How Important Is a College Degree? | Does a College Degree Make Sense Anymore?
College degree and stock market are no different, I feel. The rates feel more unpredictable yet predictable and one cannot stop getting enough of it. Throughout the ups and downs of my journey, I wonder whether those degrees will continue to play a role in jobs or if it is high time that jobs should start playing a role of a degree.
Let’s analyze this question straight to the point- Does a college degree matter anymore in today’s times? When you have an all-in-one technology and you can learn everything through it when every professional team is going hybrid when education now is just a means of persuasion. And when degrees are considered just a piece of paper while under-19 students are joining the gig world and now earning lakhs and lakhs with or without a degree; it doesn’t matter.
Then what’s the need?
Note: It is just a temporary state of my opinion as permanent doesn’t suit the present world.
Let’s get started to know why!
If Yes, then why?
Most important reason behind this yes leaves you with the power of the most certain generic answer, you know what it can be. Although thousands of youngsters are pursuing what they want, this Educational exchange and race do not stop. Degrees are still the same old degrees that hold the same values we all can’t ignore. So again, for job purposes or promotional changes (in most cases), you may need a degree to confirm your skills, especially in a high-populated country like India.
A good degree acts as a confidence booster for average or below-average students. Admit the fact that nobody has the same level of IQ, EQ, or the other measuring terms. Once more degrees are equally important in such cases.
Coming to personal branding, which is playing the most part of any professional role since the pandemic 2020, specifically speaking. Adding degrees of certain short-term or long-term courses on LinkedIn-like platforms are now a checkbox item for any HR.
Lastly, the pace of demand and supply chain process is something to discuss. While educational degrees are used as a heuristic in every country to reduce information asymmetry, the situation is aggravated in India due to a substantial increase in demand and supply. So one needs a degree here too.
Meanwhile, as the rate of new subjects, jobs, and industries drops worldwide, degrees are no longer slipping off anymore. Many governments are trying their best to put quality education rather than quality by dealing with interests, trends, and future scopes. Any company wants a diversified team and that is only possible with a degree in relatable subjects that boost their as well as the company’s confidence.
As discussed above, the bottom line is that mainstream educational degrees are still alive but the perception it carries now vs. yesterday is quite not the same. Most mainstream cults are now standing upon the minor-to-minor extreme courses and are raising their hiring game for HRs now. Even though a report from Harvard says that between 2007 and 2010, job postings led to a bachelor’s degree as a must-have requirement, the condition of any employment rose by 10%. Just imagine the numbers as of now. Eventually, the courses and certificates are getting a round of applause as a second-hand degree than any mainstream degree.
If No, then why?
When it comes to the No part, I too have several points to knock at.
First, post-pandemic changes have left people being kinder, easier, and more cognitive-wise intelligent. Creativity and art are now raising the bar of compassion as the number one alternative in history. Most people who specialize just degrees are kept on hold rather than people who may not have a plentiful amount of good degrees/courses but are emotionally intelligent. Every job interview you will go to, they want people’s connections rather than just a degree-holder.
Nowadays having a degree is less important than having good health, for example. Having a degree is less important than having people who love and care for you. Having a degree is less important than being honest and having integrity. And so on. There is a long list of things that are more important than having a college degree.
Now some will say you need a degree to be in IT, yes this is indeed true. Though IT degrees do at least pay more than most right out of the gate. I’ve met a couple of young people who went through a unique plan- they first eschewed the university path and became certified in one or two languages and were hired based merely on those certifications over degree holders. The early 70s programming languages took a roll at those times but are still run by the governments at many levels and fortune 500 companies. Most of those trained in just traditional spheres of such knowledge are retiring at a rapid rate and I’ve been told that, if you’re at least certified, it’s possible to start in the high five-digit to low six-digit income range.
Hence, certifications are now more important than just earning a degree.
To Conclude…
What I understand through my lens is simple. Being on this journey of holding valuable degrees from top-rated universities, earning the best job through qualification, and then leading a new journey of influencing people in the corporate world for more than 25 years, I have a lot to share and unlock, which I can’t pen down in one blog but in several others.
The point here is that holding a college degree is now an ‘either-or’ choice. Before the 2000s, the era was different, and they had no choice. And now the hustle power of educational opportunities lies in your choices. You still will get a choice enough even if you don’t want it, that’s the cool part of living in today’s world.
Signing off.
Have great insightful days ahead!
For more of me, you can head on to my YouTube and Instagram