably couldn't make my way doing some research in a German library except for cursing the librarian out.