Much has been discussed in this tough economy concerning the value of a
college education. According to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics
press release, the unemployment rate among college grads over the age of 25 is
4.1 percent. That’s
half the
national average. So, it does pay to have a degree these days.
However, there are some very important considerations for those of us who are
working adults looking to further their education, and young people about to
start their freshman year:
1. College is not cheap
nowadays: I had to put my Captain Obvious comment first and foremost.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
Statistics; The average cost of a 4 year education has jumped has jumped from
$15,996 per year in 2000, the year I graduated, to $21,657 per year (Figures
constant dollars) in 2011. Such costs can and often do lead to crushing
debt.
2. Recent college grads face
high unemployment (10%) and low wages: This may run counter-intuitive
to the aforementioned statistic about college grads having low
unemployment. However, that is for those 25 years an older, IE those with
job experience under their belt. Many of today’s employers are taking
advantage of the slow economy by not being in much of a hurry to hire educated,
but inexperienced workers. Employers want experience, arguably, before an
education. It makes sense to an employer to hire someone that needs
minimum training. This is a good thing for mid-career or early career
already employed workers who want to stay in their career field and further
their education, but a bad thing for very recent college grads.
3. More degrees won’t guarantee
you a good, high paying job. Several degrees in several disciplines
may sound good on paper. In reality, it doesn’t really give you an
advantage over anyone else who did their homework and has only one
degree. Doing this brings the possibility of a two headed dragon that
will likely burn you: More debt, and not enough experience actually
working, because you spent too much time going to school.
4.
The world won’t end for you if you don’t have a math or science degree. The
data is hard to dispute that a degree in one of the sciences or math degrees
can be very lucrative in the long run. However, it’s been vastly
overestimated once you do a breakdown of wealth vs degrees.
5. Not everyone needs to go to
college. “What the hell is going on here?” That may be your question
as you read this. Before I get hate-mail of people accusing me of
hypocrisy and mass confusion, let me explain a bit. Many of us,
especially for those of us mid-career, may not need the added expense and
stress of going to school to meet career and wage goals. There are other
options that bring the perks of a degree, but costs less, and takes less
time.
These considerations are big, and unfortunately, too many people do not
address these considerations and simply dive head first into going to
college. The biggest weapon at your disposal when considering college, no
matter if you are 16 or 55, is planning. Big subsets of that planning
should be experience and networking. From here, we can address the
aforementioned considerations.
1. When considering the costs
of college, one must do a cost benefit analysis. This comes down to
planning. Ask yourself if you are a young person: Do you want to
get a degree because society or your parents are telling you to get a
degree? What will be my college debt vs the wage I plan to earn after I
finish? If you are getting a degree because some TV pundit or mom and dad
says so; that is the wrong answer. Getting a degree should be part of
well planned, long term goals.
Getting
a degree for the sake of getting a degree is an expensive and foolish
undertaking. As mentioned, college is not cheap. Therefore,
there is no shame in taking a year to work to save some money, or starting at a
community college or junior college before enrolling in an accredited 4 year
school.
For those already working full time, ask yourself this: Am I doing
this to change careers or enhance my current one, or simply meet a goal I
didn’t get to meet when I was younger? If it is the latter, beware.
Don’t pursue a degree without a plan or legitimate reason. Your
cost-benefit analysis should involve your family life, wage increases (or
decreases), career fulfillment and goals, possible debt, and of course, the
time you will dedicate to school while working a full time job. More
often than not, someone in mid-career would be wise to further their education,
but it must be planned and excused wisely.
One more note on costs.
Avoid
for-profit colleges as much as possible. A study by The National
Bureau of Economic Research, noted that students who attend for-profit colleges
are more likely to be unemployed, earn less, have higher debt levels, and are
more likely to default on their student loans than similar students at
non-profit educational institutions. On top of that, these colleges prey
on the unemployed and underemployed (hence most of their advertizing occurs
mid-day) by offering substandard education and training for private college
amounts of money. Yes, there are a handful of legit ones out there,
notably Phoenix, but for the most part, they are an expensive headache that
should be avoided at all costs.
2. High unemployment among
recent grads is largely due to a combination of a tough job market and a
failure of recent grads to adapt to that job market. Understand this
very well:
Employers see
experience as valuable as an education, if not more so. So what does
this mean to that 17 or 18 year old potential college freshman? Make a
decision quick on what you want to do after you graduate, look for a job while
in college that closely mirrors that career, and network. Sure, most
parents would frown upon their kids working while going to school. Well,
if you want your kid to be in your home long after they graduate, you may want
to encourage it. I’m sure some of you might say, “what if there are no
jobs in the area of school I can get while in college that I need?” Well,
a “job” may not even have to be a paying one. It could be an unpaid
apprenticeship or volunteer work. Anything that provides job experience
within a student’s chosen focus of career. A college degree with 4 years
of experience mirroring that degree will get your resume higher on the pile
come graduation time than someone with just a degree and little to no
experience.
As for those of us mid-career, this is much less of an issue unless you make
a dramatic career change. At that point, networking will be a bigger
asset as hopefully being on the workforce for a number of years, you would be
able to easier meet others in your desired field. There is also no shame
in being apprentice part time or volunteer outside of work hours to get into
your new career of choice.
3. Getting several degrees
(more than two) is at best questionable, and at worst, self-destructive. I
won’t lie, short of spending the rest of your life and career in academia; I
don’t understand what possesses people to spend this much time getting every
possible degree there is to get. This is obviously expensive, stressful,
and can be actually harmful to your chosen career. At some point, we have
to grow up and start thinking about actually choosing a career (or starting a
business) and getting valuable job experience instead of spending 20 years
taking classes.
Let’s say one can somehow afford to get 5 bachelors and 3 masters degrees
and a PhD. What happens when you decide on a career? How would it
look to a future employer to see someone with a bunch of degrees with little
relevant, real world job experience? How will you have time for anything
resembling a social life or networking in your desired career field? In
my view, someone who seems obsessed over getting piles of degrees did not plan
(there’s that word again) well or lacks focus. This same rule applies to
those who spend 6-7 years trying to get a single degree. But I will cover
that in a tad more detail later on.
4. Math and science degrees are
no doubt important in this high tech world and society. Engineers, IT
specialists, physicists, biologists, chemists, and other math and science heavy
disciplines are always good paying
high demand career fields. So obviously, the career gurus want to push
these majors on college students. However, the reality is; not everyone
wants to major in science or math. Furthermore, a surprising amount of
high income earners did not get a 4 year degree in a math or science discipline.
According to the Census Bureau’s 2010 American Community Survey, the top income
earners in the US unsurprisingly did indeed major in a field in
health/medicine, zoology, biochemical sciences, and economics. Yet, right
up there among the highest earning degrees were also history, social/ethnic
studies, political science, English, and art history (seriously).
So, if you have the drive, the attitude, and plan well (get it yet???),
someone holding an “easy” liberal arts degree can be just as competitive on the
job market and earn a high dollar as anyone holding a math or science heavy
college degree. Again, if you like science and math, have at it.
Heaven knows we need more math and sciences geniuses in this country. But
don’t feel like the scum of the earth because you chose a liberal arts
degree. As the numbers from the community survey tell, there are plenty
of people that are doing very well for themselves who majored in degrees
outside of science of math.
5. I made mention I would have
to explain myself by claiming that not everyone needs to go to college. Well,
this is an ugly reality not everyone wants to face. Higher education is
not for everyone. Yes, a degree pays. Yes, if at all possible,
further your education. However, the world always needs mechanics,
plumbers, and other careers that don’t need 4 years of school. Not
everyone learns best inside a classroom. I am a fan of higher education
but I disagree with the communal frowning upon of hard working people who didn’t
go to college.
Here’s the reality:
There will
always be a need for people who work outside of a cubicle or a lab, and
therefore skills that don’t require 4 years of school. Furthermore,
if you are mid-career, and a college degree won’t necessarily have you rolling
in the dough in the long-term, there are certifications and other specialized
training which doesn’t take as long and cost as much. Arguably, some
specialized certifications can rival a 2 year degree and even a 4 year degree
when experience is added to the equation. We need to be honest with
ourselves if there is a legit reason we may not be cut out for traditional
college. Don’t be that guy (or girl) that’s on some delusional quest to
spend 7+ years and racking up massive debt just to finish a 4 year
degree.
So in case you aren’t tired of the word: Plan. Parents, college
planning with your kids should begin long before high school. Get an
honest assessment of your child’s strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes.
Teach them the importance of getting job experience, developing face to
face social skills (that doesn’t include facebook, twitter, or texting), and
how to network.
In today’s
society, experience and social skills is as equally important as a college
degree. For those of us already working, you need to also plan and
network.
