Only stupid people wasting money on pointless educationJust kidding. The real subtitle is... Only mistaken beliefs about the connection between college education and career prospectsI have two brothers in law. One majored in engineering and the other in Kligon. Who do you think has better career prospects? What if I told you that my engineering brother in law cuts grass in the summer and works with a moving company the rest of the year? On the other hand, my Klingon brother in law works as a board game designer at the most rapidly growing board game company in the United States. Who is more successful now? Okay, let's add one more wrinkle to this. My engineering brother-in-law owns the lawn care company and the moving company so he's actually earning close to $750K per year, whereas my board game designer brother earns the comparably paltry sum of $75K per year. Who has better career prospects? By the way, almost none of this is true, but I'm still about to make some brilliant points, so keep reading. College degrees do not entitle us to stable, reliable careers.My undergraduate degree was in economics. I say that as if I have other degrees, but I don't. Unlike my husband, I am not motivated to earn more degrees than Farenheit. My husband's first degree was in bio-chemistry, and his Master's was in Materials Science and Engineering. We have degrees in the "right" fields. The fields that have lots of job prospects. However, both my husband and I had a hard time landing our first jobs out of college. Shockingly, it seems that businesses aren't actually all that eager to hire unproven young people with no relevant work experience. Almost exactly one year ago, one third of my department was laid off. Despite being talented "tech" people, a few former co-workers had difficulty finding good jobs. This seems pretty similar to the experience that Brian at DebtDiscipline shared when he openly walked through finding a new job after working in IT for over 20 years. Layoffs happen, industry changes in the blink of an eye. Macro-economics shift during times of peace or war. The most valuable skills today are rarely the most valuable skills tomorrow. Majoring in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Math) is no guarantee that you'll have job much less a career a decade from now. Simply put, college degrees, and even college degrees in currently marketable majors are no guarantee that you'll have the career you want. Law used to be considered a solid career choice. These days, it's just as likely that you know a lawyer earning $39K per year after having taken on six figures of debt (don't worry, they are digging out rapidly), or even worse, a JD who has never practiced yet has $500K in law school debt. Who is to say that medicine or engineering won't be the next law? It is absolutely crazy to think that a degree will ever lead to a stable career. A degree means you completed a course of study. It means nothing as to whether or not you should have career prospects now or in the future. As a parent, the last thing I ever want to do to my kid is teach him that if he gets a degree that the natural consequence of the degree will be a stable career. It's simply not true. Our kids can't afford (financially) to buy into this kind of thinking, and as parents and educators we need to do our best to not perpetuate this myth. Stable, reliable careers don't exist.Some fields (like hairdressing, or teaching, or marketing) have been around for decades or even centuries, and the fields don't seem like they are going anywhere. However, just because a field is expected to exist for the next century doesn't mean that you'll be able to generate a stable career in that field. I have no doubt that computer programming is going to continue to grow as a career field over the next four decades. The world is becoming more digitized, and we need more people who can program. But coding in and of itself is simply learning a language. Nearly anyone can do it. I have no reason to believe that computer programmers in the United States will be able to maintain a high paying career for the next few decades. Many computer programming jobs will move off shore, just as manufacturing has moved off-shore over the last several decades. This isn't to say that no computer programmers will make tons of money over the next forty years. In fact, I think a certain type of programmer (programmers who can also speak the language of business) will increase in value. However, computer programming careers aren't inherently stable. It's just that career all-stars are more likely than most to have a steady stream of "career suitors" wearing a digital path to their LinkedIn Profile. No career or job path is inherently stable. Stability is partially a function of being a rockstar at your job, and partially a function of being able to adapt to changes more quickly than everyone else. We do a disservice to young people when we ask them to think about career stability when they choose a college major. It indicates to young people that certain majors lead to stable careers. That is simply not true because stable careers don't exist. The best you can do is to choose a reasonable field of study, and learn to adapt quickly, or build your own career path that is less reliant on other people. College degrees aren't a career safety net.I really loved my ungraduate experience. I have no doubt that it positively shaped the woman that I've become. Even though I'm way different than I ever expected, and I have no regrets about getting a degree or the major that I chose, I don't view my degree as a college safety net.
I didn't get my first job because of my credentials. I got my first job because I found someone willing to take a risk on me (for which I am sincerely grateful). My next jobs and promotions were outflows of my first job. When I think about exiting the workforce, I can't lie to myself and say, "At least I have a great degree in economics, so I'll be able to find work again." It wasn't true six years ago, so it can hardly be true now. Yes, I can make it through an automated mechanism that prompts me for a degree, but that's of little comfort to me. I find much more comfort in the fact that I've learned how to add value to others, and that businesses are usually willing to pay for that. Degrees, even of the good variety aren't a real safety net. At best, degrees provide some minimum prerequisite. Real safety nets and real stability is about understanding how you add value, and assertively positioning yourself to take advantage of opportunities (and wealthy parents or big piles of money help too).
22 Comments
2/9/2016 10:32:50 am
I wonder if we wouldn't do better to adopt more of an apprenticeship model? Although with the current emphasis on getting internships in college, I guess that's what we're doing. I know having a mentor to help you model appropriate behavior, help you goal set, and help you make useful connections is much more important than what you get in the classroom.
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For the time being, I really think it is up to parents to encourage their kids to pursue jobs, apprenticeships, entrepreneurship, and especially mentors during their teen years that will be more likely to yield early career success.
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2/9/2016 09:20:05 pm
It really isn't pretty out there, is it. Uncertain employment, DIY retirement savings . . . . I would find it very difficult to be starting out in a career right now. But then, people of my generation spent so much of their "secure" income (and were blind-sided when it ended up not being so secure). I think that on average, young adults of today are more proactive with their finances and careers than young adults of 20 years ago. You have to be. And there's a great benefit from it.
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The career landscape has undoubtedly changed in the last 10-15 years. I think most millenials really want to take more financial control, but it is tremendously difficult.
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2/9/2016 10:53:40 pm
Gosh I struggle so much with college-related issues like this. It's a great message, but how do we get this message to people BEFORE they go to college? The last thing High-Schoolers seem to care about is whether college will be worth it or not - they all have high hopes that it will. But you are spot on with your assessment of the situation and it's a message that so many need to hear.
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The struggle that I see right now is that the question that most high school students face right now is college or no college, so most students think they are doing something great by choosing college. However, if we (being mainly parents) can present to our kids a greater variety of choices and help them understand what college is realistically offering to them I think they can make a more clear eyed decision.
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2/9/2016 11:03:53 pm
I agree that there is no real job security, though some fields might have a better chance at it than others. My husband and I went with practical degrees in part because we were concerned about finding jobs, though we were also genuinely interested in our fields. Though we had no problem finding jobs, we also realized our employers weren't pledging loyalty to us. Just having that awareness is huge, I think.
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If I have a kid who is interested in one of the "practical fields" like medicine, engineering, teaching, etc, I think I will encourage them to pursue college directly after high school provided that they have had some low level exposure to working in the field.
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2/10/2016 08:29:47 am
Oh, I agree with you here 100%. That's part of the madness when it comes to understanding student loan debt. Young adults still believe the narrative that their degree is going to be a good investment no matter what. But that isn't true at all. Your degree will let help you get your foot in the door somewhere, but your attitude and work ethic is what will bring you success. Likewise, a positive attitude and a stellar work ethic can bring you the same type of success whether you have that degree or not.
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This is such a refreshing blog post, and not to mention - humorous. Which I will never turn away from. So thank you for that.
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I'm so glad that somebody else appreciates my humor. And yes, unfortunately even hard work doesn't guarantee a stable career (though it does increase the odds I think).
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2/10/2016 10:00:41 am
I have witnessed and heard of for profit companies evaluating staff in roles and their degrees. In some case say an English major in a tech role was given notice to find a new position because they were not qualified even after performing the job responsibility for 10+ years. So you just never know.
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Great message! I knew that competition was fierce and income prospects weren't promising when I majored in journalism in college, but it was the only thing I could see myself doing and truly being happy so I decided to work extremely hard and strategic to make sure I landed some type of job after college. It definitely wasn't luck or someone I knew that helped me find work at first so I definitely agree that it's more about the person and less about the degree.
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I know a lot of people with somewhat similar stories as you. They majored in a "long shot" degree, but they made damn sure that they would have a job lined up in the end.
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2/11/2016 12:57:41 am
Preach! I also get so frustrated with the obsession about "name brand" colleges. You can escape debt free with a good education from a lesser-known school or state school (many of which are amazing) and then open yourself up for more career risks/opportunities because you aren't shackled with debt. This will pay huge dividends on earning potential.
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If you can graduate debt free (or even not graduate, but get what you need education-wise without going into debt), then you're right, you can take big risks.
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2/11/2016 08:26:04 am
AMEN AMEN AMEN AMEN. Please come talk to all 18 year olds ever.
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I know a few people who if they told me they majored in Klingon, I would, in no way, be surprised. I think one of my brothers in law can speak Elvish, and he really is a board game designer, but he was a teacher first.
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2/16/2016 03:33:14 pm
I had a completely "useless" college degree if you only look at job prospects. However I do think college offers a lot of benefits that make one a good, thoughtful and informed citizen, which we need in our society.
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About HannahI'm a wife, a mom, an employee, and a personal finance nerd who is devoted to spreadsheeting my way through life. Archives
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