Alternatives to a 4 Year Education in the New Economy
With so many university graduates and ex-graduates finding themselves either jobless and/or starting to default on massive college loans, it is time to rethink the value of a traditional university education in lieu of a more practical and economic approach.
A four year degree or higher no longer guarantees stability in the working world. While we have always known that some career fields are more lucrative than others, it is a disturbing trend that MBA graduates from Ivy League schools are no longer in demand and have resorted to entering the realm of the menial worker (waiter, waitress, etc.) in order to pay the bills (housing, tuition loans) while continuing doggedly to search for the holy grail.
They are tired of the nerve wracking instability of losing one temporary job after another.
Everybody realizes that the job market in 2010 isn’t what it used to be. Unemployment is at record highs. Despite this, what many may not realize is that demographics and shifts in industry trends have forever altered the face of the landscape. And in the new economy, be prepared for a further set of rule stretching.
Competition will be fierce – Borrell Associates estimates that there will be seven job seekers for each one of the 2.9 million job openings projected for the U.S. in 2010.
What’s Gone – the following industries are being hit hardest in the Great Recession:
- Mortgage Lending
- Real Estate Sales
- Retail
- Leisure
- Entertainment
Recession-Proof Jobs – these industries are still hiring and expected to add jobs in the immediate future:
- Health Care* – Nurses, technicians, therapists, and aides. Also medical product areas like medication and equipment.
- Education – teachers
- Government
- Finance- Accountants, internal auditors, financial advisers
- Information Technology
- Green Industry – energy efficiency management, recycling, new product R&D, entrepreneurs
* top field
“The thing to keep in mind is that there are something like 50 million jobs out there that don’t require a bachelor’s degree and pay upwards of $40,000 a year,” says Harlow Unger, author of “But What If I Don’t Want to Go to College? A Guide to Success Through Alternative Education.”
Specific Recession-proof Jobs Available with a 2-year degree
- Physical Therapist Assistant
- Electrical or Electronic Engineering Technician
- Registered Nurse
- Computer Support Specialist
- Executive or Administrative Assistant
- Dental Hygienist
Top Ten Paying Jobs without a College Degree (recession proof**)
- Employment Recruitment Specialist**
- Financial Advisor**
- Physical Therapist Assistant**
- Pharmacy Technician**
- Health Information Technician**
- Library Technician
- Database Administrator**
- Flash Animator
- Fashion Designer
- Food Service Manager
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, by 2010, almost two-thirds of all projected job openings will require only on-the-job training.
Tips for those still in High School
A GED can benefit from summer jobs, seasonal employment, and internships, which can lead to full-time employment and a career in a number of fields.
Apprenticeship programs in the trades and some technologies are also available across the USA in some cities – Check you local county employment office listing or the local trade unions in order to gain this information in your locale.
For youth, some charter schools and magnet schools offer a specialized program that awards graduating students with both a High School Diploma and a Vocational Certificate or even an Associate Degree. These are significantly specific programs available in only a few cities.
Tips for those Re-entering School (Continuing Education)
Consider seriously the pros and cons of attending a trade school / vocational school / community college as opposed to a 4 year degree.
- Less time
- Less expense
- Direct route to employment
- More money than a college graduate
- Learn as you go
- Hands-on experience / Internship
- Specialization
- Certification
Tips for laid-off and retrenched workers
Having a concrete, marketable skill seems to be the key to occupational success. If you have or can obtain some training in a specific area, and choose the right occupation, you can make more money than many degree holders.
Conclusion
Considering the outlook for the economy, at this point in time it makes more dollars and sense to go the less traditional, although highly practical skilled route.
Ted Ollikkala is the main contributing author to Decline USA. The writing is on the wall; has been for some time. People are starting to wake up to the larger picture and realize that change is imminent, foreseeable, and imperative for survival. Who’s survival? In a nutshell: yours. From a global perspective: humankind’s.
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I have a 4-year degree but it took forever to graduate. And I was a first-generation college grad that had no real idea what I wanted to do for a career. High school career counseling was pretty much non-existent. I spent four years away from higher education after floundering in community college. I worked hard and graduated with a 2.9 grade point average but I work as a security guard for petty wages. The job prospects right out of college were non-existent. Colorado’s job growth is at 0% and here I struggle just to find a new career to start over with. There’s nothing here but retail, financial services, healthcare and the same old blah, blah, blah jobs that require working weekends and holidays for low pay. My degree has no legs anymore. Students entering college need to know these new specialized titled careers.
Because not everybody has the expertise to be analyst, a developer, a specialist, a coordinator and so on. More employers are doing a horrible job in recruiting for such positions, I wonder if they’ll ever find “that needle in a haystack” Training for such careers are joke as well and one must pay a fortune to go back to school. The best thing to consider is to gamble and keep playing the Power-ball and Mega-Millions. It might be easier to win a jackpot!
People who can’t afford college should look into work-study colleges – there are seven around the US. I just graduated from College of the Ozarks, and I have two degrees (Animal Science and Agribusiness), and I’ve spent an average of under $500 every semester for books and fees. I was even able to work through the summers and earn my room and board.
Having a college education is something that’s incredibly valuable for anyone – you have to set yourself up to be above the rest of the people looking for a job.
Whilst everything you say is accurate, the worst thing is that people with true potential for careers they would suit perfectly are being missed out simply because they cannot afford the fees, whilst a lot of places are being taken by idiots simply because they (or their parents) can, education should be about teaching to a persons strengths, not their bank account. This is why we have a poorer quality of proffesional overall rather than a higher quality.
I know a young woman who essentially devours quantum physics information, she can even explain it so that I understand it, hell she was arguing a point about something in this field with some guy who’s part way through his course and she blew him out of the water, she actually had to explain it so that he understood where he’d gone wrong! but because of being part of a poor family and having very little herself she can’t get into the courses and universities she wants.
Sorry for the mini rant, it just p****s me off
“Tips for those Re-entering School” is an excellent suggestion for individuals that need a quick inexpensive educational training of somesort, especially for those who have families and need to have a stable secure job. Nonetheless, there are those, such as myself, who want a 4 year education since it is necessary in order to have a descent paying job that is more or less secure. It is unfortunate that many students that work full-time hours are unable to finish their degree within four years. For some it has taken six, seven, or more years and that is due to greedy administrators that only seem to care about themselves—about their pay and choose to offer less courses and hire less instructors. How does this help the economy if we are having less and less individuals earning a four year degree? There are many jobs that require a four year degree. Take for instance, a teaching position at a Middle School or a High School. We need educators. What hope is there for the future? It is a frustrating situation for both the individual wanting to pursue a teaching career and the individual struggling to keep their teaching position with all the lay-offs due to budget cuts in education.