A College Degree may now hurt your chances of getting hired.

[DinkyDau]

I think they should scout seniors in High School and military right out of service...Trades school grads is where it's at and pay is good to start and only gets better..

 

[kodis556]

A college degree worked out really well for me, but that's just me. Also, I worked my way through school and went to class sometimes until 10:00 at night. I can't imaging some of these snowflakes doing anything like that nowadays...

If we had any kids, I'd encourage them to take up a trade vs. going to college.

 

[Torn]

There is no doubt a place and need for college degrees just as there is for trade schools. The problem comes when college graduates equate a piece of paper for real world experience and think they‘re qualified to do a job because some professor told them so. We had Embry-Riddle grads show up with a BS degree, and thought they were air traffic controllers (because their degree said so) but had never actually worked in a tower or radar room with live traffic. It would be the same as a person finishing college with an aeronautical degree, saying they were a pilot because they flew a simulator but had never flown a real plane. They think because they studied, memorized or read something it’s the same as actually doing it. You can’t teach experience.

Many have been told their whole lives they are special and when they hit the real world they are told to shut their pie holes, get to work and they are nothing but another employee they can’t handle it. Also the social indoctrination and psychobabble they are forced fed creates an unreal expectation of how things will be when they get in the workforce. Sure there are a lot of tech companies that have embraced DEI as well as companies like CocaCola , Disney etc. but the vast majority of small business have no need or time for that BS.

 

[Bypass]

Yesterday I was listening to Mary Walter and her guest was talking about future hiring trends particularly in small businesses. He said that many small businesses were now hiring employees right out of high school for jobs that don’t require a college degree instead of hiring someone with a degree. He said those with college degrees expect higher starting salaries even though their degree had nothing to do with the job they were applying for, they were more inclined to argue with other employees, were late for work more often, and were overall less productive.

Later I talked to a friend of mine who owns several small businesses and he agreed. Many times the applicant with the college degree expected the employer to basically help pay off their student debt even though they brought zero experience to the table, expected more benefits and higher salaries just because the have a degree and expected to make their own work schedule particularly working from home.

The high school grad understood they were starting at the bottom and had to work their way up, was more reliable and less confrontational with other employees and accepted the work schedule that was offered. I realize these are broad brush assumptions but considering what we see coming out of college, the applicant that HASN’T been through 4 years of liberal indoctrination and is not sitting on $100k of student debt may be a more appealing candidate than the brainwashed “know-it-all” with a Liberal Arts degree.

I've always said this.

 

[CAMSDADDY]

With more places hiring online you have to have a degree to get through the algorithm. My daughter is getting a degree in advertising with a minor in business. I told her if she never goes in either of those directions her degree will get her foot in the door. Its hard to explain to a man you have 30+ years experience and are a responsible hard working adult with reasonable expectations if you never get the chance.
I began looking a couple of years ago and its impossible to get past the computer if you dont have a degree in many places that actually think they want folks with skills and experience but really want paper.

 

[cskiles]

I agree, the problem with an employee that has a college degree (depending on the job they are applying for) is more often than not, that the degree has zero relevance to the field they are applying to. I own an electrical/building automation company, we are constantly hiring...an electrician with 5+ years of experience usually asks for between $30 and $40 an hour, I have interviewed candidates (as recently as two weeks ago) that "want to be an electrician" and have a degree in electrical engineering - they typically ask for $80 to $95k a year. I usually explain it to them as follows, "if I hire a brain surgeon to mow my yard, he gets $50 bucks because that's what the job warrants" his education is irrelevant.

 

[thevalueman]

I've not seen/read anyone mention the "ivy league" schools.....I can tell you here, and now, I would NEVER hire a graduate from one of those schools, I don't care what the job was...NO Fing way!!!
I had a friend that worked for Ga Power/Southern....he was a line crew manager....30+ years, knew everything there was to know about the field work and managing people...he was as high on the food chain as he could get from them....no college degree.....ultimately, he quit....got tired of the lack of a challenging job....took his pension, and walked...they lost a great man...and you know what??? they could have cared less....

 

[Rolling_trip]

I have a customer in Tuscaloosa in the outdoor aluminum business. I had a conversation about an engineer grad from U of Alabama that came in for an interview. The kid had a great transcript, but had never had a job in his life. The customer offered him the job which started at 7am M-F……. The kid told him that he would like to come in at 9am instead……that’s when his classes had started in college and he wanted to keep it that way, lol.

Could you imagine telling an employer what that? Needless to say, it didn’t work out lol.

 

[Torn]

With more places hiring online you have to have a degree to get through the algorithm. My daughter is getting a degree in advertising with a minor in business. I told her if she never goes in either of those directions her degree will get her foot in the door. Its hard to explain to a man you have 30+ years experience and are a responsible hard working adult with reasonable expectations if you never get the chance.
I began looking a couple of years ago and its impossible to get past the computer if you dont have a degree in many places that actually think they want folks with skills and experience but really want paper.

That is one of the biggest problems in a computer algorithm world and with AI coming on the scene it will only get worse. Especially when companies not only require a degree but will use AI to figure in your social score, carbon footprint and your inclusivity.

 

[Torn]

I have a customer in Tuscaloosa in the outdoor aluminum business. I had a conversation about an engineer grad from U of Alabama that came in for an interview. The kid had a great transcript, but had never had a job in his life. The customer offered him the job which started at 7am M-F……. The kid told him that he would like to come in at 9am instead……that’s when his classes had started in college and he wanted to keep it that way, lol.

Could you imagine telling an employer what that? Needless to say, it didn’t work out lol.

And he’ll never understand why he didn’t get the job. I’ll take common sense over a degree any day.