Are College Graduates More Likely to Land a Job? (The Bureau of Labor Says So)

by SodaHead News Posted 2012/06/06 13:00:00

Related Topics: College, Jobs, Unemployment, Unemployed, School, High School, Student, Glee, Labor, Image, Graduates

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	Yes	187 votes	52%
	No	172 votes	48%

It's not exactly the best time to be getting out of college right now, with unemployment still hovering around 8 percent, but according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a college degree is better than nothing. Way better, in fact. They report just 3.9 percent unemployment among college graduates, compared to 8.1 percent among high school graduates and 13 percent among high school dropouts.

However, there's one major catch. That 3.9 percent unemployment for college grads does not include anyone under the age of 25, and according to Good.is, more than half of college graduates under 25 were unemployed last year. And while any employment is better than none, Good.is also notes that the Bureau doesn't specify what type of employment these grads are under. So what do you think, are college grads actually better off than those who never got a degree?

+22

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meg 2012/06/06 18:47:00

Yes

+4
Depends on what kind of field they are in I would guess, but it is always better to have more education than equal to or not enough.
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RogerCo... to WhereIs... 2012/06/07 02:28:43

My experience has been that even the people with silly degrees still are seen as college graduates, and get more out of the job market. I had a roommate who got a degree in 'civilization.' (I never knew what that was, and I got the feeling that he didn't either.) However, he got employed in a middle class career track job.

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the judgebigdogeagle 2012/06/07 02:03:01

No

but I hope it changes. I graduate in 2 years or less.

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BloodlessVeins 2012/06/07 01:57:54

Yes

I'm getting a degree in Statics so I'm hoping that will help.
0.0 you're all scaring me with the "no's".

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mblack to Bloodle... 2012/06/07 08:10:04

The government constantly hires statisticians.

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Bloodle... to mblack 2012/06/07 16:18:37

Thank you. Now I don't have to be...as scared. maybe. from the way people are talking it sounds like our country is dying.

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mblack to Bloodle... 2012/06/07 18:35:09

Fear is a powerful weapon. Companies used the financial crisis of 2008 as a way to trim the excess fat from the company and raise prices. As a result everyone is doing more with less people which means working longer hours with no overtime. With less people to pay and a the workforce working at maximum capacity corporate profits rise faster. Why change a winning formula? Once the workforce shows they cant keep up with the demand then companies will hire. But they have the luxury of being extremely selective. Also alumni tend to hire other alumni.

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Bloodle... to mblack 2012/06/08 00:44:53

Wow. Thanks for the info. Wish I could be one of those cooperate people and officially do something about it. (Besides voting that is)

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Anarchico Anthony 2012/06/07 01:24:26

Yes

Meant to press no

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Mike 2012/06/07 00:53:22

No

+1
they sold all skilled jobs out to india

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chgo 2012/06/07 00:23:28

No

+1
The real unemployment rate among college graduates is not 3.9 percent. Plus, just because a recent college graduate more than likely gets a new job doesn't mean it's a job they prefer or a job they can be financially supported with. 9 times times out of ten it's not a full-time job.

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dlsofsetx 2012/06/06 23:58:49

No

Seems to me associates degrees are the wave of the future.

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Bibliophilic 2012/06/06 23:44:49 (edited)

Yes

A job where? It depends on the degree and the person's experience and abilities.

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Chris Tate 2012/06/06 23:25:03

No

it entirely depends on the "need" for the degree earned

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AngryGabby 2012/06/06 23:24:59

No

+1
I live in a Magical Land in which unemployment is 10%.

Welcome to Ohio, folks! Now get out while you still can!

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Svenn6 2012/06/06 23:13:00

No

+1
People say there is this RACE problem and this RACE problem will be solved when the third world pours into EVERY White country and ONLY into White countries. They say the final solution to this RACE problem is for EVERY White country and ONLY White countries to “assimilate,” i.e., intermarry, with all those non-Whites. It’s really just the final solution to the White problem. It’s genocide. They say they are anti-racist. What they are is anti-White. Anti-racist is a code word for anti-White.

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Mrs.B 2012/06/06 23:03:49

No

+2
No one is landing jobs

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PaulBot415 2012/06/06 22:52:12

No

+1
Nobody is that likely to get jobs lol.

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classicshar 2012/06/06 21:46:58

Yes

+1
Unfortunately, the degree will help one land a job. That is part of our economic problem. We value the 'paper' rather than the person, skills or contribution they can make. We value the 'paper' as a symbol of 'completion of a task'...but fail to recognize that it is a task with, often, little value; and may have been achieved fraudulently (cheating is common in over 80% of college grads.) and its completion likely included the need to party-hearty, use drugs and become mindlessly 'social'..... None of those accomplishments bode well for what our country and businesses (large , small or self) need! Our education, in total, is our biggest problem. Continuing to seek those who have bathed in its shallowness is damning, not productive. Unless we instill quality testing into our applicant reviews, which is 'hard' to do, and remove any monitoring for quotas, exclusions, etc..... we will not return to our greatness and our choosing graduates will continue to be flawed. (FYI, I work best with someone who will listen, and share; can be trained and has the basic 'fairness' and kindness genes; I shouldn't have to work with those who do not! Ratios or not....)
The question in my mind is not 'who gets the job' , but what companies will be able to compete, and win, in the int...

Unfortunately, the degree will help one land a job. That is part of our economic problem. We value the 'paper' rather than the person, skills or contribution they can make. We value the 'paper' as a symbol of 'completion of a task'...but fail to recognize that it is a task with, often, little value; and may have been achieved fraudulently (cheating is common in over 80% of college grads.) and its completion likely included the need to party-hearty, use drugs and become mindlessly 'social'..... None of those accomplishments bode well for what our country and businesses (large , small or self) need! Our education, in total, is our biggest problem. Continuing to seek those who have bathed in its shallowness is damning, not productive. Unless we instill quality testing into our applicant reviews, which is 'hard' to do, and remove any monitoring for quotas, exclusions, etc..... we will not return to our greatness and our choosing graduates will continue to be flawed. (FYI, I work best with someone who will listen, and share; can be trained and has the basic 'fairness' and kindness genes; I shouldn't have to work with those who do not! Ratios or not....)
The question in my mind is not 'who gets the job' , but what companies will be able to compete, and win, in the international markets? What I see is this: if we hired all our grads, etc.they could not and would not do a quality, cost-effective job which would allow this country to become strong again. It takes nearly 'two' people to do a complete job, often, which means our products are never going to be cost-effective at wages we think acceptable.
For get about getting 'jobs'; think about getting honest products, services and results, at an honest price, that we can present to the rest of the world and have them invest in. At the same time, do NOT increase debt, which will run them off!
Think outside the degree, folks...we have a huge problem. Trade and 'home' schools which teach 'real' work (not social media and BS) are the solution.. AIR is not a product worthy of anyone's support; that includes gossip and facebook!
IMHO.
(more)

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Arianne to classic... 2012/06/07 05:41:07

+1
Geez not everything that goes out of college is BS. I don't know about you but I'd never trust a doctor who didn't have a medical degree to diagnose me for anything. I wouldn't trust a lawyer who didn't go through law school and I wouldn't trust buisness analysts if they didn't know study what the hell they were doing. Same thing for psychologists and those who treat abnormalities. You need to learn these things at university.

On the other hand if you want to go into the skilled jobs you're better off in trade schools because they can help train you for your career. It really depends on the field you're in.

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phil 2012/06/06 21:36:43 (edited)

No

+1
No jobs, the USA is so far gone that it even cost to care. Its sad but u live to pay bills and die with them still there. Why just why

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james.g.mcdonald.5 2012/06/06 21:29:16

No

+1
Businesses are looking for people with experience, there are way to many people with a degrees now.

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IronOx 2012/06/06 21:13:09

Yes

+1
It helps in weeding out applicant. Most companies use different forms of weeding applications, one of the more common forms is based on education.

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GUAPO 2012/06/06 21:13:09 (edited)

No

+3
WITH OBAMA IS CHARGE????

NO!!!

THANK YOU OBAMA !!!!

Business is not hiring because of Obama's policies.

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chgo to GUAPO 2012/06/07 08:09:07 (edited)

I knew somebody on here was gonna say some anti-Obama comment on here even though he has absolutely nothing to do with this.

think about that when you're sitting on your unemployed butt. Only a conservative would vote against their own economic interests, only a conservative.

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GUAPO to chgo 2012/06/07 16:05:21

you need to get out of the swamp amigo.

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prosperhappily 2012/06/06 21:08:53

Yes

+3
It depends on what you study.

12th century French poetry may be your "bliss". But, I doubt you're going to find a lot of work in the field.

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RogerCo... to prosper... 2012/06/07 02:36:20

Some college degrees, like one in "12th century French poetry," (Is there actually such an undergraduate degree?), are useless unless you go on to graduate school. Employers see people with these undergraduate degrees as people who failed to finish what they started, and do not hire them.

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prosper... to RogerCo... 2012/06/07 02:47:51

+1
I really couldn't tell ya if that's a real major or not. I just made something up. But, you get my drift, right?

My question is, why does something impractical become more valuable as you get more degrees in it, besides the fact that you can now teach it?

Now, I have absolutely no problem with people taking these classes for their own pleasure. I'm just saying don't get a degree in something with no practical application and expect that it'll be your ticket to a wonderful job.

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El Prez 2012/06/06 20:36:01

Yes

It's partly the math. Fewer canidates qualify for the job, so you have a better chance. it does not go for the inexperienced, newly graduated who are competing against an ever growing number of recent graduates. Try reading "Why Good People Can't Get Jobs" by Peter Cappelli for some insight. There are many reasons.

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Julian 2012/06/06 20:22:39

Yes

+1
More likely than who? High school dropouts? Yes. High school graduates? Probably. Trade school graduates? Probably not. The biggest problem is that people study without a real vision of what they want to do in life. Graduating with an arts degree will probably not land you a great job, just an impressive debt load, unless you are really dedicated to being a professional artist. Getting a business degree could lead to great wealth, or not, depending on what you do with it. Getting a science degree could lead to a really interesting job, but there's a strong possibility you'll end up working in a lab somewhere looking at slides all day.

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boneman1 2012/06/06 20:22:19

Yes

A college degree by no means guarantees you a job, but lack of a college degree means you don't even get an interview with many companies.

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RogerCo... to boneman1 2012/06/07 02:39:22

In my day, 4 decades ago, a college degree virtually guaranteed you a job. Something had to be really wrong with you if you graduated college and could not get a job. This has apparently changed.

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Professor Wizard 2012/06/06 20:19:21

Yes

Jobs are hard to get for everyone... but just look at the requirements.... top of the list for nearly every listed job is a degree. Yes... College will get you the job over a HS diploma every time. unless you hold a Masters or Doctorate - - sometimes then, it can keep you from getting hired because you could then be "over qualified" for most jobs.

So it is a catch-22 in a way.. it can actually help.. and it can hurt.

Good luck to those fresh grads looking!

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TasselLady 2012/06/06 20:12:29

No

+1
There are hardly any jobs NOW. And what about the kids just graduating from highschool, going into a thoroughly crappy economy??? I feel sorry for them. At least I was in school long before this happened.

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3327123 2012/06/06 20:11:07
lee 2012/06/06 20:10:47 (edited)

Yes

+1
because corporations are looking to reduce their payroll costs and drive out benefits... so they look to a fresh crop of grads desperate for work and they have EVERYTHING they want...

... except experience, wisdom, know how, or anything like what got them where they are.

meanwhile they force out the older, experienced workers who cost more.

have a great quarter, corporations... hope the executive bonus is good this quarter.

the rest of us will just eat dirt and learn to call it caviar.

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blackrings70 2012/06/06 20:00:39
Portholus 2012/06/06 19:56:08

No

+1
I applied for an entry level position when I first left college in a mail room and was told I was overqualified. I have interviewed for jobs that I was more than qualified for and passed over for a variety of reasons from I was the wrong skin color to I was more qualified than the person who was interviewing me and they were worried that I would be in competition with them.

College can open some doors but you still have to try to gain some experience and now days it is harder to do that. Factor in the fact that colleges are skewering their statistics to show more are working than are just to get you to go to their school and we have a broken system.

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dennisg40 2012/06/06 19:15:57

Yes

+1
Yes many jobs that ordinarily would not require college does. Why because it is called social status in sociology. Many jobs that would normally not need a college education to perform require it anyway because the company thinks they will get a better employe when actually all they get is just another job seeker.

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LdyLeo 2012/06/06 19:06:02 (edited)

Yes

Both yes and no.

Yes: most jobs these days like seeing that they have a college degree and they will immediately pick that person over someone who does not have a college degree. Most jobs these days want their employee's to at least have some college experience now.

No: Despite the fact that college graduates have a college degree, it will not be that easy looking for a job with this economy. Like those without a college degree, it would still be hard for college graduates. Most people I have known have a college degree and they said they found it very difficult to find a job.

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