Student loan debt sits today at about $1.3 trillion. Studies
show that many 30-40 year old college graduates will have a lower standard of
living than their parents and are not able to purchase homes because of one
thing – student loan debt. Seventy percent of all jobs require a two-year
degree or less, yet we dangle the mantra that career and academic success ride
on the attainment of that proverbial four-year Bachelor’s degree. In other
words, we are encouraging our students to mortgage their futures for a college
degree that might not be necessary. Why?
The annual Manpower Talent Shortage Survey lists the top 10
jobs companies cannot fill. Most require an education level of a two-year
degree or less. A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee skills gap report shows
that 70% of prospective job openings in Wisconsin through 2020 will require an
education level of a high school diploma or less, and then goes on to say,
“even if every unemployed person were perfectly matched to existing jobs, over
2/3 of all jobless would still be out of work.” Why?
When I speak to high school career planning classes, I ask
if anyone is considering a two-year degree, diploma, or apprenticeship. Five to
six percent of the students respond with a “yes.” The rest of the students
indicate they are looking at colleges offering four-year degrees. We then
whiteboard their career areas of interest. Ninety-five percent of them would
require only a two-year degree or less to enter their chosen field. Only 7 to
9% of high school graduates go on to a technical college. The average age of a
technical college student is 30. Why?
In Milwaukee, certain
demographic populations have unemployment rates between 30 and 50%. Employers
are starved for skilled employees. Technical colleges cannot attract enough
students to meet the industry demand for skilled workers, and enrollments are
down over 10% at Wisconsin technical colleges. Why?
For years we have told students to stay out of the trades, factories,
customer service, and information technology careers because they were being
outsourced or they were “dead end” positions. They all now reside at the top of
the Manpower Talent Shortage Survey. We tell our children throughout their K-12
years that you need a college degree to be successful. You even hear, “in the
future, every job will require a college degree” even though the data does not
support that. Why?
Students choose careers
for the wrong reasons. Their father was
an accountant; it looked cool on television; it pays big bucks – not because it
matches their personal interests and attributes. My classes are full of
students with college degrees that did not like their career choice or now need
the hands-on skills in order to get a job they did not get with their existing degree.
That is nothing but foolish and very expensive! Seventy percent of all American
employees go to work every day to a job they dislike. Why?
As standalone sound bites, the statements above are just
that, but when you string them together they take on an entirely different
context. Why are we pushing our children to get four-year college degrees when
the majority of the current and future jobs will require an education level of
a two-year degree or less? We all assume that a four-year college degree will
be a badge of success, but for many, it will be a ball and chain that they will
drag around with them for life.
We need to rethink the whole notion of higher education, its
value, and who really needs it. Not everyone needs formal education after high
school. We need to look at the career and academic planning processes used by
our schools to make sure parents, students, and counselors really understand
the educational and career landscape, their options, costs, and time-frames. We
need to make sure students know which careers match their personal attributes
and encourage them to pursue careers in these areas. Students should understand
the job market, which careers are in high demand, and which have longevity. Today’s
graduates will work over 50 years before they can retire. We need industry to
step up and invest in more internship, job shadowing, and student sponsorship
opportunities that target areas with high unemployment and high schools where
students have been literally brainwashed since kindergarten that a four-year
college was their only hope for success.
Finally, students need to understand the concept of a career
pathway: starting with a two-year degree or diploma, gaining work experience, obtaining
further education (preferably employer paid), taking on more responsibility
within the workforce, making more money, and on it goes. It is called life-long
learning. Remember, it does not matter what kind of degree you have or where it
is from – if you have no experience, you start at the “entry level” position,
as no one starts at the top. Therefore, target the minimum education needed in
order to obtain an “entry level” job within a field that matches your
personality and interests. Do not drink excessively from the student loan well,
and do not over educate yourself.
