Authorities responded to the claim that university graduates were employed in non-degree-required positions.
According to a report, half of recent college graduates are employed in occupations that do n’t demand their degrees.
However, many experts in higher education told The College Fix that there are ways for recent college students to prevent being a part of this number.
According to research from the Burning Glass Institute and the Strada Education Foundation, a person’s selection of educational big is the primary indication.
The Burning Glass-Strada report argues that many people are likely to find themselves “underemployed,” working in positions that typically do n’t require a bachelor’s degree and offer lower salaries than their peers with positions at college-level.
” Among employees who have earned a bachelor’s degree, only about half safe job in a university- stage work within a year of graduation, and the other half are unemployed”, the report found.
According to the report, “graduates with degrees in fields with more quantitative rigor have greater chances of securing college-level jobs than their peers.” Compared to the liberal arts and humanities, this includes majors like STEM and math-intensive business disciplines.
Economist Richard Vedder claimed for The Fix that the report’s conclusions are” congruent with other evidence that has developed over the years.” Vedder’s research is cited in the report.
” I’ve calculated statistics for majors at Columbia University, and I found that there are some majors who right after graduation are making$ 20-$ 25, 000 a year”, Vedder said. These were typically among fine arts majors, and they were “kind of popular among ‘woke-ish’ college kids, but they are not very in demand in the real world.”
According to Preston Cooper with the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, students should be given data from their institution about the average earnings and employment prospects for their chosen major.
Cooper made reference to a bill that Representatives Virginia Foxx and Lisa McClain suggested would require colleges to disclose the costs and funding of education.
Students should be aware that a four-year college degree alone is not a guaranteed ticket to a good middle-class job, Cooper told The Fix. ” It’s also important for students to choose a major with good job opportunities, attend an institution with a good track record of job placement, and take action while in college to improve their employability”.
Cooper also wrote an analysis of the report in his Forbes article.
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A business professor shared her insights on how students can use college to reduce unemployment.
According to Kimberlee Josephson, associate business professor at Lebanon Valley College,” an overlooked benefit of college is that organizations can serve as a backward linkage for organizations hoping to get competent employees.” ” Colleges can not only educate students, but they can establish career connections”,
Vedder, the economist, says universities should redirect money to worthwhile programs.
The Burning Glass- Strada report reveals that one year post- graduation, 52 percent of graduates are “underemployed”. Even after a decade, 45 percent of graduates experience underemployment.
According to the report, “[E]arnings of underemployed graduates are significantly closer to those without a degree than they are to peers employed in college-level jobs.”
” It’s a substantial risk”, Vedder said. Universities could examine this information and decide to use more resources to support society and our students in these fields where there are high-paying positions.
Vedder advises institutions to spend money on programs that result in higher rates of collegiate employment as opposed to funding departments like “gender studies and diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
According to Josephson, a professor from Pennsylvania, “it is important to point out that there are a lot of middle-skilled positions that do n’t call for a four-year education and have salaries that are quite attractive.”
” For some students, a trade school may certainly be a better option”, she said.
” College should be seen as a chance to advance oneself, not as a guarantee of it.”
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