Dear MEL Topic Readers,
'Degree inflation': How the four-year degree became required
What are important qualifications for a middle-skill job, such as a supervisor, support specialist, sales representatives, clerk, and administrative assistant? Besides the job skills, experience, IT literacy, communication skills, eagerness to work, or a bachelor’s degree?
There has been a rising demand for bachelor’s degrees in jobs that hadn’t require one, which is called degree inflation. In fact, the degree gap between the demand for a college degree in job postings and the current or former job occupants has been widening. Indeed, as more jobs are taken by machines and automation, qualifications for the same role need to add new requirements. But does it have to be a college degree? In fact, newly added qualifications may not always bring in more competent candidates to the open position because they may be overqualified or unsuitable for the job. Instead, experienced workers may be more eager to advance their careers within the company or for a new job that they can make use of their skills. Also, a college degree requirement could draw a line between social backgrounds, family incomes, and races because attending college is too expensive for low-income families. Some companies though have already found that it is more efficient to give the chance to already-working employees to advance as they tend to be more committed to the job and company. In fact, the turnover of internally filled positions is much lower than bringing someone with a degree from outside.
It seems that it is time for employers to reexamine what a college degree requirement costs and does to them.
Enjoy reading the article and learn about what degree inflation brings about.
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