Analyst attributes poll decline to economic reality, not education value itself
2 Oct 30 · 8d ago · 1 post · 15 comments · 2 sources · development 2 of 2
The author of the Bryan Alexander article argues the poll measures perceived economic value of degrees, not intrinsic educational worth. The collapse began post-2008 recession when college-educated workers faced unemployment, student debt crises emerged, and inequality widened—factors that shifted the calculus away from traditional four-year degrees toward alternatives like trade school.
“Rather, I think this poll measures what people think about what a college degree provides in economic, social, and political opportunities.”
Bryan Alexander articleGallup Survey organizationBryan Alexander Education analyst
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What people said 17 voices · best of 18 · verbatim
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The problem is ultimately what it always is - money.Instead of higher education being something that people do because they want to do it, because they're passionate about a subject or simply want to grow and learn - it became viewed as an edge that would help you get jobs more quickly or better-paying ones. You spent some of your money and time…
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I'm in Europe so maybe my view is different, though there's a lot of that thinking over here too: the only possible value of higher education is the advantage it gives me in relation to others (competitiveness, perception...).But there are other more important (imho) values.First, it is an excellent opportunity for personal worth. Socially: change…
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I think there are several interrelated factors at play here1) is the dilution of the “college” degree in terms of quality - an online degree does not generate the same outcomes as from a highly selective institution.2) value for money for a college degree keeps declining (unless you get it for free) - tuitions have gone up astronomically and…
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The original point of college (modern era) was to give employers confidence that you knew the work subject and could perform proficiently.College weeded out those who couldn't cut it.Then we decided everyone needs to go to college, and that society would blindly place a college tuition bet on each person.Now everyone is going to college, and with…
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I’m confused why this isn’t talked about more often.As a parent, most of my time that I spend thinking about money is thinking about how to pay for college. It is the second largest purchase im going to make next to my house, and it is the financial decision that sucks up the most thought.If my kids have a 1/3 chance of interacting with someone…
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> If my kids have a 1/3 chance of interacting with someone that doesn’t think college is worth it,Many people believe college is not worth it for everyone, but believe a college degree is important for the job they’re hiring for.This statistic also includes people who think college is too expensive for what it delivers, but that the value of a…
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Higher Ed (and Ed) has declined once again as well. There are many majors that are, to be completely honest, jokes and shouldn't even exist. I personally had plenty of classes that I wrote an essay and knew I would get an A as long as I agree with the professor's/teacher's pet political views, or the same paper would mysteriously be docked a few…
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That's what happens when the real world starts to hit us all, and we realize that the push towards college when we were growing up was largely propaganda (not to say teachers don't really believe in its usefulness, but they can't back it up with facts).I was 'lucky' enough to only spend $30k on my seemingly-useless Computer Science degree. If I…
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Not going to college was probably one of the better decisions I made. I chose to join the US Navy instead as a submariner (nuclear). Rather than signing up for 100k student debt, I was signing a 100k enlistment bonus. I was able to purchase my first house at 22. I was then immediately picked up by Google once my enlistment expired.Obviously…
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I don’t get this reasoning at all.College should be for becoming educated. Not for getting a job.If paying huge amounts of money isn’t worth it to you to be educated, fine. But that doesn’t mean the education is bad, just that it’s not worth it from a financial perspective.I studied philosophy and art, even though I could have studied something…
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With anything that requires patience, you have a problem competing with immediate rewards.Why should I learn Stoke's Theorem? Why should I learn Nietzsche? Questions you can't answer until you learn them, and questions that compete with "how will I find a job" and "how will I find a girlfriend".The problem is, if you don't learn how to answer such…
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Information is practically free now. And many people that are fresh out of college are still not ready for the careers their degrees supposedly prepared them for. I expect either for colleges to adapt to provide more real-world knowledge or for companies to care less about whether someone has a degree and more about their work history and personal…
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These articles never ever bring up the long history of anti-intellectualism in the United States. College may indeed be getting less “worth it” in pure financial terms, but it’s certainly ironic that many people only had a high view of them in the first place because of the supposed financial benefits. Now that those financial benefits are less…
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You know what surprised me about this data? They break down the % who say having a college degree is very important by different dimensions. One dimension is, people who went to college vs. not.You would think that people who have a college degree would be much more likely to say that college is very important. But even they are pretty lukewarm…
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As I said in another comment the cost of university in the US seems to vary a great deal. Can Americans explain how much is typical? It sounds like you start saving for it before you know what university they will go to and what they will do. How much do you typically aim to save?Americans have told me in the past how much they personally are…
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Not sure why anyone would be surprised by this. People may still accept that they need a college degree to get their desired job, but that doesn't mean the education is actually worth it.Prices are up substantially. Grade inflation is out of control, demonstrating that people are paying for the credential more than the education. Masters degrees…
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Lower tuition 80% to get it back to 90s value and I guarantee a massive change in that graph.
All 2 developments of Gallup poll shows American confidence in college education… →
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