Ugh, the tired and embarrassing conservative narrative blaming "liberal arts" degrees for millennial whining. Look boys, Letters and Classics were two of the hardest degrees when I was at OU, those people got jobs, because well... they could learn anything. Several tech companies have come out and stated they'll hire these types of people because of their versatility. The problem out there today is that kids that probably shouldn't go to college, are going, when they probably should be in a trade, or out in the real world. They've been told all their lives that they need to go to college. On the flip side, I can't tell you how many "business" majors from OU I have seen fail. Most of the curriculum back then was a joke compared to other degrees. What kids need to be told is that it's ok to NOT go to college, it's ok to take up a trade, it's ok to get out in the real world and work..... just don't be complacent.
This. Just because Millennials expect high paying jobs to fall in their laps doesn't mean the degree they sought is worthless. The idea that education alone guarantees good jobs is false and a strawman you see promoted time and again. Education and job training can be the same but do not have to be the same.
It's what a person chooses to do with their degree that matters more. And as JD8 notes, sometimes that means NOT going to college. My wife, a professor, will be the first to say that not everyone should be pushed towards it.
The other thing is play here is that they are surveying people right out of school. The fact is that most people will change jobs several times and you don't really know what aspect of your education will ultimately pay off most for you. it could be that your accounting classes workout best, or it could be that advertising class you took or even that classics course. Being educated has value in and of itself, which is sadly lost for some.
And the issue of debt is a very real and important one. Not only should schools do better about managing costs (many acknowledge this) but they can do better at helping grads find jobs (again, many already echo this sentiment). But as has been discussed many times here, schools alone aren't responsible for the ballooning costs of education.
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