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Is Requiring a College Degree Discrimination? Yes, It Is

thevectorimpact.com

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Re: Is Requiring a College Degree Discrimination? Yes, It Is

#21

Post by 908B64B197 »

tiahura wrote: post #11
vmception wrote: post #4

All three cases by this author are only controversial because we have ignored a greater point: colleges don’t exist to get you a job. They exist for a class of society, a finishing school where they all meet each other and collaborate on the obscure arts that weave the fabric of our reality. It has been this way for a millennium. The workforce started using them en masse 60 years ago and we’ve been trying to patch th…

colleges don’t exist to get you a job. They exist for a class of society, a finishing school where they all meet each other and collaborate on the obscure arts that weave the fabric of our reality. Not in the US. Harvard was founded in 1636 as a vocational school. The Morrill Act, signed by Lincoln, established the land grant universities. "The mission of these institutions as set forth in the 1862 Act is to focus on…

The French styles Polytechniques were also founded with very practical applications in mind. And that was in 1794.

Re: Is Requiring a College Degree Discrimination? Yes, It Is

#22

Post by underseacables »

I grew up pretty low income, Midwest rural, and there’s a clear difference between those of us from my high school class that went to college, and those that didn’t. I busted my butt to pay my way through school, and I am a much better person, and a much better employee because of it. University is an over priced pyramid scheme, but you learn things at university, like work ethic, that really sets you apart from other prospective employees. I see nothing wrong with a job requiring a college degree.

Re: Is Requiring a College Degree Discrimination? Yes, It Is

#23

Post by dvaun »

I have trouble trusting the claims in the beginning of the article when the source given was not relevant to the author's implication that a degree is primarily for indicating wealth status:

> This comment really infuriated me because this type of outdated thinking—that a college degree from an elite, pricey university means you’re set for life—must die immediately. It falsely signals to employers that you’re better than the average Jane just because you have a piece of paper. In reality, all it really signals is your family’s socioeconomic status.

The source given[0] for this statement states nothing about employers and college graduates. Rather, it discusses the likelihood for a student to graduate from college based upon family income.

Following this:

> I preceded to tell him that it doesn’t matter if you have a college degree anymore to do today’s jobs and that he was basically bragging about his family’s socioeconomic status, not his son’s actual achievements.

I understand the frustration with both private and Ivy institutions hefty price tags. This has been well covered and isn't something I would debate.

After the issue with the first source, I decided to check the source for the infographic (titled "New college grads lack soft skills, employers say") near the end of the article. The Cengage/Morning Consult source[1] didn't have the same figures as purported in the graphic. There is another piece from HRDive referencing this[2] but also does not have the same figures.

Regardless of sources, what irks me the most is the idea that a degree is useless for work. Many forms of work require critical thinking, reading and analytics—someone who is able to earn a college degree (regardless of institution status) is able to demonstrate that they have some abilities in these skills.

[0]: https://www.americaspromise.org/news/pbs-newshour-biggest-pr...

[1]: https://news.cengage.com/upskilling/new-survey-demand-for-un...

[2]: https://www.hrdive.com/news/soft-skills-top-employer-wish-li...

Re: Is Requiring a College Degree Discrimination? Yes, It Is

#24

Post by KineticLensman »

vmception wrote: post #4

All three cases by this author are only controversial because we have ignored a greater point: colleges don’t exist to get you a job. They exist for a class of society, a finishing school where they all meet each other and collaborate on the obscure arts that weave the fabric of our reality. It has been this way for a millennium. The workforce started using them en masse 60 years ago and we’ve been trying to patch th…

> Germany has this fairly institutionalized

In the UK some organisations belong to 'the 5 percent club' [0] whose aim is that at least 5% of the workforce is formed from apprentices and sponsored graduates. It's not yet institutionalized but a good step in the right direction. I used to work for one of the founder organisations and it was quite common to meet prople who had joined as apprentices and were now achieving good work place qualifications and experience. I was always impressed by their motivation and pragmatism

[0] https://www.5percentclub.org.uk/

Re: Is Requiring a College Degree Discrimination? Yes, It Is

#25

Post by polka_haunts_us »

kergonath wrote: post #10
theflyinghorse wrote: post #2

Somehow I managed to get the pop that asked me whether I'd like to be taught to be "Unstoppable" 3 times (I chose mediocrity every time) before I gave up on reading the article

The page never stopped loading for me so... Then, what I read in the comments here does not really make me want to read it.

If you want even more of a reason to not read it, the blog is run by Vector Marketing, aka the MLM Company behind Cutco Knives, which probably explains some of the suspect UI design decisions and general anti-education sentiment of the post.

Re: Is Requiring a College Degree Discrimination? Yes, It Is

#26

Post by warkdarrior »

kergonath wrote: post #10
theflyinghorse wrote: post #2

Somehow I managed to get the pop that asked me whether I'd like to be taught to be "Unstoppable" 3 times (I chose mediocrity every time) before I gave up on reading the article

The page never stopped loading for me so... Then, what I read in the comments here does not really make me want to read it.

The page loads only if you do not have a college degree.

Re: Is Requiring a College Degree Discrimination? Yes, It Is

#28

Post by kube-system »

I don’t disagree that high income makes success easier, but I don’t think degree requirements for employment or the ability to afford a prestigious school is the reason.

While the US has schools with expensive price tags, it also has respected affordable schools, and a mind-boggling amount of financial assistance available.

I would wager that the biggest indicator of success is not household income or college of attendance, but the resources and quality of secondary education. Navigating the college entry process is probably the biggest hurdle for capable students who grow up unprivileged.

As a counterexample, there are plenty of highly educated yet lower income people in the US: families with employment in the arts, humanities, academics, etc. The children in these families are not excluded from higher education — they simply have the knowledge to navigate the financial aid process.

Re: Is Requiring a College Degree Discrimination? Yes, It Is

#29

Post by blueblob »

The author comes across as someone who didn't try applying for college and hates everyone that did. The hypocrisy of the entitlement displayed in her first narrative definitely weakens the argument from the get-go.

None of the points are particularly convincing, mostly because she picks the base for each of the statistics as whatever best supports her argument. She starts out only talking about elite colleges because that's where she can find corruption and proceeds to pretend that it reflects the entire degree-granting community. "Case studies" 2 and 3 are both the same argument.

The last point about degrees being an indicator of on-the-job success is actually saying that 2/3 of people with degrees were considered successful by their bosses. Whether 2/3 is good or bad depends upon how it compares to employees without degrees, a statistic conveniently left out.

A degree isn't supposed to be an indicator of on-the-job success; it's supposed to be an indicator of ability to learn, adapt, and manage your time when you are on your own.

Re: Is Requiring a College Degree Discrimination? Yes, It Is

#30

Post by pluto9 »

> Then he told me to go fly a kite, because that’s usually what happens when people are wrong and have zero evidence that their stance is right and yours is wrong.

It's also what happens when socially clueless strangers interrupt your conversation to make rude comments and you have the good sense not to waste your time on them. Idiotic comments don't deserve well thought out replies.

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