Can someone explain the phenomenon of degree inflation? Anyone?
Can someone explain what exactly degree inflation means?
- Thread starter Premed90
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Really?
I'm pretty sure it actually means that since a lot of people go to college, it takes a degree for certain jobs that didn't need degrees for before. In other words, the degree needed for some particular work has been raised to like a bachelor's where before a high school diploma might be adequate because people who have degrees are applying for those jobs AND the employer has little to go on in hiring people apart from higher degrees. I guess easier degrees could be a contributing factor, but I really am not sure it's know easier to get in terms of difficulty of subject, but perhaps more so in the fact that people have accessibility to education. That is not a bad thing. But, I also believe that not everyone needs to go to college or at least not to get a bachelors.
Both of these are different ways to say the same thing, in essence. I'm not sure that degrees are easier to get now, though. In fact, most baby boomers and Gen X people I talk to are surprised at how extensive some degrees have become (this isn't as true in pre-med, but it holds true across the board). Just look at the requirements for business or engineering degrees these days. They often require up to twice the hours that they did one or two generations ago.
The problem is that the common societal perception is that you are an idiot if you don't get some level of college education. Societal standards are what drives demand for degrees. Given a surplus of applicants, and everything else equal, an employer will choose the applicant with the highest degree. This trend is noticed by the public, which only perpetuates demand. The result: you need an associate's degree to take an X-ray, an MBA to be an executive, and a BS or BA to do any job above technician/blue-collar work.
In summary, "degree inflation" is the fact that you need a higher degree, GPA, etc., to do the same jobs as someone with a lower degree a generation older.
In contrast, "grade inflation" is the perception (not so sure it is really fact ... perhaps it is just a result of stricter standards on teaching quality?) that professors hand out higher grades in order to be perceived as a better teacher and maintain "the distribution," resulting in higher GPAs across the board, with similar effects.
The problem is that the common societal perception is that you are an idiot if you don't get some level of college education. Societal standards are what drives demand for degrees. Given a surplus of applicants, and everything else equal, an employer will choose the applicant with the highest degree. This trend is noticed by the public, which only perpetuates demand. The result: you need an associate's degree to take an X-ray, an MBA to be an executive, and a BS or BA to do any job above technician/blue-collar work.
In summary, "degree inflation" is the fact that you need a higher degree, GPA, etc., to do the same jobs as someone with a lower degree a generation older.
In contrast, "grade inflation" is the perception (not so sure it is really fact ... perhaps it is just a result of stricter standards on teaching quality?) that professors hand out higher grades in order to be perceived as a better teacher and maintain "the distribution," resulting in higher GPAs across the board, with similar effects.
Is this a good thing or a bad thing? More degrees means a more educated society but more degrees also means that the degree itself has less value.
Another thing I don't get is why tuition rises when the value of degrees are decreasing? Like I feel really bad for people who take out loans to get a undergrad degree and end up working at starbucks or something.
