Do you need a college degree to get a good job?

**Updated for 2023**

I grew up during a time when people used to toss around the mantra, “You have to go to college to get a good job.” I wouldn’t be surprised if it were still tossed around today. Scratch that; I KNOW it’s still used today. With the staggering amount of college debt currently held, I think it’s highly probable it isn’t just alive, but it’s the status quo for millions today. And, given the swell in not only tuition costs but also college debt, I believe it is prudent to shine a light on it.

Moreover, the current administration and cultural push to have student loans forgiven demonstrate the substantial problem we’ve had for decades now. I won’t address the morality of forgiveness here of having others pay for your own decisions; instead, I’ll focus on the climate that made such situations possible. While not comprehensive, it should illustrate some serious problems we have had for decades now. 

But just because someone (or the collective) says something does it make it true? Can they speak it into existence? Can the system at large be subjected to the collective will of this mantra and make it a reality?

The short answer is no. The long answer is also no but contains more words. Because I like to write and find it satisfying to deal with a misconstrued interpretation demonstrably false assessment created by the collective wrong, I’m going to give it a go at the long answer; you know, the one with more words. I gotta keep the word count up, don’t I?

 

So without any more delay, let’s dive right in on this topic.

Where did it begin

Where did the seeds of this sprout from? Image credit here.

To be honest, I wish I knew. I suspect it would be difficult, if not near impossible, to dial in on the origin of this mantra. Still, it deserves a little research into the past because, as I plan to demonstrate, there was a time period when this thought may have been a little closer to the truth. The reason? College degrees were fewer back in the day. This, of course, means they were more valuable – read as fewer people had them – and as such, their value was intrinsically more. I’m not going to steal too much of the next section’s thunder here. Instead, we should note a lower number of people having college degrees meant a few different things.

So what does that mean?

First, fewer people with those degrees meant supply and demand – something I harp about on the regular here. You see, fewer people had degrees 50 years ago, and that meant there were fewer people for jobs that “required” them. For example, this website has good statistical data going all the way back to 1940 concerning those who have college degrees in relation to the American populace.

• 1940 Men: 5.5% & Women: 3.8%
• 2018 Men: 34.6% & Women: 35.3%

The above numbers don’t take one serious thing into consideration, though: it isn’t a reflection of the number of people who have degrees – merely a percentage of the population. As can be expected, the number of people living in America during 1940 is significantly less than those who currently live in America today. This means there has been a massive increase in the number of those actually obtaining college degrees.

And, this trend continues to this day. According to National Center for Education Statistics, the number of college degrees from 2010 to 2022 has increased significantly. In fact, just during this particular time frame of a mere 12 years, college degree obtainment has risen substantially. Why the increase over such a short time frame? That ought to tell us something right there. I’m not convinced the reason is population increase, either; after all, we are falling short of birth replacement as this article outlines. 

What’s more, this PBS article, which cites the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), asserts only 27% of jobs require an associate’s degree or higher.

Do you know what that means? It’s simply supply and demand at this point. If, as the article asserts, only 27% of jobs require an associate’s degree or higher, and the average number of degree holders hovers around 35%, we have an excess number of people pursuing college degrees in an already saturated market.

Also worthy to note is the very same article mentions we should look at pouring effort and intentionality into apprenticeship programs instead. They write that, “Maybe, as economist Robert Lerman has suggested, more energy should be poured into apprenticeship programs, given that so few jobs will absorb our college graduates.” You can access the article here. 

I didn’t invent that concept, but I sure am glad there are other voices on the bandwagon; it’s beyond time for others to join the cause. 

And yet, we continue to tout the need for college to get a good job. I’d like to know who invented that statement in the first place. We could have a spirited discussion knowing what has happened since it was first peddled. 

Second, to accommodate the increasing number of individuals seeking that college degree (with a large number of them doing so because they were told they needed to so they could get good jobs), you have educational standards that naturally decrease. It’s like Friday said: “Just the facts.”

You see, they represent via statistics a bell curve to display the average intelligence of any populace. I googled it with hopes of providing a nice website to talk in length about the curve. What I found instead were several articles on why the representation reflected poorly on racial intelligence. Talk about a curve ball. Oh well; can’t hope to win them all.

Instead, I’ll lean on your reasoning capabilities for a moment. You can certainly grasp there are those who lack an average level of intelligence. Likewise, there are those who have an abundance of intelligence. As you can probably deduce, both of those groups represent a smaller subset of people, with the vast majority being average. The bell curve, despite the charges leveled against it by critics, is a good representation of blanket intelligence in any given populace.

The bell curve is a great visualization tool to understand where many people are at

As you can see, the bell curve can accurately represent those of any populace. And to allow more people from the bell curve to enter college and obtain a degree, you have to devalue your educational standards somewhat to accommodate the influx of those who, without that educational slip, would have found it too difficult to finish. We see this played out in how standardization tests score people as well.

What this all means is essentially this: to allow a larger portion of those in the middle of the bell curve to attend college and get a degree, educational quality has indeed slipped. This means the educational experience has been reduced, its value has been lowered, and ultimately its worth diminished. The reasons why a college degree isn’t needed for a good job merely compound the problem.

Third, there is the college debt and the inverse yield it brings about when compared to other avenues, such as the skilled trades. Some argue the investment (read debt) is still worth it, but this fails to consider the actual available jobs when that person graduates, and it’s time to start paying the piper. It isn’t unheard of to have students graduate with $60,000 worth of college debt to pay down now that they are in the real world. Contrast that with many I know who make $80,000 – $90,000 (and more, to be honest) on a yearly basis which does NOT include their benefits AND does not include ANY debt. This is a direct contradiction to those who say you need to go to college to get a good job. Consequently, one is left to wonder if college is worth it.

Why so many employers adhere to the mantra

The mantra is real. Image credit here.

One obvious question is to ask why this erroneous mantra has been adhered to despite some pretty clear and heavy evidence. I didn’t mean to get too deep into the bell curve earlier, but for what it yielded, I am glad I did. While researching it, I came across this little gem:

“If an employee’s job performance is dependent on intelligence, then the economic value of the employee and his wages are also dependent on intelligence. If ‘[G]etting high quality for a complex job can be worth large multiples of what it is worth to get equally high quality for a simpler job’ (Herrnstein & Murray, 1994, p. 83), then employers will naturally look for ways to hire the more cognitively abled. This has for example resulted in strict educational requirements for jobs like a minimum grade point average.”

Much of this is from the book, but I’ll give credit to the website I got it from. You can find it here.

What the above is saying, in a nutshell, is simply this: your intelligence is tied to your economic value to a company because intelligence somehow means you will work harder, better, be more productive, etc. That intelligence, in part, is measured by your ability to pursue and obtain a college degree. Therefore, companies require a college degree thinking they are getting the best, well-trained, and intelligent people. A kind of syllogism, as it were.

At least someone put the thought process out there, never mind the faulty logic measuring intelligence by college degree obtainment. As I have written elsewhere, intelligence displays itself in many ways and it most definitely shouldn’t be connected to degree obtainment. I have met some rather ingenious individuals who have mechanical aptitude like you wouldn’t believe. While on a high-profile job once, a mechanical engineer I knew stopped by to check out the progress. He was amazed by the system we were using to get things done and asked who designed it. He was taken aback when I said we (internally, as in our company – those in the field and at the shop) did. He was flabbergasted about how we had designed something without an engineer. My response? “We do this all the time.” 

And that is but one example. If I were to mine the memories of the past 20 years, I could come up with some very creative solutions to problems my fellow skilled tradesmen have come up with.

Perhaps then, a better connection is simply those who actually get a degree have the ability to learn in a structured environment. They can be taught, as it were, and for long periods of time at that.

I actually wrote quite a few words on this topic in another post and this point was merely a passing one, but nonetheless, Why Skilled Trades Have the Best Game in Town for more info.

I know people who, on the regular, make close to $100,000 a year or more – especially when you consider all of their benefits. Some are engineers, others are project managers; some are salesmen, and others are mechanics. Still, others are safety managers, while some are business owners. And yes, it should come as no surprise there are those in the skilled trades who break this envelope, too. I have included in a number of articles those I know in the skilled trades making over $100,000 a year. In fact, I was just talking with an ironworker who is on par to make over $100,000 this year – NOT including his benefits. This is more common than you think – especially for those who are represented by a collective bargaining agreement (also known as a CBA – which means they are in a union).

You see, just because they approached the workforce and their career from a different avenue (4-year apprenticeship as opposed to 4 years of college/university) doesn’t make their careers any less important. Less glamorous, perhaps, in the eyes of those who regard the college degree paramount, but one thing sticks out big time: those who have come up from the skilled trades didn’t accumulate debt like those who chose the college degree route instead; statistically speaking, of course.

Again, the current climate sees college debt forgiveness as anathema for some – and I get it. I myself finished a Bachelor’s recently and I paid out of pocket – I refused to take on debt. It’s strange to think scores of people got to postpone their launch into adulthood by partying, taking classes, and pursuing a degree on borrowed money, only to have it forgiven. Yes, the cultural climate seems groomed to enslave young people to college debt. Still, we can’t deny they are adults who can make decisions for themselves and are legally liable for them – including debt. I heartily embrace a measure of reform – up to, and including making it harder to obtain student loans. Paying out of pocket as you go has been vilified for too long. In the end, it is widely understood we have a systemic problem that needs addressing.

What makes a job good anyway?

THIS was a good job

At the heart of the matter, there is this question that we hardly ask: What exactly are the qualifiers for a job to be good, anyway? I mean, if we are going to say you need to go to college to get a good job, we would be smart to ask what makes a job good in the first place? Is it making good money? Perhaps it is the assurance that comes with a steady gig. Maybe it is being fulfilled in whatever career choice you pick (this one gets a lot of attention these days). Or it could be a position you hold which means respect – climbing the corporate ladder, as it were. Could it be the job is linked to a particular company; You know, if I could just land that job with them, I would have a good job. Maybe it is bound up in the freedom that comes with being your own boss. What if it is achieving a great work/life balance? Perhaps it’s job satisfaction – whatever that may be.

Interesting to note is an article with Mike Rowe discussing the shortage posted on Fox Business where they write,  “According to a new survey from Thumbtack, an overwhelming majority – 87% – of skilled trade professionals say they’re happy in their jobs and would choose the same profession again if given the chance.” (emphasis mine)

If that isn’t job satisfaction, I don’t know what is.

What are we to conclude

 

You see, what constitutes a “good job” is highly subjective and it’s personal. If I had to narrow it down for the sake of argument, I’m inclined to believe it has to do with the amount of money one makes. And, as I have written extensively here and in other articles, many in the skilled trades earn a very good living by that standard. Hmph, guess you don’t need a college degree to get a good job, then, huh?

So here we are, having come full circle. The truth is, despite what the machine might say, you do NOT need a college degree to get a good job. Supply and demand being what they are, the sheer opportunity that is associated with the skilled trades right now is amazing. There are numerous metrics we could track: the retirement of baby boomers and the growing economy are just two.  They exist out there beyond the land of college degrees. There are a variety of factors at play when it comes to picking a career: your interests, talents, supply and demand, etc. The one which is, in many respects, a mere by-product is making good money – and there are plenty of jobs that do just that. Scores of jobs exist for the college degreeless multitudes, and that number seems to increase yearly. When you read articles like this one from LinkedIn, it only adds validity to the point – and diminishes the case for the college degree at the same time.

What’s more, I advise everyone I know, every reader and listener – everyone really – to pursue opportunity. Don’t pursue passion; instead, let passion undergird your thirst for success by pursuing opportunity, and that opportunity is HUGE in the skilled trades. Read Passion vs. Opportunity for some of the best insight you’ll find.

Some might conclude from reading this article I am anti-college. Nothing could be further from the truth. I recently graduated with a Bachelor’s in Construction Management, paid my way as I took classes, AND am pursuing a Master’s right now. Still, I do write a bit about college, almost all of it negative but let’s be real for a moment: the point has to be made. Few voices are articulate in their critique of the institution as a whole while advocating other avenues and it’s sorely needed. College debt has exploded, tuition has increased almost 8 TIMES FASTER THAN WAGES, and when you hear of careers where people are debt-free AND making the money promised to those who go to college – what do you think?

Seems like a fitting time to recommend you read my book review on Higher Education. This book is a fantastic read – in fact, I need to reread it sometime soon.

In the end, there are careers where the college degree path is the right one to choose. But to say you have to go to college to get a good job? Meh. That’s a stretch if I ever heard one.