Off to College . . .

 . . . or Not

Bluto - "7 Years of college down the drain - might as well have joined the Peace Corps!"

I am working very hard at writing about things that have nothing to do with our current gloomy civic life but as John Lennon sang, “. . . you know it ain’t easy.” And it ain’t! Anyway, thanks to a couple articles in the Strib I have managed once again to avoid the slippery slope to despondency (mostly) with what is hopefully a vaguely interesting post about education in America. Actually, higher education. 

(And yes, MDL made me promise not to look up stupid words for simple things - Bor-ing!)

In the movie “The Graduate” there is a scene at Benjamin Braddock’s (Dustin Hoffman) college graduation party where one of the guests offers Ben career advice with one word – “plastics.” In the movie this scene has a lot of different meanings besides career, one of which was a metaphorical description of modern (60’s) American life. You know, cheap, ticky tacky, consumer-driven. (Apparently it hasn’t changed much.) Anyway, I have long thought of it more in a literal sense when considering the difficulty in giving such advice to my – or anyone else’s - kids.

Think about it: If you were foolish enough, what advice would you give a young person today going to college or just graduating high school? I know, first, get a job! But seriously, over the years there have been many fields that were offered up: health care, education, finance, technology (who can forget the web design craze?!) And, of course, now STEM fields are the place to be. Add to that the uncertainty of the future impact of AI on a LOT of jobs and it really makes advice about a single field a fool’s errand.

The current unemployment rate for recent college graduates is 5.8% while the overall rate is 4.2%. Yikes! Yet I recently read that there are over 400,000 open manufacturing jobs - and that doesn’t count plumbers, carpenters, etc. in the country. (Sadly, it seems like all the openings for lawyers and financial wizards are always filled.) What's going on here?

One way of looking at it might be that we have too many college graduates. Duh! On the other hand, apparently the economy is producing a lot more jobs that apparently don’t require a 4-year degrees. Same result. Of course, perhaps many college graduates can’t - or won’t - take those kinds of jobs. (I get it, are those the jobs anyone has in mind when you go to college in the first place?)

Another scholar prepping for the day

So how did we get here?

 

Everyone has heard for many years that most modern jobs require some sort of formal training e.g. most manufacturing jobs are highly skilled - but do not require a 4-year degree. Yet for the last 30-40 years our kids have apparently taken their parent’s advice to go to college. I admit I was among them: "Get a 4-year degree; get a white collar job" implying don’t be a laborer (like many of our parents were.) It has apparently worked: In 1970 about 11% of Americans had a bachelor’s degree. Today it’s over triple that - 35% (nearly 40% in Minnesota.) And that doesn’t count 2 year degrees or technical training.

Small comfort but we are not unique in this regard. A lot of countries, large and small, seem to have created a surplus of college graduates who are under-employed or unemployed. 

You go get 'em you philosophers and historians! 
(Data 2022)

The economy has changed - but not the economic law of supply and demand. Perhaps there's a reason that the percentage of people that had degrees stayed at a relatively low level for so long? It sounds elitist but there have always been only so many jobs that required a BA/BS degree - and too many with degrees means the value of the degree goes down. An economics blogger I follow calls it "Elite Overproduction." 

Good news - sort of - apparently the declining national enrollment in colleges is starting to reduce that overproduction. 

Facts - and life - are hard.

A Slight Detour - Plato Calling

As noted above, maybe we do have too many degreed people, maybe not but no matter what, college degrees or college curricula are NOT a waste. In fact, if you have one you're lucky. (Broke perhaps but lucky.)

Liberal arts (it's not really "liberal" or "arts") is basically the educational foundation of western civilization. According to AI, starting in about the 4th century BCE in Greece, liberal arts education "Emphasizes a broad, interdisciplinary approach to learning, encompassing the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, rather than focusing on a single vocational skill. It aims to cultivate critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills, preparing students for a range of careers and life challenges." (Bolding by me)

It would seem that over the centuries the liberal arts are how the smart folks got us here. I would REALLY hate to see us lose it. 

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure 

I'm just a guy from a small town who was lucky enough to sneak into college when the only thing lower than the cost were the entrance requirements. I can assure you that outside of the value of my major (hot damn - Pol Sci!) I never appreciated the value of those first two years of classes. They simply occupied time (even though I admit I did like a few of them.)

I'm willing to bet, however, that those of you who have a degree of some sort have discovered, as I have, that it is amazing how some of that seemingly pointless information has come in handy later in life. You end up in a job or in conversation with someone you respect and one of the brain cells that sat through a class a long time ago lights up. And you're happy you took good old Philosophy 101, American History or Intro to Music. (In fact, I have come to suspect no one ever really knows how much it's worth until you get older - if even then.) 

My point here is NOT to encourage everyone to get a college degree, it is that hopefully you can simply appreciate and support liberal arts education. 

It's very clear that some current government leaders have a very different idea of how and what some of the finest universities in the world (even as arrogant as some may be) should teach. And not in a good way.

Separate but sadly related. 

A STEM graduate?

On the dark side. The reality is that going to college in America today can put a student into nearly lifelong debt with iffy job prospects and that is dead wrong. In my opinion I think that's thanks to the Education-Industrial Complex – and a predatory lending industry in cahoots with the government - seeing dollar signs and turning education into just another huge profit center. Just like the Military and Healthcare-Industrial Complexes, it’s main goal is apparently to make money (and grow their endowments.) Going into debt $50-100k to get a degree in some esoteric field like Mid-East Pottery Making (not that there’s anything wrong with that) – or political science? – is probably not a wise investment.

Parents are not blameless for this either. Insisting that kids go to outrageously expensive schools that have luxurious dorms and every “nicety” that the kid has at home - all completely unrelated to the value of the degree. I firmly believe that a  4 year liberals arts education at Harvard isn't any better than Univ of Minn – Duluth, The Harvard of the North, and UMD also has connections to much nicer, beer drinking people! (Of course, I might be biased.)

Post-All nighter study session?

Hey, I lived in a 70-year old dorm and then a bunch of beat-up old houses for four years and look how I turned out! (Okay, never mind that.)

                  

Suave Dear Leader tries college life (see, even  had a Latin name already - all I needed was a pipe.)

Hey, maybe we could try to give everyone a two year liberal arts education and then they can go get whatever skill they want? 

Nevermind, we can't even seem to get everyone a decent high school education.

Perhaps in the end this is yet another old man's lament for the direction our country – the world? - has taken. Pining for a time when you could afford to go to college and major in something that you really liked/loved (or had no idea) - and still somehow make a decent living. I think the country was the better for it. But who cares what I think.

So Plastics it is. . .

PS: Sorry about the dated pop culture references but we are all prisoners of our era. As I have noted in earlier posts, however, if you are not familiar with the high brow humor of "Animal House" then you have lived a very sad and lonely life!

PPS: Being endlessly curious I would genuinely like your opinion on this whole issue of college education, liberal arts and jobs and Animal House. Please consider giving me your ideas or feedback on the post; just reply to the email. If I get enough responses I’ll share in a later post.  

PPPS: Only 150 days until the greatest day of the year!

My Old School   Steely Dan  Predictable but necessary

U of Minn-Duluth School Song  Take that, Yale! (That's a very focused young man in the lower right corner - reminds me of a younger me. NOT!)