College degrees put to the test

Padmashree Rao

The Signal

Rising college enrollment, escalating tuition costs and student loan debt, the prolonged recession and a bleak job market have sparked a national debate on whether or not a college degree is worth the effort.

Tuition costs rose again by 8.3 percent this year, doubling since 1990. Student loan debt has overtaken credit card debt with defaulted federal student loans going from 7 percent to 8.8 percent in the fiscal year.

“It is troubling that kids are spending so much money on degrees that don’t matter,” said Penelope Trunk, national blogger and co-founder of Brazen Careerist, a career management tool for next-generation professionals. “It is troubling that student debt now is higher than credit card debt. Students are graduating with debts that they can’t get jobs to pay off. It is not fair. We have a university system that doesn’t teach what you need to know for a job.”

Linking college degrees to job training has long created controversy. Educators would argue that what is at stake is not just higher earnings through degrees but higher thinking.

“You can definitely get by and make a decent living without a college degree,” said Jason Meyer, who built a career as HR liaison for 483 employees at the Valero Texas City refinery without a college degree. “But, that is what you’ll be doing – getting by. A degree gets you where you want to be. So, currently, I am in college to get a degree. That being said, we have a management level  No. 2 in charge who doesn’t have a degree. He makes quite a lot of money. He has been with the company for 32 years and getting to where he is now took a long time and hard work.”

College degrees were not always required for jobs. In the manufacturing economy of 1973, people with high school education or less made up 72 percent of our workforce.

“Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018,” June 2010 report released by the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University indicated that nearly 60 percent of American jobs now require at least a bachelor’s degree. That figure was 28 percent in 1973, 59 percent in 2008 and is expected to rise to 63 percent over the next decade, the report said.

In the employment sector, the U.S. Census Bureau data showed that those with a bachelor’s degree earned an average of $58,613 in 2008, while those with a high school diploma earned $31,283. The most recent analysis by the Pew Research Center revealed that the typical college graduate earns an estimated $650,000 more than a high school graduate in a 40-year-work span.

“The bottom line is that any kind of education is going to make you more competitive in the job market.  Many jobs require a basic degree to even consider you,” said Sue Cruver, marketing communications coordinator and public information officer at Workforce Solutions which is a comprehensive human resource service for businesses and residents of the 13-county Houston-Galveston Gulf Coast region. “The Gulf Coast Workforce Board that oversees the Workforce Solutions job-matching system has done a report card to be released next year. It will talk quite a bit about the need for good education to maintain and grow the workforce of a future because it is a real problem.

“We don’t have enough educated people to fill these high-skills, in-demand jobs. It will make us, as a region, less competitive. As a country, it’ll give us a very big disadvantage if we can’t get people educated. And, education has to go beyond high school. People must pursue whatever level of education needed to compete, to succeed.”

Cruver went on to explain that continuing one’s education did not necessarily mean earning an academic degree.

“Then again, we need a lot of people in the area of trained skills,” Cruver said. “That doesn’t take a college degree, but it still requires some type of education – maybe a certification from a community college. The important thing for anyone is to think in terms of what they want to do and take a skills-assessment to see what they are suited for. And then, get the best education you can for what your skills may be.”

Associate Director of Career Services at UHCL Chuck Crocker points out that several factors make a college degree worth it as a basic credential.

“It is not enough to simply get a degree,” Crocker said. “It is how you use the degree and what you do within your experience in college that also has an impact. Employers want people that have developed leadership skills, who can work effectively in teams, communicate effectively with critical thinking.

“Within most college degrees, from liberal arts to business, to science and engineering, there are opportunities to work in teams, on projects, to think critically. Especially in the global workplace, where we are going to be dealing with different cultures, people with different world views, you’ve got to be able to see things from different perspectives.”

Timothy Michael, associate professor of finance, voiced his opinion of a degree’s value.

“From an economic standpoint, one reason we have college degrees is certification,” Michael said. “Not only do you learn cultural awareness and critical thinking skills, but you demonstrate to someone in the institution that you learnt something and the experts in the university have certified that ‘this person has attained some level of accomplishment.’ It is also a function of the opportunity costs. If you just slide through some program, do not do any work, do not outreach to employers and network, you are not going to gain anything.

“Then, there is the option-value, which is very hard to measure. If you did things in college that can demonstrate that you can think, communicate effectively, have leadership skills, then all of the things you learn in a college – critical thinking, a well-rounded skill set – can be applicable to whatever job you apply for. All of those options become open to you. Above all, there is learning for learning’s sake.”

Caitlin Weekley, employer relations coordinator for UHCL career services, pointed out how university campus services can enhance the worth of a college degree.

“You have so many opportunities on campus that you are paying for,” Weekley said. “Taking advantage of everything offered here while you are a student is really important. That adds value to your college degree, aside from the value you get from just going to the classes.

“There is the student life office, student organizations that give valuable leadership experience, things those employers are looking for, things right here that you have opportunity to be part of… We have career counselors, workshops, and mock interviews, all to help in your job search. Also, networking and experiential education through internships are important.”

The Statistical Abstract of the United States estimated that 19.1 million students were enrolled in the nation’s colleges and universities in fall 2010 compared to 13.8 million 20 years ago. The debate about costs and value of a college degree has increased with the demands of the 21st century as educators, employers, statistical data and researchers ask to focus on the long-term enrichment that going to college provides.

“To quote Benjamin Franklin, ‘make hay while the sun shines.’ Do everything you can, everyday. Everybody has to go through the learning, experiential process. Learn how to learn,” Michael said.

For more details on career services offered by UHCL, visit http://www.uhcl.edu/careerservices.