Do you still need a college degree?
Updated 2024-06-08. Originally published 2010-08-20 on VocationVillage.com
In 2024, do you still need a college degree for career success, or have all the self-study, online courses, boot camps, certification programs, and apprenticeships rendered college degrees unnecessary?
My alma mater, UCLA | Photo by tommao wang on Unsplash
Unemployment
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment is the highest for workers who have not completed a high school diploma. Unemployment is the lowest for workers who completed a professional degree, which makes sense since professional degrees prepare workers for specific career paths.
Read more on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics site
Underemployment
Despite the data showing advantages of education for avoiding unemployment, underemployment is still a concern. According to a report by the Strada Education Foundation’s 2024 report, Talent Disrupted, 52% of college graduates are underemployed a year after graduation. Even a decade after graduation, 45% of college graduates remain underemployed. In this context, “underemployed” means working in a job that doesn’t require a college degree.
Strada listed some variables that make a college degree more likely to have a good return on investment:
Majoring in computer science, engineering, mathematics, math-intensive business fields (e.g., finance, accounting), education, or health programs such as nursing.
Completing an internship while still in college, as the odds of underemployment for graduates who had at least one internship are 48.5% lower than those who had no internships, and the benefits associated with completing an internship are relatively strong across degree fields.
Prioritizing a college-level job as the first job (even if not an ideal job) because underemployment in the first year after college makes a college graduate 3.5 times more likely to remain underemployed 10 years after completing college compared to college graduates who started out in a college-level occupation.
Trends
Statistics are interesting, but for people who want to minimize student loan debt or who don’t enjoy the prospect of spending time in college, there are ways to be successful without a college degree.
According to Indeed’s Hiring Lab,
In January 2024, a majority (52%) of US job postings on Indeed’s platform did not mention any formal education requirement (up from 48% at the same time in 2019).
64% of U.S. adults have not completed a bachelor’s degree, so it is good news for them that the share of U.S. job postings requiring at least a college degree fell from 20.4% to 17.8% in the last five years.
Indeed’s analysis showed formal educational requirements are declining in nearly every sector, and mentions of college degrees have fallen since 2019 in 87% of occupational groups.
How to succeed without a college degree
Look for companies who hire based on skills and/or who will train employees. Small businesses are more likely to prioritize skills over diplomas.
Consider a skilled trade as there is currently a shortage of workers and high demand.
Start your own business. The Small Business Development Centers are funded by tax dollars and offer classes to and mentoring to teach you to start, run, and grow your business.
Did you complete a college degree? Do you think it was worth it? Submit your story for consideration for a future article.
