I'm not in the US but this is becoming a huge yet overlooked issue - in many 1st world countries and even my own third world one, which per the media is starved of graduates.
The lack of jobs (due to slow or stagnant economic growth) is an issue but there is a worring oversupply of alot of fields - driven by both the increased number of new schools, increased intakes of existing ones and in instances immigration.
There are engineers, CPAs, JDs etc. with advanced degrees from good unis employed to fill positions which were previously adequately filled by kids straight from high school at no higher wages (adjusting for inflation)- and they're the fortunate ones. This places a huge strain on government and individual finances, has negative impacts on productivity, is devastating psychologically on these individuals amongst numerous other adverse ramifications. This unhealthy obsession with tertiary education needs to stop and it is my opinion that institutions need to be culled by stricter regulation (I'm still young in academia but various academics and my dad - who has tenure at a great uni - have confided similar opinions in me in private)
Surely something needs to be done.
The lack of jobs (due to slow or stagnant economic growth) is an issue but there is a worring oversupply of alot of fields - driven by both the increased number of new schools, increased intakes of existing ones and in instances immigration.
There are engineers, CPAs, JDs etc. with advanced degrees from good unis employed to fill positions which were previously adequately filled by kids straight from high school at no higher wages (adjusting for inflation)- and they're the fortunate ones. This places a huge strain on government and individual finances, has negative impacts on productivity, is devastating psychologically on these individuals amongst numerous other adverse ramifications. This unhealthy obsession with tertiary education needs to stop and it is my opinion that institutions need to be culled by stricter regulation (I'm still young in academia but various academics and my dad - who has tenure at a great uni - have confided similar opinions in me in private)
Surely something needs to be done.