Bachelor's degree the new high school diploma

[MsFutureDr]

I came across this article on career builder about bachelor's degree becoming the new high school diploma. Naturally employers are not offering competitive salaries to match that demand for higher level of education, but that's a discussion for another day.
http://thehiringsite.careerbuilder....-high-school-diploma-some-employers-think-so/

I was just thinking about my family( very large family), and i realized this has always been the case in my household. No major celebrations for graduating high school and not much for bachelors. You were expected to do both and do whatever you like after that. The original target was to achieve a doctorate degree in any field, however the bar has now been set high to 2 doctorate degrees. Crazy i know😱! No, I'm not that crazy. Pursing medicine is my last pursuit for higher education and i'm done. I'm planning on having children and lot's of traveling. Besides, I'm already tormented everyday at my job that i'm a professional student.🙂

Any others on here with similar experience in their family? Also as a non-trad for those with multiple degrees do you find yourself lying/downplaying your accomplishments just so you won't have to deal with the constant questions about why you are going back to school? If i had a nickel for every time ...well you get the idea.

How many of you struggle with telling family and friends that you are planning on attending medical school? I'm holding out until i'm actually accepted to announce my decision. It would be too awkward to start the early announcement and not make it.

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[TriagePreMed]

I wouldn't necessarily call the bachelors degree the new high school degree. Still 2/3 of the country decide not to get their bachelors degree or do not finish it. Even though it's true the number of college graduates have increased and jobs are more scarce, most of the problem comes from a poor economy and the great income inequality. If the true rich (1%) were to lose 2/3 of their fortune, they'd still be massively rich and our economy would flourish with more new businesses popping out. Money does not trickle down.

As for how your family looks at degrees, that's a lot on them. Formal education is only as good as what you're able to do with it. You have a fancy PhD in Cultural Geography? Well good for you, but the guy/gal with the Chemical Engineering BS is going to earn more money than you. No longer is more education = more money, so anyone that wastes their time on two doctorates (assuming it's not for something very specific like MD/PhD to be a basic researcher), shouldn't expect it to pay off. If your family doesn't appreciate a doctorate, your family lives in a bubble where they likely have many family members with masters and doctorates, which is something that was experienced in the past too.

I'm also planning on doing medical school only, but I'm open to research fellowships.

 

[CastleG8]

More people are earning degrees it seems, but they aren't all flocking to STEM majors.