The Odds Are Stacked Against Today’s College Grads

[marmar]

via truthdig:


The Odds Are Stacked Against Today’s College Grads
Posted on Jul 10, 2012


If you’re in college or recently graduated, your financial prospects don’t look very good, according to The Associated Press.

Half of all recent graduates under 25 are jobless or underemployed, and many who are working are doing so in low-wage positions that don’t utilize their degrees, an analysis of government data for the AP has found. For those lucky enough to have landed a job in their field of study, the outlook still seems dim. Students are on the hook for an average of $20,000 in loan debt, which they’ll have to pay off on a starting salary in a still-sluggish economy.

Technological advancements and outsourcing further compound the problems that young graduates face. “By some studies, up to 95 percent of positions lost during the economic recovery occurred in middle-income occupations such as bank tellers, the type of job not expected to return in a more high-tech age,” says the AP. Even with these disturbing trends, colleges have decided to increase their tuitions and fees. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/the_odds_are_stacked_against_todays_college_grads_20120710/

[riderinthestorm]

1. My 24 yr old daughter, with an MS in artifacts management from the top GLOBAL university

in her field, while possessing an EU and American passport applying everywhere GLOBALLY in the past year is working as...






.... a horse back riding instructor.

[Posteritatis]

2. "Kids These Days(tm) should only ever study STM or business" brigade in 5... 4... 3... (nt)

[sadbear]

3. Wow! I wish I only had $20K in student loans.

Man, these kids must be getting a lot of help from their parents. I feel bad that they can't get good jobs, but they're just joining the club. There are a lot of people with college degrees that can't get good jobs. Just because they're recent grads doesn't make them special.

[pnwmom]

5. Actually, it does make them special. The most recent grads are far more likely to face unemployment

than those with a few years of experience. Why should employers employ new grads when they can hire people with 5 years of experience for the same pay?

[mythology]

4. Statistically speaking, this article is incorrect

4.3% of those with a Bachelor's or above are unemployed versus 9.4% for those with no college in BLS 2011 stats.

http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat07.htm

On income levels a high school diploma is 30,627 and the average person with a bachelor's degree has an income 56,665 per year.

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0232.pdf

Education also pays off in health on a variety of measures:

http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2012/p0516_higher_education.html/

Yes college is expensive, and yes we should work at reducing the cost, but to pretend that it isn't a value is just not supported by the facts. The economy sucks right now, but it statistically sucks a lot more for those without a degree.

[Lugnut]

6. My daughter.

She has a BBA/Marketing and an MS IMC. She's doing radio sales full time and has a part time job working in a grocery store. She has 5+ years of experience in marketing and customer service.