What’s a degree really worth?
A story in the Wall Street Journal today, asks this question.
There are all sorts of questions about topic and I doubt it’s going away, as college costs continue to rise and more students feel the weight of student loan debt coupled with a stagnating job market. The story argues the original numbers used to calculate the earnings benefits of high school versus college graduates were flawed and that, it may no longer be big a difference.
This discussion goes on a lot in the startup forums and blogs I read among 20-somethings who 1) have almost always gone to college and 2) seem to have appropriate backup plans if their bright ideas don’t quite work. But what about folks who don’t have that luxury? Is there really a substitute for the leg up in the job market that even one degree provides?
Are people thinking of this as they market their institutions or is it just business as usual?
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02/02/2010
One response to What’s a degree really worth?
I think it’s really a catch-22. I have lots of friends with various degrees and they can’t get jobs because degrees are a dime a dozen and employers are looking for “experience.” On the other hand, I have a ton of experience but can’t even get my foot in the door because I don’t have a degree.