June is fast approaching–and, with it, an annual rite of passage for tens of thousands of college students.
It’s graduation time again.
And look at what the average college graduate has to look forward to: On average, a debt loan of more than $29,400.
Click here: Average student loan debt: $29,400 – Dec. 4, 2013
But wait! There’s something even more demoralizing awaiting these “heirs of tomorrow.”
The discovery that for all the “we hire only the brightest” rhetoric by employers, having a college degree actually means little to most CEOs.
A new report from the Center for College Affordability and Productivity concludes that nearly half of the nation’s recent college graduates hold jobs that don’t require a degree.
In short, many of the jobs they have aren’t worth the price of their diploma.
From that report:
Increasing numbers of recent college graduates are ending up in relatively low-skilled jobs that, historically, have gone to those with lower levels of educational attainment. This study examines this phenomenon in some detail, concluding:
- About 48 percent of employed U.S. college graduates are in jobs that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) suggests requires less than a four-year college education. Eleven percent of employed college graduates are in occupations requiring more than a high-school diploma but less than a bachelor’s, and 37 percent are in occupations requiring no more than a high-school diploma;
- The proportion of overeducated workers in occupations appears to have grown substantially; in 1970, fewer than one percent of taxi drivers and two percent of firefighters had college degrees, while now more than 15 percent do in both jobs;
- About five million college graduates are in jobs the BLS says require less than a high-school education;
Click here: Underemployment of College Graduates
But the future isn’t completely bleak–at least not for men willing to transform themselves into glorified boy-toys for decadent rich females.
Consider this recent headline in AOL Jobs:
Women are Using ‘Rent-A-Gent’ To Hire Men To do Chores And Go Out On Dates
The next great job for grads?
From the ad/article:
A service called Rent-A-Gent lets women choose a male companion from a list of “smart and handsome men.”
For $200 bucks an hour, men can serve as handymen, dates, or personal chefs. The only rule? The relationship can’t get physical on the clock.
So if you want to get physical off-the-clock, that will be your risk–not the company’s
Click here: Women Are Using ‘Rent-A-Gent’ To Hire Men To Do Chores And Go On Dates
The ad claims “there are tons of guys on the site, divided into categories based on their profession.”
Among the categories listed on the Rent-A-Gent website:
Entertainers
Bartenders
Chefs
Comedians
Musicians
Strippers
Daters
Actors
Dating coaches
Philosophers
Pro athletes
Poets
Storytellers
Teachers
Dancers
Dog trainers
Language teachers
Martial artists
Personal trainers
Helpers
Bodyguards
Assistants
Butlers
Drivers
Misters Fix It
Personal shoppers
But a glance at their accompanying photos offers the real appeal of this site.
Consider the profile of “Eric, The Actor”:
With his shirt unbuttoned down to his chest in the classic Fabio style, he claims:
I’m an award winning NYC actor who has traveled the World for movies and for pleasure.
I recently founded my own production company. I have a vision of not only entertaining people but also of getting people to think and hopefully help foster social change.
I also love the outdoors and sustainable culture. I am also active in social causes.
And he’s also available–for $200 an hour.
So if you’re a college graduate who can’t convince an employer within your chosen profession–such as pharmacy of engineering–to hire you, there’s always Rent-A-Gent.
Or some similar agency catering to the whims of the American plutocracy, for whom $200 an hour means what buying a Snicker’s candy bar means for the fast-disappearing middle class.
It should be enough to make you hesitate before signing up for a loan to cover the average $57,000 cost of a public college education.
Or an even larger loan to cover the $132,000 cost of a private college education.
But if you’re still thinking that “employers really respect that degree,” consider this: Job recruiters spend exactly six seconds examining your resume.
According to The Ladders research, recruiters spend an average of “six seconds before they make the initial ‘fit or not fit’ decision” to interview you.
Not hire you–just meet you. You’ll still have plenty ofchances to get shot down during or after the interview.
Click here: What Recruiters Look At During The 6 Seconds They Spend On Your Resume
According to the study, when scanning a resume, recruiters looked at the following items:
-
Your name
- Current title and company
- Current position start and end dates
- Previous title and company
- Previous position start and end dates
- Education
American employers should be legally compelled to hire as responsibly as college students are expected to pursue an education.
Until this happens, those young men and women thinking of committing a big chunk of their time and going into massive debt to pursue a college degree should think twice before doing so.
Bureaucracybuster's Blog 
I ask my wife about this being she is an HR Consultant primarily for doctor groups and hospitals, hospice clinics, and schools other HR Professionals setting for their HR
certifications – This is her comment; The article is correct in many respects but leaves out
some major components. Most HR reps will start at the top of a Resume that should include a short description of the applicants skills, traits and experience (should not exceed more
than two paragraphs). Next she’ll look at Position, Term and Company. Previous position would be next, followed by Education. She estimates this quick review to take 10-30 seconds before deciding to “keep” or “pitch” the Resume. A two and/or three page Resume is seldom
kept.
Education only confirms the applicant can study and perhaps get a passing grade. “Show me
a PhD verses a non-college graduate who invents and designs a breathing device that is won over by the medical professional, and your decision as to whom to hire becomes relatively simple, doesn’t it ?”. In another sense we both agree that college isn’t for everyone. There
are many trade-schools that prove students can make more money by being carpenters, electricians, pipe-fitters, steel workers, truck drivers, etc., than a college graduate. Every
young person needs to evaluate their own needs and desires – Not just those that are popular.
And of course we both have lectured our children and grandchildren in a proving theme that we have long believed in ; ” Find something you love to do – And then find a way to make money by doing it, and you’ll never have to work a day in-your life “, as we’ve done . . .
The point I wanted to make in this article was: Employers CLAIM to respect a college degree, and use the LACK of one as yet another excuse for refusing to hire.
Yet AFTER someone HAS invested years of rigorous intellectual effort and gone into debt to ATTAIN that degree, the average employer assumes–if not says: “Why should we hire you? You’re just a wet-behind-the-ears kid. You don’t have any EXPERIENCE in this field. Find ANOTHER company that’s willing to take you on, and if THEY’RE willing to, come back to us in FIVE YEARS and we’ll talk again.”
I once attended a Jobs Fair that featured a table for a hospital that was supposedly hiring nurses. A job-seeking woman told me that she had recently graduated from nursing school, but the hospital wanted to hire ONLY those with FIVE OR MORE YEARS OF NURSING EXPERIENCE. Where–and how–are you supposed to get that experience if employers refuse to hire?
What sticks out in my mind is the fact that the average resume gets a total of SIX SECONDS’ scan. And then it’s on to the next one. Essentially, the employer is saying:
(1) “Your four or five years’ of hard study in a specialized field and (2) Your going into thousands of dollars worth of debt is worth exactly SIX SECONDS OF MY EXALTED TIME.”
There is no better definition of intolerable arrogance–and no better explanation as to why so many millions of willing-to-work Americans can’t find willing-to-hire employers.