| Written by Bob Adelmann |
| Tuesday, 24 April 2012 16:57 |
More than half of college students graduating this June can expect to find either no work, or work that doesn’t utilize their freshly minted skills, according to the Associated Press.
Of the 1.5 million bachelor’s degree holders under age 25, more are likely to be employed as waiters, waitresses, bartenders, or food-service helpers than as engineers, chemists, physicists, or mathematicians. More of them are working in office-related jobs such as receptionists or payroll clerks that in all computer-related jobs put together. Said the AP:
[O]nly three of the 30 occupations with the largest projected number of
job openings by 2020 will require a bachelor's degree or higher to fill
the position — teachers, college professors and accountants. Most job
openings are in professions such as retail sales, fast food and truck
driving, jobs which aren't easily replaced by computers…
College graduates who majored in zoology, anthropology, philosophy, art
history and humanities were among the least likely to find jobs
appropriate to their education level; those with nursing, teaching,
accounting or computer science degrees were among the most likely.
Michael Bledsoe, 23, graduated in 2010 with a degree in creative
writing and now works as a "barista" or coffee server in a Seattle,
Washington, coffeehouse. When he first graduated, he sent out three or
four résumés every day, but those who responded said he lacked any
real-world experience and some questioned the practical value of his
degree. Bledsoe said, “I don’t even know what I’m looking for. There
isn’t much out there.”Cameron Bawden, 22, who expects to graduate from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in December, has a much more realistic view of the world that awaits: “It’s kind of scary … there are so few jobs.” So he has been busy building his résumé by working on the Las Vegas strip as a food runner as well as doing a marketing internship with a local airline.
But for 24-year-old Kelman Edwards, who just graduated with a degree in biology, the only job he could find was in construction. He said, “I thought my having a biology degree was a gold ticket for me getting into places, but every other job wants you to have previous history. Everyone is telling you, ‘Go to college,’ but when you graduate, it’s kind of an empty cliff.”
Edwards is not alone. A study done by The Chronicle of Higher Education illustrates the world he and his graduate classmates are facing:
- 482,000 customer service representatives hold at least a bachelor’s degree, along with
- 317,000 waiters and waitresses
- 141,000 receptionists
- 107,000 janitors (5,000 hold PhDs or other doctorates)
- 85,000 truck drivers
- 80,000 bartenders
- 63,000 food preparation workers
- 62,000 landscapers
- 59,000 construction workers
- 49,000 postal workers
- 37,000 hotel and motel desk clerks, and
- 18,000 parking lot attendants
Most of them bought into the promise that a higher education was the key to getting a “good job” and a chance to live the “American Dream.” But it hasn’t worked out. Michael, writing at his blog, said:
They have been told not to worry about how much it costs and that there
is plenty of financial aid (mostly made up of loans) available. Now our
economy is facing the biggest student loan debt bubble in the history
of the world, and when our new college graduates enter the “real world”
they are finding out that the good jobs they were promised are very few
and far between.
For those considering taking on the debt obligations for a college
degree, there are numerous options and alternatives, at much lower cost.
World Net Daily managing editor David Kupelian explains:
New options abound. The Internet — as revolutionary today as the
Gutenberg printing press was five centuries ago — offers endless
opportunities for learning, including taking college courses from home.
Trade schools, distance learning, community college, going into
business, apprenticeships, internship and a hundred other opportunities
beckon.
One young man made some good decisions based upon his view of the real
world. When he was 18, Will Adelmann (grandson of the writer) signed up
at College Plus to
get his degree in history. He knew at the time that his career goal was
to be a college history professor. He also knew about the excessively
high costs of obtaining a degree on a campus, so he is getting his
degree online and taking the CLEP (College Level Examination Program)
tests to prove his competency. He started in May of 2011 and expects to
complete his study and receive his degree from Thomas Edison State College in
New Jersey by next summer. In two and a half years, at a total cost of
less than $20,000, Will, age 20, will have accomplished more than most
his age and done it sooner and more cheaply. Along the way he is adding
to his bonafides by working a summer job with a local landscaping
company where he was just promoted to team leader over men twice his
age.The combination of bad decisions by uninformed (or misinformed) parents about the benefits of a traditional college education, poor timing, easy government money, and poor planning have doomed many of today’s graduates to a much different work and life experience than they expected. Many are burdened with debt they cannot escape through bankruptcy and consequently will have years to regret their attempt to enjoy the American Dream through higher education. The real world is turning out to be far different from the dream. Source
