Last semester I took one of my favorite classes at BYU, ECON 461:Economics of Education. A large portion of what we covered in class included analyzing the importance of a college degree and whether a degree actually provides necessary skills that employers wish to see from college graduates. In short, do college grads have higher capabilities? Does the content of the classes they take provide them with abilities and knowledge that those without a college degree don’t have? Or, on the other hand, does that degree rather just signal to employers that college graduates have a certain set of skills because they’re graduates? Even more pressing, do prospective employees even need a degree to obtain those skills that employers seek from potential hires? If I were to answer all of these questions right now, I’d say “it depends” to all of them. The future of university degree attainment is certainly unknown.
As recent trends highlight, many employers are no longer requiring college degrees. Just over a year ago, Governor Cox announced that state government positions in Utah would no longer require bachelor’s degrees in employee recruitment and further encouraged local governments and private sectors to follow suit [1]. His reasons for doing so align with other movements across the country, particularly those that state that degrees have become “a blanketed barrier-to-entry” and don’t necessarily mean that those with degrees are more qualified than those without. In fact, the Burning Glass Institute found that the percentage of jobs requiring a college degree fell from 51% in 2017 to 44% in 2021 [2]. Organizations like Apple, IBM, Delta Airlines, and Hilton are just some of the major companies that are following this trend and choosing to value life experience over a diploma. With major companies like those, it’s not surprising that the percentage is declining.
Financially speaking, it might make sense for some to not attend college. Student loan borrowing is on the rise, particularly in the last 20 years as the cost of college tuition and fees have more than doubled [3]. Average student debt now hovers around $30,000 with many taking decades to pay it back depending on the career they pursue afterwards. It certainly is up to the individual to perform a cost-benefit analysis to ensure that obtaining a degree is worth it. For example, I had a friend growing up who decided he wanted to become a plumber. After working as an apprentice for a plumbing company for a couple of years, he attended trade school, getting it paid for entirely by the company he worked for. After graduating, he continued working for that company and remains debt-free with plans to start his own plumbing business. While he could have attended college to obtain a business degree to help kickstart his business, he decided that wasn’t cost-effective and is now enjoying the benefits of a career without college attendance. That was definitely the right move for him.
Evidently, college isn’t for everyone. Nonetheless, there are still many benefits that exist for those who do choose to attend college. For example, college graduates on average get higher-quality jobs, they fare better during recessions, and they likely are to earn higher wages than their counterparts without degrees [4]. The act of obtaining a diploma, despite the debt that most likely will be incurred, proves to pay itself off with time due to the varying benefits that come with having a degree. Forbes found in September of last year that a college degree “is still one of the best investments a person can make.” [5] Despite recent changes in college attainment and employment trends not requiring degrees to enter certain jobs, it is evident that obtaining a degree will pay itself off and lead to better outcomes for college graduates.
Now, I understand the irony in that this article is being written at a university, primarily to a student-based audience. As a reader, you likely aren’t going to suddenly drop out of college because there exists a body of evidence saying that you might not need a degree. Yet maybe there are some of you who are regularly considering whether or not college attendance is a good idea, and a number of you who are set in the mindset that without it you have no options. This article then is more of an attempt to expose you to recent trends regarding college attendance and how interesting the conversation will be in future years. I, for one, am grateful for my college degree, particularly as a first-generation college student. Be that as it may, I look forward to seeing how the value of my degree holds up in the future.
