Until recently, a bachelor’s degree was a sure ticket to social mobility and a promising career. But today’s graduates face unprecedented headwinds in the form of declining wages, ballooning student debt, and greater competition for fewer jobs. That’s the case journalist Jeff Selingo makes in an insightful new book, There is Life After College (HarperCollins). “The plight of today’s young adults,” writes Selingo, “is a result of a longer-term shift in the global workforce that is having an outsized impact on people in their twenties who have little work experience.” Selingo presents his … [Read more...] about Must all Graduates Wander Aimlessly in Their Twenties?
Thriving at College
Only 11% of employers think graduating students have the skills that their businesses need
How can employers be simultaneously unhappy with the quality of recent graduates and more desirous of hiring people with greater amounts of formal education? Ryan Craig, founding Managing Director of University Ventures, writes: What we’re seeing from employers—the ultimate consumers of higher education—is the result of dissatisfaction with the current level of talent being produced by colleges and universities. Employers are dissatisfied and are flailing about for answers. For many employers, this means credential inflation—requiring certain degrees for jobs that previously didn’t require … [Read more...] about Only 11% of employers think graduating students have the skills that their businesses need
5 Suggestions for Getting a College Degree Without Going Broke
Though it may have gotten buried with the New Year's holiday, I had an article published in Fox News Opinion on how to get a college degree without going broke. I outlined five things every student can do. Here's the opening: The disappearance of low-skilled jobs and a rising earnings premium sparked a dramatic uptick in college enrollment over the past few decades. At first, students could afford it, graduating with minimal (if any) debt, and entering an expanding job market with rising wages. But now? Real median household income is down 6.5% from 2007-2014. Salaries for 25-34 year … [Read more...] about 5 Suggestions for Getting a College Degree Without Going Broke
Why more teenagers and college students need to work while in school
Jeff Selingo is right: Too few college students hold a significant part-time job before graduation. As a result, they struggle with professionalism in the work place. Selingo reports that "the number of teenagers who have some sort of job while in school has dropped from nearly 40 percent in 1990 to just 20 percent today, an all-time low since the United States started keeping track in 1948." Why aren't more students working? Reasons include a poor labor market for teens and the fact that minimum wage earnings don't go far relative to escalating college prices (tuition, fees, textbooks, … [Read more...] about Why more teenagers and college students need to work while in school
Why Write Another Book for College Students?
After writing Thriving at College, why write another book for students? How does Beating the College Debt Trap differ from Thriving at College? Thriving at College is about making the most of the college years, about using that season in life as a launching pad into all that’s associated with responsible Christian adulthood. But while I briefly addressed money management skills, the whole idea of paying for college is more or less assumed. In the four years since I wrote Thriving at College, the economics of college have continued to evolve. In 2013, a majority of families (57 percent) … [Read more...] about Why Write Another Book for College Students?
The Empty-Headedness of the Million Student March
I have an article in today's Stream about the recent Million Student March. Here's the opening: Amidst the recent potpourri of petulant pouting on college campuses around the country, in “safe spaces” and elsewhere, you’ll be forgiven if you missed the news of a Million Student March. On November 12, these student marchers took to their respective campuses and communities with three specific demands: 1.Tuition-Free Public College 2. Cancellation of All Student Debt 3. $15 Minimum Wage for All Campus Workers Their arguments were not new. As the group’s website reads: “The United … [Read more...] about The Empty-Headedness of the Million Student March