Does College Education Matter in the Job Market?

Job Market

June 1, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment 


People are spending thousands of dollars to get college education in order to get the best job. This is because most people assume that a college education will translate to a better job for them. Most of the job requirements will ask for potential candidates to have a college degree or a master’s degree. This means that those who have not attained these levels of higher education are not considered for the available job opportunities.

An individual with a master’s degree is often picked for a top managerial position as opposed to one who has only attained a bachelor’s degree. This is also applies to those who have undergraduate degrees compared to those who do not have any college qualifications. The studies done show that there is no relation between job performance and the level of education attained. In jobs where certain managerial skills are needed there may be no need for you to get any form of technical training in a particular field.

The fact that there are many successful people in the business world today who never completed college makes this question even more important. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs who are big names in the technology industry did not attain any college degree and yet they are heading some of the most profitable businesses. Some will argue that while there are fields that require college education, there are those that do not really need one to get a bachelor degree or masters.

To become an engineer, teacher, nurse or doctor, you will need technical training but for those who want to become entrepreneurs, college education may not seem necessary to them. There are certain skills and experience that cannot be taught at college no matter how many years you spend there. It is argued that there are many people who even after acquiring the highest education level cannot perform effectively at work because they lack the skills and experience that cannot be learnt at college.

There is evidence to show that people that have attained college education earn more than those who do not but it is not always a guarantee to a good job or even any job for that matter. There are qualified people with various types of degrees who are unemployed


in various countries. This is because getting employed depends on how an individual is able to market the skills and knowledge that they have acquired whether it is through a college education or self learning. The skills and knowledge that you have should be related to the specific needs of a company.

Choosing whether to get college education or not is a personal decision that will be determined by the type of career you want to get into. The college environment does not suit everyone especially those artistic types of people who would rather explore various things instead of sticking to a particular way of thinking. Some individuals learn through experience and for them college would just be a waste of time.

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