If I've learned anything about this most recent Editor's Note [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/editors_note/7045-Editor-s-Note-Editor-s-Choice], it's that today's society is creating a sense of content that bolsters change, but only negatively. It's a sad state of affairs whenever society commands quality to be cut in order to produce more content. However, that's the price you pay for generations that like to see only what they want, and want to see more of what they like. "Change" isn't just a buzzword for Obama-supporters, it's become a reality in an increasing number of fields, with games media being just a small part of the bigger change happening all across the board.
Then there's one thing that's changed in one place, but hasn't in another related field, and it's creating a hole that no one is talking about, much less plugging. The hole is the division-line between the education system, and the job industry. It's one of those public secrets that everyone knows. Excepting vocational skill schools (such as the trade and technical institutions), if you want a job, you need a college degree. Everyone needs a college degree if they want a job. If you have twenty, thirty years of job experience, you can get a job.
If someone graduated high school, most persons have certain stereotypes associated with low-requirement jobs. For example, let's take a standby for a construction worker. Most involve on-the-job training and subcontracting, but the average is 2-to-4-year coursework during the job training. That means that construction workers go through vocational school, the length and duration of a college degree, to do constructions. Police offices are often graduates of college, usually Criminal Psychology, Criminal Justice, or Law Enforcement. Firefighters, by what's listed as a "significant percentage" have degrees in Science. Most with a concentration in what's called 'fire science.' Forest rangers often go through two-year associate degrees in Forestry.
Just to sum that up, jobs that have specific to that vocation training that you cannot teach in classes have two to four years of coursework. We're requiring our laborers to go through coursework, our specific job-workers have degrees. This is just the sort of things Math 101 professors staple to tests with failing grades, and they're now requiring college degrees as well as vocational-training. Wasn't there a day where having a high school diploma meant you were at the top of the curve?
Keep it mind, this is the lowest common denominator. When we step up to secretaries, we're getting into required associate degrees, which you must have to even be considered for a job. Teachers, journalists, and jobs like those all require bachelor's degrees (4 year university programs). That means every person who applies is a graduate of a 4-year program. In order to be further qualified, you need to have an advanced degree. A Masters degree. Then building from that, businessmen are starting to only have a chance in the slightest in getting Masters degrees. Then if you even want to be considered for CEO material, you need to be a doctor of something.
It's getting to the point where our college professors in order to even teach the general courses need to be masters degree or higher. Which means college professors require roughly 6 to 8 years of college in order to teach it. It's getting to the point where children spend the ages from five until twenty-two in school. Assuming they want to compete against an uphill battle for a job. In order to even be remotely secure, it takes another two to four years.
So what does that mean? Well, the job market requires degrees, so people will get them. The high school diploma, for the job market, means nothing. The four-year degree is a minimum of effort. The four-year degree is the accomplishment of the bottom-feeders. The minimum achievers. Why even go through high school at all? Why even go to college at all? No one cares about their degree programs so much as they are at the point that they need a degree. Any degree.
As members of society, we've made the high school diploma worthless. High school no longer becomes more about education. It's about padding the school resume and making the test scores in order to get into college. What happens in high school is simply four years of ACT/SAT preparation. Then after we have our big high school resume, a high-numbered GPA (and no knowledge), we step forth to college. In college, a poll of 30 English 101 (required course for all degree programs) students shows that 26 of 30 students state they're in college because they feel that they need a degree in order to get a job. Not to pursue higher education out of a sense of advancement, or feel the need to be better qualified for a job in order to advance. They need a degree to get into the door. To be clear, 87% of college students feel like they need a 4 year degree just to get a foot in the door. In order for career advancement, it's not unlikely that they'll need a Masters degree to advance.
What do these sheets of paper really mean? That the holder is better trained, or more in-the-know. Because roughly 87% of the people holding them just have 'cause they think they need them. Not 'cause they're more qualified, just that they did everything in their power to get one.
So, anyone else feel like they're chasing their tail?
Then there's one thing that's changed in one place, but hasn't in another related field, and it's creating a hole that no one is talking about, much less plugging. The hole is the division-line between the education system, and the job industry. It's one of those public secrets that everyone knows. Excepting vocational skill schools (such as the trade and technical institutions), if you want a job, you need a college degree. Everyone needs a college degree if they want a job. If you have twenty, thirty years of job experience, you can get a job.
If someone graduated high school, most persons have certain stereotypes associated with low-requirement jobs. For example, let's take a standby for a construction worker. Most involve on-the-job training and subcontracting, but the average is 2-to-4-year coursework during the job training. That means that construction workers go through vocational school, the length and duration of a college degree, to do constructions. Police offices are often graduates of college, usually Criminal Psychology, Criminal Justice, or Law Enforcement. Firefighters, by what's listed as a "significant percentage" have degrees in Science. Most with a concentration in what's called 'fire science.' Forest rangers often go through two-year associate degrees in Forestry.
Just to sum that up, jobs that have specific to that vocation training that you cannot teach in classes have two to four years of coursework. We're requiring our laborers to go through coursework, our specific job-workers have degrees. This is just the sort of things Math 101 professors staple to tests with failing grades, and they're now requiring college degrees as well as vocational-training. Wasn't there a day where having a high school diploma meant you were at the top of the curve?
Keep it mind, this is the lowest common denominator. When we step up to secretaries, we're getting into required associate degrees, which you must have to even be considered for a job. Teachers, journalists, and jobs like those all require bachelor's degrees (4 year university programs). That means every person who applies is a graduate of a 4-year program. In order to be further qualified, you need to have an advanced degree. A Masters degree. Then building from that, businessmen are starting to only have a chance in the slightest in getting Masters degrees. Then if you even want to be considered for CEO material, you need to be a doctor of something.
It's getting to the point where our college professors in order to even teach the general courses need to be masters degree or higher. Which means college professors require roughly 6 to 8 years of college in order to teach it. It's getting to the point where children spend the ages from five until twenty-two in school. Assuming they want to compete against an uphill battle for a job. In order to even be remotely secure, it takes another two to four years.
So what does that mean? Well, the job market requires degrees, so people will get them. The high school diploma, for the job market, means nothing. The four-year degree is a minimum of effort. The four-year degree is the accomplishment of the bottom-feeders. The minimum achievers. Why even go through high school at all? Why even go to college at all? No one cares about their degree programs so much as they are at the point that they need a degree. Any degree.
As members of society, we've made the high school diploma worthless. High school no longer becomes more about education. It's about padding the school resume and making the test scores in order to get into college. What happens in high school is simply four years of ACT/SAT preparation. Then after we have our big high school resume, a high-numbered GPA (and no knowledge), we step forth to college. In college, a poll of 30 English 101 (required course for all degree programs) students shows that 26 of 30 students state they're in college because they feel that they need a degree in order to get a job. Not to pursue higher education out of a sense of advancement, or feel the need to be better qualified for a job in order to advance. They need a degree to get into the door. To be clear, 87% of college students feel like they need a 4 year degree just to get a foot in the door. In order for career advancement, it's not unlikely that they'll need a Masters degree to advance.
What do these sheets of paper really mean? That the holder is better trained, or more in-the-know. Because roughly 87% of the people holding them just have 'cause they think they need them. Not 'cause they're more qualified, just that they did everything in their power to get one.
So, anyone else feel like they're chasing their tail?
