Degree inflation, or the increased demand for a four-year college diploma for jobs that previously did not require one, is a significant and pervasive issue that is inefficiently affecting the US labor market. Many jobs in the United States that were once considered middle-skills jobs (those that required employees to have a high school diploma but not a college degree) now require a college degree as a minimum education requirement, despite the fact that only a third of the adult population has this credential.
Why are college diplomas becoming less valuable?
Credential inflation may have altered the signaling function of college degrees. Credential inflation is nothing more than a rise in the value of one’s own assets “… a rise in the level of education required for a job.”
Many jobs that formerly just required a high school diploma are now only admitting bachelor’s degree applicants. Because of this shift in company preferences, the 4-year degree has become the unofficial minimum benchmark for educational qualifications. The high incidence of underemployment among college graduates exemplifies this fact. Approximately 41% of recent graduates are employed in positions that do not require a college diploma. When you consider that just 17% of hotel clerks and 23.5 percent of amusement park employees have a four-year degree, it’s no surprise. Traditionally, none of these vocations required a college diploma. However, in a competitive job market where the majority of applicants have a college diploma, many recent grads have no way of distinguishing themselves from other candidates. As a result, many fresh grads have no choice but to take low-paying positions.
Because of the large growth in the number of workers with college degrees, the value of a college diploma has decreased. The effect of this type of debasement is similar to that of printing additional money. The higher the quantity of a commodity, the lower the value, according to the Law of Supply and Demand. The swarms of guidance counselors and parents pleading with adolescents to go to college have undoubtedly exacerbated the problem. However, governmental policy has exacerbated the problem.
More students are pursuing college degrees as a result of various loan schemes, government scholarships, and other programs. Proposals for policies that make education more accessible “For example, “free college” devalues degrees. As more people attend college, degrees become increasingly common and degrade even further.
Of course, this isn’t to argue that talented students who want to work in the STEM industries should skip college. A college degree, on the other hand, may prove to be a poor investment and a hindrance to a student’s future.
It is not a sensible option to take on big sums of debt in order to work for minimum wage. Students should know that a college diploma isn’t everything when confronted with regulations and social pressure that have made college the norm. Students who concentrated on developing marketable talents rather than academic credentials might be able to stand out in a job market swamped with degrees.
Why is degree inflation such a problem?
The government’s policies haven’t improved matters. The District of Columbia, for example, may soon require child care providers to have a college diploma, despite the fact that this occupation does not necessitate college-level abilities. Child care employees are among the occupations with the highest risk of degree inflation, according to Fuller and Raman.
Both employers and employees are affected by degree inflation. Employers take longer to fill job postings requiring a bachelor’s degree, according to Fuller and Raman, than similar openings requiring no minimum degree. Furthermore, persons with a college degree expect higher salaries than those without one, implying that companies must pay more to attract and keep degree holders than job candidates with identical talents but no degree. Employers also report higher turnover among college graduates than among non-college graduates in surveys.
The most evident effect of degree inflation is that people without a college diploma have fewer prospects. These individuals may possess the essential skills to perform various professions that need a bachelor’s degree, but they are unable to do so due to a lack of the appropriate credentials.
However, degree inflation has far-reaching effects in the long run. Employers’ premiums for college-educated workers may encourage more people to acquire bachelor’s degrees. That would be fine if all of those degrees provided students with new skills they could apply in the workplace to increase productivity and economic growth. However, degree inflation shows that many tasks that need a bachelor’s degree can be performed by those without one.
If degree inflation makes college more about meeting job posting requirements than about developing abilities, the hundreds of billions of dollars that America invests in higher education each year will not pay off. Employers will find it more difficult to retain the salary premiums they currently offer to college graduates as more people obtain degrees. Higher education’s rewards on investment will eventually dwindle. Holders of a bachelor’s degree may see their qualifications dwindle in value.
Should the government step in? Although there is no obvious policy approach to moderate inflation, governments should avoid exacerbating the problem. Government initiatives should not encourage bachelor’s degrees over other postsecondary credentials or alternative pathways such as apprenticeships; policy should be as neutral as feasible in terms of what educational and career paths people choose.
Employers, on the other hand, should take the initiative in combating degree inflation. It is in the greatest interests of enterprises to keep degree inflation under control. Employers who unnecessarily require bachelor’s degrees do themselves a disservice by overlooking a pool of qualified job applicants who do not have a bachelor’s degree.
Some companies have realized this. Many large organizations, according to the Fuller and Raman research, have built pathways for low-credentialed individuals to progress to mid- and high-level roles. As job positions become more difficult to fill, this tendency should hopefully continue. 6.6 unemployed people fought for every job opportunity at the height of the Great Recession. Employers must become less choosy as the number of job searchers per opening has dropped to only 1.1.
“On and off throughout the years, we contemplated mandating a college diploma for management roles, but ultimately determined it wasn’t in our best interests,” says Ernie Dupont, a senior executive at CVS Health. “To be honest, we believe it effectively eliminates a pool of qualified or, in some situations, promising applicants. We need all the talent we can find to bring into the company, and we understand that people come from various walks of life.”
What factors influence degree inflation?
Although the reasons of credential inflation are debatable, it is often assumed that it is the outcome of expanded access to higher education. As a result, entry-level professions that were once open to high school graduates now require a bachelor’s (or higher) degree. Degree requirements by employers, self-interest of individuals and families, increased standards of living that allow for additional years of education, cultural pushes for education, and the availability of federal student loans, which allow many more people to obtain credentials than could otherwise afford to do so, are all potential sources of credential inflation.
Internal dynamics of credential inflation, in particular, pose a threat to global higher education projects since credential inflation appears to function independently of market demand for credentials.
The concept that those without a college diploma are less employable is at the heart of the campaign for more Americans to pursue a higher education. Many detractors of higher education, on the other hand, say that there is a “employer’s market” because of the large number of college graduates.
Is there a deterioration in higher education?
Despite many colleges and universities’ full in-person return to campus last semester, enrollments continued to plummet nationwide, according to the latest figures from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
According to the clearinghouse report, total enrollment, which includes undergraduate and graduate students, fell by 2.7 percent in autumn 2021 compared to fall 2020. Since the epidemic began in spring 2020, attendance at American colleges and universities has decreased by 5.1 percent, with 937,500 fewer students enrolled. In the fall of 2021, compared to the fall of 2020, undergraduate enrollment fell by 3.1 percent. Enrollment in graduate programs fell by 0.4 percent.
According to Mikyung Ryu, an analyst and head of research publications at the research center, it could be a while before enrolment starts to rise again.
Is American education on the decline?
19 OCTOBER 2021 According to data tables issued today by the US Census Bureau, school enrolment in the United States fell by 2.9 million from 2019 to 2020, with enrollment among the under-35 demographic falling to its lowest level (52.4 percent of the total population) in over 20 years. Based on data from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey, the tables look at school enrolment at all levels during the Covid-19 epidemic in 2020. (CPS).
Academic Inflation
Only 26% of middle-class workers had completed their education beyond high school in 1970. However, nearly 60% of occupations in the United States now demand a higher education.
Bachelor’s degrees are currently becoming increasingly meaningless as the number of persons graduating from college continues to rise. As a result, most positions that previously required a bachelor’s degree now demand master’s degrees, making most entry-level degrees obsolete.
Furthermore, as if that weren’t enough, many master’s degree students have stayed in school to wait for a recession, and it’ll only be a matter of time before even the most basic occupations require a bachelor’s degree.
The Illusion of Security
In the past, having a degree could guarantee you a job and security, but that is no longer the case. There are a lot of graduates and a lot of positions out there, therefore individuals are trying to find work.
According to research publications, few college graduates under the age of 25 are employed in positions that need a college diploma. In addition, CNN data shows that college degree holders have an unemployment rate of 8.9%.
Drowning in Debt
It’s no secret that even a single year of college can consume more than 40% of a family’s income, and approximately half of middle-class college students graduate with about $22,000 in student loans. The amount paid by a higher-class student is less since their families can afford to pay their tuition in full.
Middle-class students have more student loans than upper-class students, while lower-class students do better since they are more likely to qualify for financial aid and grants. They could end up paying up to $20,000 in student loans throughout the course of their academic career.
The Source of Creativity
There is a widespread assumption that attending college would make you more creative and imaginative, but this is not the case. Creativity and invention come from your past experiences and interactions with your previous and current circumstances, not from what you study.
Professors Do not Focus on Your Education
College is full of unexpected twists and turns, and it’s not uncommon to meet someone who claims to have studied engineering but can’t manage a derivative. This is not a joke, as many professors are more concerned with their own tenure and compensation than with providing students with the greatest education possible.
They also use curves to grade their pupils, making it more difficult for them to fail, and the curriculum is locked in its old paradigm with no noticeable modifications.
According to a research, 45 percent of pupils do not possess the necessary complex reasoning and critical thinking skills when compared to their prior year of enrollment.
Is your college diploma still valid?
A school’s diploma and education are still valid and respectable if a degree has already been acquired. It’s probable that certain employers who contact the school may want to know what happened. This is especially true if the college or university is no longer in operation.
After two years, am I still a graduate?
The industry standard, as Quady indicated, is two years. Some will have less, while a select few will have more. However, you would not be “able to get onto 99 percent of graduate schemes” three years after graduation.
What are the four different sorts of degrees?
Prerequisites, durations, and requirements differ between associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. Associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees are the four types of college degrees. The length, prerequisites, and effects of each college degree level differ. Each college degree is tailored to the individual interests and career aspirations of students.
Understanding college degree levels will assist you in determining which degree will best fulfill your requirements while also potentially saving you time and money.