Don’t Dumb Down the Degree Just Lower the College Tuition Fee!

The other day on the drive down to Delaware Technical Community College to teach “Building Your Own Blog” Workshop, the host talked about a recent report that stated that many companies are no longer requiring a college degree.  He stated that it was mainly due to the rising costs of tuition and low and behold, my ex-employer, IBM was on the list!

I was like WTW and said to myself, “Don’t Dumb Down the Degree Just Lower the College Tuition Fee!” duh!

Don’t get me wrong, I know not everyone is college material and oftentimes recruiters deny applicants a chance to apply for a job because he or she lacks a college degree, but what upset me was, why is getting an education in today’s world have to be so costly?

In college students learn more than academics, they learn important life lessons that will make them a stronger well rounded individual.  I think other than the “extradentals” colleges should be offering low cost to no cost educational options to everyone.  Students come out of college with a degree and a massive amount of debt with parents oftentimes shouldering the bulk of the bill!

 

Well, in case you missed the news below is an article about the 14 companies that no longer require a college degree, however, my question still remains and I ask for your thoughts on if dumbing down a degree is better than lowering the fee to get one?

ORIGINALLY POSTED ARTICLE : Google, Apple and 12 other companies that no longer require employees to have a college degree

Today’s tight labor market continues to be a promising landscape for job seekers, with economists even predicting more opportunities for professionals without a degree.

Job-search site Glassdoor compiled a list of top employers who are expanding their talent options by no longer requiring applicants to have a college degree. Companies like Google, Apple and IBM are all in this group.

In 2017, IBM’s vice president of talent Joanna Daley told CNBC Make It that about 15 percent of her company’s U.S. hires don’t have a four-year degree. She said that instead of looking exclusively at candidates who went to college, IBM now looks at candidates who have hands-on experience via a coding boot camp or an industry-related vocational class.

Check the list below to see what other top companies you can score a job at if you don’t have a college degree:

Google has expanded its Google for Jobs initiative, launched last summer, to feature a job search tool that uses AI technology. The company believes it will radically change the online job-seeking experience.

Bloomberg | Getty Images
Google has expanded its Google for Jobs initiative, launched last summer, to feature a job search tool that uses AI technology. The company believes it will radically change the online job-seeking experience.

1. Google

Glassdoor company rating on a five-point scale: 4.4

Current openings include: product manager, recruiter, software engineer, product marketing manager

Hiring locations include: Mountain View, CA; Austin, TX; San, Francisco, CA

Click to view openings

Penguin and Random House in Deal Talks

Joseph Devenne | Getty Images

2. Penguin Random House

Glassdoor company rating on a five-point scale: 3.8

Current openings include: marketing designer, publicity assistant, senior manager of finance, production assistant

Hiring locations include: New York, NY; London, England; Colorado Springs, CO

Click to view openings

jetcityimage | iStock Editorial | Getty Images

3. Costco Wholesale

Glassdoor company rating on a five-point scale: 3.9

Current openings include: cashier, stocker, pharmacy sales assistant, bakery wrapper

Hiring locations include: Baton Rouge, LA; Vallejo, CA; Kalamazoo, MI

Click to view openings

Vehicles drive through the parking lot outside a Whole Foods Market Inc. location in Willowbrook, Illinois.

Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Vehicles drive through the parking lot outside a Whole Foods Market Inc. location in Willowbrook, Illinois.

4. Whole Foods

Glassdoor company rating on a five-point scale: 3.5

Current openings include: grocery team member, cashier, bakery team member, whole body team member

Hiring locations include: Napa, CA; Petaluma, CA; Tigard, OR

Click to view openings

The New York Hilton midtown hotel is show in this December 2013 photo.

Victor J. Blue | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The New York Hilton midtown hotel is show in this December 2013 photo.

5. Hilton

Glassdoor company rating on a five-point scale: 4

Current openings include: event manager, front office manager, housekeeper, hotel manager

Hiring locations include: San Rafael, CA; Napa, CA; Indianapolis, IN

Click to view openings

0554M919

John Greim | Getty Images

6. Publix

Glassdoor company rating on a five-point scale: 3.7

Current openings include: pharmacist, retail set-up coordinator, maintenance technician, job fair

Hiring locations include: Lakeland, FL; Atlanta, GA; Deerfield Beach, FL

Click to view openings

Apple CEO Tim Cook greets guests at the grand opening of Apple's Chicago flagship store on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. 

Scott Olson | Getty Images
Apple CEO Tim Cook greets guests at the grand opening of Apple’s Chicago flagship store on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois.

7. Apple

Glassdoor company rating on a five-point scale: 4

Current openings include: design verification engineer, engineering project manager, iPhone buyer

Hiring locations include: Santa Clara, CA; Austin, TX; Las Vegas, NV

Click to view openings

1006_29_peru120115118.jpg

Jeff Greenberg | Getty Images

8. Starbucks

Glassdoor company rating on a five-point scale: 3.8

Current openings include: barista, shift supervisor, store manager

Hiring locations include: Dublin, GA; San Francisco, CA; Compton, CA

Click to view openings

Pedestrians walk past a Nordstrom Inc. store.

Ben Nelms | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Pedestrians walk past a Nordstrom Inc. store.

9. Nordstrom

Glassdoor company rating on a five-point scale: 3.6

Current openings include: retail sales, cleaning, stock and fulfillment, bartender

Hiring locations include: Phoenix, AZ; Las Vegas, NV; Scottdale, AZ

Click to view openings

A cashier scans a customers purchases at a Home Depot store in New York.

Mark Kauzlarich | Bloomberg | Getty Images
A cashier scans a customers purchases at a Home Depot store in New York.

10. Home Depot

Glassdoor company rating on a five-point scale: 3.5

Current openings include: department supervisor, customer service sales, store support

Hiring locations include: Colonial Heights, VA; South Plainfield, NJ; San Diego, CA

Click to view openings

Pedestrians walk in front of the IBM building in New York.

Scott Mlyn | CNBC
Pedestrians walk in front of the IBM building in New York.

11. IBM

Glassdoor company rating on a five-point scale: 3.4

Current openings include: financial blockchain engineer, lead recruiter, contract and negotiations professional

Hiring locations include: San Francisco, CA; Raleigh-Durham, NC; Austin, TX

Click to view openings

Pedestrians pass in front of a Bank of America Corp. branch in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016.

Mark Kauzlarich | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Pedestrians pass in front of a Bank of America Corp. branch in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016.

12. Bank of America

Glassdoor company rating on a five-point scale: 3.5

Current openings include: client service representative, client associate, analyst, executive assistant

Hiring locations include: Tulsa, OK; Wilmington, DE; New York, NY

Click to view openings

Diners eat at a Chipotle restaurant in Chicago, Illinois.

Getty Images
Diners eat at a Chipotle restaurant in Chicago, Illinois.

13. Chipotle

Glassdoor company rating on a five-point scale: 3.4

Current openings include: district manager, kitchen manager, service manager

Hiring locations include: Sandy, UT; Woburn, MA; Pleasant Hill, CA

Click to view openings

Lowes Retail Store Sign

Getty Images

14. Lowe’s

Glassdoor company rating on a five-point scale: 3.3

Current openings include: plumbing associate, commercial sales loader, lumber associate

Hiring locations include: Westborough, MA; Omaha, NE; Mooresville, NC

This is an updated version of a story that appeared previously.

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Don’t miss: Why IBM wants to hire employees who don’t have a 4-year college degree

Self-made millionaire James Altucher: Don't go to college

Self-made millionaire James Altucher: Don’t go to college

 

6 thoughts on “Don’t Dumb Down the Degree Just Lower the College Tuition Fee!

  1. I think whether a degree is needed for a specific job or not depends entirely on the requirement of the job. I also believe that no child capable of the work should be denied the opportunity to go to college because of finances. That is in the best interest of absolutely no one.

    1. Thank you and yes, I agree, students who want to attend college should have an opportunity to do so without having to be saddled with debt along with a degree.

  2. Very interesting. The Portland police eliminated their requirement for a 4 year degree citing the pay and cost of the education and the cost of living were not in harmony to get the best applicants. I don’t buy it for a minute! I agree a college education is ridiculously high but help like in my example from the police or other employers in a program seems like a way to get the best candidates.

    1. College is definitely too costly and it’s more than academics. In college you meet and learn about the lives of many, you have an opportunity to interact and live with others which I think is an asset especially for police officers.

  3. Unless you’re entering a highly specialized field, the main benefit of college is it opens the doors to alternate way of thinking and exposes you to different ideas and invites you to connect them into a worldview. Once you get a job, as long as you can think for yourself you can handle whatever tasks most jobs require.

    1. Tony, yes, I totally agree, learning and living with others broadens your horizons and prepares you the diversity of life and broadens your perspective.

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