by Arnold Nadler

Created on: April 05, 2007   Last Updated: May 02, 2007

How much education is enough to succeed?

Back in the early part of the last century people who obtained a high school education were considered very well educated. Then a little later on in the 50's and 60" a university degree such as a BA or BC was enough to get a good job, and build a future.

THINGS CHANGED IN THE 70'S AND 80'S

In the seventies and eighties the trend changed and employers wanted people who had obtained master degrees. So many people went back to school, studied hard for a few extra years, and earned their degrees. Then we were flooded with people who had master degrees seeking jobs. Employers would tell many applicants they were too educated for their job positions. There used to be sort of scale for salary based on a person's education. With so many people applying for the same jobs, employers were able to reduce those salary scales knowing people needed work.

THE 90'S

One of my oldest friends is a journalist who had written for all kinds of very well known publications, and was respected for his work and talent in the industry. In the 80's he went back to University and received a master's degree in journalism. He had been a freelance writer and thought with his new degree he could land a full time writing position with a daily publication. He applied everywhere and was offered odd articles, no full time work. He spent many years working in a video store trying to land a position in his field.

After many years he was offered a job as a director of a particularly festival in his city. He made $24,000/ year, and was responsible for almost everything including choosing the right shows for audiences to see, and even being the Master of ceremonies for the events. He worked there for many years, hoping his employer would recognize his dedication, and give him a suitable raise. Unfortunately for him it never happened. In 2000 and something he left, and is still looking for a full time position today.

TODAY

More people seem to be veering towards college specialization programs, and attending the schools that provide 9-12 month graduate programs. I was curious about how it worked, so I went to a career college that specialized in computer related services. They set up an appointment for me with some they called a "Career counselor", nice word for salesperson. The cost for screening was a non refundable deposit of $100. If you passed the screening you were invited to attend. The cost was $13,000, and they would help you get a loan if needed. At the end of the training, they would help you find a job. All they really offered was to show you how to do a resume, and contact possible employers. If you had been lucky, you might get an entry level position for about $25,000 gross per year. My big question is how does a person get by for those months, and with what extra money do you actually payback the loan?

FINAL THOUGHT

In my opinion, unless you have graduated an Ivy League university, were the employers actually will seek you out, the chances of having a successful job for life are very slim. We should really consider whatever fields we want to excel in needs some sort a business education to accompany it, so we can rely on ourselves to build our own business futures.

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