College degrees seem to be the only and sure-fire way to get a job in today’s society. However, there are people who believe that if the idea of having a college degree was not so heavily forced onto our youth, than there are definitely other ways to not only prepare for a career but be qualified as well. Some of those individuals that believe this are Charles Murray and Jacques Steinberg, authors of, “Should the Obama Generation Drop Out?” and “Plan B: Skip College” respectively. Murray believes that going to college is not a bad thing, he stresses the need to replace the necessity of a college degree to have a chance to obtain a good job. Steinberg does believe that not attending college and gaining skills necessary for jobs are more important
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Murray is a political scientist that has written books on social issues, as well as being mentioned in Steinberg’s article for his position of opposing higher education. Murray believes that the pressure to receive a college degree to get a good job are forcing youth that do not really want to go to college to go in order to even be able to compete. These youth force campuses to change the way they approach education. Instead of teaching the young adults at a collegiate level, they develop new majors to help find themselves which is good, however those type of degrees from those majors should not determine if someone gets a job or not. Job qualifications should focus on an applicant’s certification for that job. Murray stresses that, “Certifications would tell employers far more about their applicants’ qualifications than a B.A. does” (Murray). He is not promoting not attending college, but he does want to emphasize the importance of gaining the correct certifications for jobs instead of worrying about attaining a degree that may or may not have anything to do with the career that one would end up having. Steinberg has very similar ideas, but a different …show more content…
Steinberg highlights the importance of vocational training for young adults looking for “the key to success in the United States” (Steinberg). He believes that one could have an early start to their lives instead of wasting time and money chasing a degree that most likely will have nothing to do with one’s career. Steinberg refers to Murray as well as other economists in their effort to steer some students towards an intensive, short-term vocational career training that could replace college. Steinberg also explores the opposing side of his argument that this skipping college alternative could “lower expectations for some students” (Steinberg) which could in turn not allow students to experience a new
Murray is a political scientist that has written books on social issues, as well as being mentioned in Steinberg’s article for his position of opposing higher education. Murray believes that the pressure to receive a college degree to get a good job are forcing youth that do not really want to go to college to go in order to even be able to compete. These youth force campuses to change the way they approach education. Instead of teaching the young adults at a collegiate level, they develop new majors to help find themselves which is good, however those type of degrees from those majors should not determine if someone gets a job or not. Job qualifications should focus on an applicant’s certification for that job. Murray stresses that, “Certifications would tell employers far more about their applicants’ qualifications than a B.A. does” (Murray). He is not promoting not attending college, but he does want to emphasize the importance of gaining the correct certifications for jobs instead of worrying about attaining a degree that may or may not have anything to do with the career that one would end up having. Steinberg has very similar ideas, but a different …show more content…
Steinberg highlights the importance of vocational training for young adults looking for “the key to success in the United States” (Steinberg). He believes that one could have an early start to their lives instead of wasting time and money chasing a degree that most likely will have nothing to do with one’s career. Steinberg refers to Murray as well as other economists in their effort to steer some students towards an intensive, short-term vocational career training that could replace college. Steinberg also explores the opposing side of his argument that this skipping college alternative could “lower expectations for some students” (Steinberg) which could in turn not allow students to experience a new