The bachelor’s degrees are devalued while the costs of attaining them continue to skyrocket, making employers lack confidence in the education system which churns out more than enough graduates to an already overpopulated job market.

(EMAILWIRE.COM, December 15, 2009 )
Fort Lauderdale, FL The number of college graduates continues to increase, even in recession, making employers to lose trust in the higher education system and terming bachelor’s degrees as ‘insufficient’.
Career experts and employers alike report a growing problem in the American society. The increased outflux of graduates from colleges wielding degrees, hoping to get into the job industry in order to make a living – and of course service their overwhelming student loans – may soon have dwindling hopes, because of the decreasing value of degrees.
The problem partly lies with the soft job market, but to greater extent to the oversupply of college graduates. In the 70s only 47 percent of high school graduates went on to college, making a bachelor’s degree phenomenal. In late 2008, that percentage rose to 70; making a bachelor’s degree seem more of a birthright.
According to Sheila Danzig, founder of Degree.com, http://www.degree.com, the premier internet portal for online study, the overproduction of degree holders can be attributed to the fact that weaker students, who would have found more viable options other than college to start earning a living, are pushed to join college. “Kids face a lot of pressure, and as a result many who are not crafted to become degree holders end up with degrees especially from online universities” she says, adding that, “it makes potential employers lack confidence in the higher education system and ‘that piece of paper’ gets watered down.”
The only thing that has not been watered down in reference to higher education is the cost which has continued to soar. Average tuition costs rose by 6.5 percent this fall. A recently released report by the Project on Student Debt revealed that two-thirds of all graduates leave college with high debts; in 2008 the average debt rose to $23,200. According to the US Department of Education, the total amount loaned to students in the 08/09 academic year rose to $81 billion. Ironically, the unemployment rate for recent graduates hit double digits for the first time rising to 10.6 percent.
Students enrolling in campuses across US are well aware that college degrees no longer command authority in the job industry and are now willing to go further to Master’s and PhD level. In an annual survey conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute which has always been keen to ask freshmen what their personal glass ceiling to college education is; the number of freshmen willing to work for a master’s degree rose from 31 percent in 1972 to 42 percent in 2008. This is a clear indication that people need more than just a bachelor’s.
Employers stress the fact that although the bachelor’s value has plummeted, it still remains essential. They admit that once it is coupled with work experience it gains its ace status and is more likely to get the holder the attention he or she desires. Dan Black, director of campus recruiting in the Americas for Ernst & Young, and his team will hire more than 4,000 people this year out of 20,000 applicants. There are a lot of things besides a degree “that will help differentiate how much attention you get,” says the veteran hirer.
Currently, graduates should steer their careers where there is steady job growth, by pursuing education, business and healthcare degree programs.