☆ Perspective: College degrees over-valued in local hiring market

A recent Campus Reform video chronicles how myriad prominent companies are no longer requiring the “golden ticket” of a four-year university degree. CA School Choice Foundation president Michael Alexander discusses the dangerous implications of employers over-prioritizing college education in applicants, especially as a proxy for actual skills. An Opp Now exclusive.

We live in a society devoted to credentialism. What we value in the hiring process is a piece of paper — where you went to college regardless of the personal knowledge you possess.

This extends, as well, to other professions and types of credential programs. These days, you can’t do much without a license. Even cutting hair requires a license. Now, people have been doing this for years; but suddenly, someone has decided they need a license to do it effectively.

My overall critique of American education is that while young people are frequently ready for intimacy and marriage, there are few ways for them to be productive and earn money in society until they obtain a college degree. They’re kept from meaningful opportunities in the meantime. Not because their college education provides needed knowledge and skills, but because society recognizes it as a stand-in of such qualifications (though it’s not always a good one). Consequently, family-building is often delayed until one’s mid- to late-twenties.

Ultimately, college education demands years of our lives, to prepare us to do what? That’s what I want to know.

Ivan Illich’s Deschooling Society has contributed to many of my views on this topic, and I recommend it for anyone wanting to broaden their perspective.

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Image by Ekrulila