Do you think a bachelors degree is still worth the time and money?

[bruhidfk12345]

I specify bachelors degree, instead of just saying college, because there are a lot of decent-paying associates degrees that are pretty much just trades.

Personally, I think it heavily depends on what you major in. That being said, an enterprising person who knows how to market themselves properly can find a good job with any sort of degree, for the most part.

I also don’t like the misconceptions people have regarding STEM. Mainly that every field in STEM will make you tons of cash, and that you’ll have a job immediately out of school.

 

[hambeerlyingnreed]

Unless you're planning on doing a Masters, I'd say "nope". Even then, in a lot of cases you're probably better off doing college. Even if you aren't doing a trade, you could do a program for Social Work or something else, bypassing the BA and MA. You might make less money, at least to start, but you won't be in as much debt and unlike Uni where you're sitting in a lecture hall, lots of colleges have work-study programs. You end up with more experience that way, which makes it easier to get a job.

The only time I'd recommend doing a BA if you aren't planning on doing more is if you plan on travelling to some foreign country. Schools, especially in Asia, look for native English speakers with a BA in English. Major or minor, TEFL or not, if you're some cracker with a piece of paper from University of Americatown, you're getting a job.

 

[SigSauer]

I specify bachelors degree, instead of just saying college, because there are a lot of decent-paying associates degrees that are pretty much just trades.

Personally, I think it heavily depends on what you major in. That being said, an enterprising person who knows how to market themselves properly can find a good job with any sort of degree, for the most part.

I also don’t like the misconceptions people have regarding STEM. Mainly that every field in STEM will make you tons of cash, and that you’ll have a job immediately out of school.

Definitely. It'll help bolster your resume, which'll make not only finding jobs, but actually getting in much easier. Any kind of college degree will do, really. Depending on the kind of job you want.

 

[Draza]

Internships/Jobs outside of college is a big must. A piece paper won't gurantee you a job anymore these days. Most employers would look at your work history and what makes you special compared to the other guy who's also competiting for your spot as well. All what i'm saying is that don't depend on a bachelor degree to get a job.

 

[Corbin Dallas Multipass]

It's hard to say, it depends greatly on the field, and honestly, on the individual's ability to learn on their own.

I would say no, it's not worth it solely for the degree. But some degrees come with some valuable knowledge. And some fields just require them, so it's a binary, not a question of worth.

 

[Otterly]

It depends. Where you go, what you do and how you use your time there.

A bachelors in the UK is a three year degree (I’m aware the US system is a bit different) and as long as you study something that gives you useful skills you’re OK. By useful I mean you come out literate, numerate and able to DO something.

Connections are also important - if you can get on a course that has a year in industry component, that’s great. Or one that is a defined feeder course for either a specific career path or a specific company.

I’d always recommend students ask where graduates of the course have gone. Further education? Straight into jobs? Are any further qualifications needed to get to the point you’re ready to enter whatever industry? It’s also worth talking to people who are doing the job you want to do. Most people will be happy to spend a bit of time talking about how they got where they did, what they wish they’d done differently etc.

The problem we’ve had in the UK was a focus on ‘degrees for all’ rather than high quality academic degrees and high quality vocational/technical streams like most European countries have. so there’s a million unemployed media studies grads and you can’t get a gas fitter for love nor money.

Edited to add: I have (four) STEM degrees and I didn’t have a job ‘out of school.’ I had to do further study, still had to go in on the ground floor and I’d say that grit, and soft skills are as important as academics in many industries.

 

[bruhidfk12345]

As someone who gtfo of Chemistry for Accounting, there are so many people who go into STEM thinking a pure science degree is going to net them the same salary as an engineering one just because it’s been drilled into our heads here in the US that Stem=Money, despite that not always being the case.

It’s not even just the pure sciences. Math degrees have higher unemployment rates than some liberal arts fields, and some surveys even show that employers prefer degrees like English or even Communications/Media Studies to Applied/Pure Math.

 

[NOT Sword Fighter Super]

A bachelor's degree is basically the new high school diploma. You kind of need to have one in order to be taken seriously in the business world.

 

[Corbin Dallas Multipass]

A bachelor's degree is basically the new high school diploma. You kind of need to have one in order to be taken seriously in the business world.

No. The college industry wants you to believe this, but no, this is not at all true.

Getting a job is about being good at bullshitting, like many other things. Having the actual knowledge to do the job is a big help in service of this bullshitting.

If you go into an interview with the attitude that you have to make up for your lack of a degree, yeah, you probably aren't getting that job, you're coming out of the gate saying "I'm not actually quite qualified, but..."

If you go into an interview with the attitude that you have what it takes to do the job and you know it, the degree matters a lot less. Of course some people get hung up on it, but then people get hung up on all sorts of random things. Honestly your hair length is probably a better predictor of whether you'll get a job than your degree status.

Once you have experience in an industry the importance of that degree is basically gone. The degree proves a level of knowledge, but experience proves both knowledge and success at application of knowledge(Otherwise they would have fired you).

I wish someone would have told me this when I was young, I allowed myself to be incredibly underpaid for a long time with the idea that I had to because I didn't have a degree. It turns out the main reason I was underpaid was that I didn't ask for more.

 

[NOT Sword Fighter Super]

No. The college industry wants you to believe this, but no, this is not at all true.

Getting a job is about being good at bullshitting, like many other things. Having the actual knowledge to do the job is a big help in service of this bullshitting.

If you go into an interview with the attitude that you have to make up for your lack of a degree, yeah, you probably aren't getting that job, you're coming out of the gate saying "I'm not actually quite qualified, but..."

If you go into an interview with the attitude that you have what it takes to do the job and you know it, the degree matters a lot less. Of course some people get hung up on it, but then people get hung up on all sorts of random things. Honestly your hair length is probably a better predictor of whether you'll get a job than your degree status.

Once you have experience in an industry the importance of that degree is basically gone. The degree proves a level of knowledge, but experience proves both knowledge and success at application of knowledge(Otherwise they would have fired you).

I wish someone would have told me this when I was young, I allowed myself to be incredibly underpaid for a long time with the idea that I had to because I didn't have a degree. It turns out the main reason I was underpaid was that I didn't ask for more.

My friend got a job at a place where the only literal requirement was that you had a bachelor's degree. It didn't even matter what it was in. His was in psychology, which is among the most useless bachelor's degrees there are.

I applied with an associate's degree, but didn't get the job. Truthfully I didn't want it, but I still tried.

Edit:
I agree that the college industry is corrupt as hell, but if everybody believes a lie, then it becomes the truth.

 

[crocodilian]

You need a degree to get a job, full stop; it doesn't matter what that degree is or how little respect it garners. Even with the job market proving slightly better than it was during Obama's presidency, jobs are still so scarce that hiring firms can demand whatever qualifications they want, no matter how ridiculous. There's simply too many people looking for work who will tolerate the worst wages, hours and working standards if it means any employment.

That being said, the universal demand for bachelor degrees was very intentionally facilitated by the government, banks and educators in a massive 3-way scheme. Get all the stupid children to take out a huge federal loan to afford college, where they get their dime-a-dozen degree, then gradually increase productivity hours while not increasing hourly wage in proportion. There's no reason not to; they'll do whatever you want for a pittance salary. Even respectable jobs like doctors or lawyers aren't free from this, as their debt is simply three times bigger.

It might just be the greatest scam in human history, right next to tearing apart Europe to fill the bankers' coffers.

 

[Corbin Dallas Multipass]

You need a degree to get a job, full stop; it doesn't matter what that degree is or how little respect it garners. Even with the job market proving slightly better than it was during Obama's presidency, jobs are still so scarce that hiring firms can demand whatever qualifications they want, no matter how ridiculous. There's simply too many people looking for work who will tolerate the worst wages, hours and working standards if it means any employment.

US Jobless Rate Holds Steady at 3.8% The US unemployment rate came in at 3.8 percent in March 2019, unchanged from the previous month's figure and in line with market expectations. The number of unemployed persons decreased by 24 thousand to 6.2 million while employment dropped by 201 thousand to 156.7 million.

What the hell are you talking about? That's the opposite of what's going on. The job market is a bit better than "slightly better than under Obama", instead try "The best it's been in 40 years."
And no, actually companies are having trouble finding enough workers to fill unskilled positions. They're also having trouble with the skilled positions, as always.

You really couldn't have stated a more wrong summary of the job market right now.

 

[Agent Scud]

If you know what you want to do it helps a lot more. The bare minimum Liberal Arts degree generally helps you get your foot in the door, in my experience. Some County positions in my area take college credits as a substitution for X-number of years worth of experience, it's how I got mine, however these are usually unskilled labor and maintenance positions. If you want a desk job or something more technical, the credit substitute at least gets more specific depending on the field if not outright requiring a particular BA or other experience.

 

[Corbin Dallas Multipass]

If you know what you want to do it helps a lot more. The bare minimum Liberal Arts degree generally helps you get your foot in the door, in my experience. Some County positions in my area take college credits as a substitution for X-number of years worth of experience, it's how I got mine, however these are usually unskilled labor and maintenance positions. If you want a desk job or something more technical, the credit substitute at least gets more specific depending on the field if not outright requiring a particular BA or other experience.

What field are you guys working in? I mean, sure, I see most jobs say they require a BA, but then you go interview anyway and suddenly that BA isn't as required as it was initially. Most people want someone who can do the fucking job, at least, if they're competent managers.

 

[Agent Scud]

What field are you guys working in? I mean, sure, I see most jobs say they require a BA, but then you go interview anyway and suddenly that BA isn't as required as it was initially. Most people want someone who can do the fucking job, at least, if they're competent managers.

County government. The system's a mess and likely hasn't been updated much, if at all, since it was created. Wasn't thinking about this when I was originally writing but at the end of the day the final hiring decisions come from the main HR office. Whoever's interviewing you could fall in love with you on sight, but unless they have enough pull, or you know how to play the system, HR will can your papers if they don't see what the job asks for.

 

[PT 940]

As long as it's not in gender studies *elbow jab

 

[lurk_moar]

Anything in the health care industry is good except for X-ray tech. I heard that it is very difficult for new nursing grads and that nursing is oversaturated. Just get a vocational degree.

Any engineering degree is also a solid career choice. Computer science seems very lucrative.

I would stay far away from liberal arts degrees.

 

[cistendered]

It depends on the field you're in. In tech if you have demonstrable skills no hiring manager is gonna care because talented people are hard to find. I make more than my friends who went to university and have no debt. That's not to say it's the easy road to take though, you have to be pretty self-motivated and need to pick the right industry.

If you don't know what you want to do or are just going for a generic job when you graduate you should probably go to school. It's a good opportunity to sort yourself out and network with other people. However, unless you get into an elite university and can afford it, the only sensible path is going to community college and then your local state university. College debt is cancer.

 

[queue-anon]

What field are you guys working in? I mean, sure, I see most jobs say they require a BA, but then you go interview anyway and suddenly that BA isn't as required as it was initially. Most people want someone who can do the fucking job, at least, if they're competent managers.

Who’s even getting an interview without at least a BA or a shitload of work experience? Any large company inputs resumes into a database, and no human eyeballs are looking at that resume unless it hits every single metric they claim to need (even when they don’t actually need it). I’ve heard of a lot of fights over this between HR and managers actually in the field. Much of the time, managers want someone hardworking who can learn but HR insists on a four-year degree from a top tier college because HR is lazy as fuck and doesn’t want to do the work of actually reading cover letters and resumes, let alone holding interviews. The only times I get interviews are when I apply to small companies that don’t even have an HR department.

 

[Crunchy Leaf]

It obviously depends very heavily on the details, but absolutely.

The 'but you could just LEARN to CODE' thing is dumb. You can get a decent-ish job with a high school diploma and a coding boot camp, yes, but you can get a better job with a degree in computer science from a good program.

In the arts world where you actually do stuff as opposed to bullshitting about critical theory like fine arts and theater, college makes sense as long as it's reasonably priced, because getting an apprenticeship with limited experience is pretty hard these days, and at college you'll have access to lots of stuff a regular person can't afford. For example, if you want to learn how to do letterpress, it's gonna be a lot easier at a college, and a larger university is going to have way more resources than a community college. Now, again, emphasis on reasonably priced, but there are art programs that you can afford without a ton of student loans.