Community College Spotlight asks “Does college pay?”
Despite tales of college graduates working as cashiers, college is still worth it, argues Anthony Carnevale of Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce in Inside Higher Ed. Bureau of Labor Statistics data misses a shift in the economy: Employers are requiring postsecondary credentials for jobs that didn’t use to require a two- or four-year degree, he writes.
I know this to be true. My husband’s computer software company requires a bachelor’s for folks to come in and fold boxes. Why? Because the boss, an entrepeneur who only graduated high school, says that if the employee has finished college, then the employee is likely to have the cultural work ethic he is looking for: showing up on time, doing what is asked, and doing it reasonably well.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I’m not even sure if that’s true anymore. I don’t know the number of students who are just barely getting by as undergrads- showing up late, handing work in late that is barely acceptable, not taking responsibility for their poor performance/grades. But at many institutions, retention and graduation rates are key, so these students will eventually get that degree. They’ll be turned out soon enough as frauds or actually start showing up on time and doing the work asked of them. But I think that soon (and it is already starting) that a Master’s will be the entry ticket.
Not saying it’s a good thing. Just saying what I’ve observed.