Increasing job insecurity in an unstable economy makes getting a college degree a double-edged sword: the financial investment is a risk that may not pay off, but at the same time, without a degree there are few secure and potentially fulfilling career options.
A college education used to be a privilege for those who could pay for it. But the advantages affluence fosters in an increasingly competitive job market are everwidening the already inflated income gap in the United States. A humanities education is becoming less useful in a workforce with an abundance of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics positions and shortage of other lucrative career options. The unemployment rate for people with humanities degrees increased from 5 percent to 13 percent between 1994 and 2009, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Despite a huge demand for STEM skills, the K-12 education system lags behind other developed countries in math and science, according to The Program for International Student Assessment, this creates a shortage of STEM-focused individuals to go into careers that will tangibly boost economic growth.
The college students of 2014 were in high school or entering college when the Great Recession hit. With a hyperawareness of the struggles of post-graduate life—unpaid internships, moving back home or working jobs for which they’re overqualified—students face a pressure to learn skills outside of the classroom. Bulking up resumes with extracurricular work is one way students attempt to differentiate themselves to employers, on top of maintaining GPAs and other responsibilities. Instead of attending college with the goal of learning, college’s purpose has shifted to vocational work, in areas such as engineering, journalism and business. Higher education has been commodified so that students now think in economic terms of what each class costs and how classes can benefit them in terms of their future job placement and income.
A court decision recently granted football players on scholarship at Northwestern University the right to form a union and collectively bargain, showing that student-athletes consider themselves as employees to the university rather than actual college students. Such a decision demonstrates how the ideas behind a college education have shifted for this entire generation of young adults: Instead of college being an initiation into adulthood or learning experience to broaden the mind, it has become a business deal between a university and its students. Most students are forced to buy into this business scheme if they wish to succeed. This is not to say a college education does not have innumerable benefits to the individual’s journey, but the notion that one must pay thousands and thousands of dollars—either through loans, scholarships or family income—to gain a living wage shows that college no longer serves its intended purpose.
Additionally, one of the primary functions of a university should be to teach students how to be well-rounded citizens. Universities are failing students when they do not stress a well-rounded education or promote becoming a contributing member of society with diverse knowledge. With the commodification of higher education, the idea of learning-focused education and curriculum is falling to the wayside. Students are dissuaded from learning for the sake of learning because there is so much pressure to become successful and remain competitive as a newcomer to the struggling job market. The prevailing mindset is that students are more career-focused than learning-focused. Instead of teaching students about the world, higher education institutions are often choosing to only teach a skill. We must wonder, was this the original purpose of higher education? There’s an assumption you need a college degree to get a job. For many young people, that’s a driving reason to go to college. But now it seems as if a college degree is a bare minimum requirement for success.
As the cost of a degree goes up and its value goes down, many students are going to be stuck in a bubble of debt and job insecurity.People are fighting to make college more accessible, but state budget cuts mean students will have to foot more of the bill. As a result, the cost of public higher education is widening the income gap—as tuition increases more low-income students are getting priced out, ultimately hindering the possibility of socioeconomic mobility.
For our parents, a college degree was enough to get a job, but now students are expected to do much more. Students cannot rely merely on the presence of a college degree. They need to have professional experience, internships and other real-world experiences to succeed.
For the students whose degrees can’t stand alone in the job market, options like graduate degrees are looking more appealing, but again, that incurs greater cost as well. So what’s the solution to this problem?
New models that provide lucrative and fulfilling options to young people outside of getting a four-year degree could alleviate the financial and individual pressure of attaining a diploma. This includes a greater emphasis on attending technical and vocational schools.
Ultimately, personal initiative is key. A higher education institution cannot force its students to engage in extracurricular activities, but in majors where jobs are not as attainable directly out of college, getting involved can provide avenues that lead to career possibilities. Students have the potential to increase the value of their undergraduate experience by seeking out realworld opportunities that broaden and develop their skill sets.
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