Depending on what they study, most students go to college anywhere from two to seven-plus years. But in its new report exploring this topic, The Wall Street Journal has found that 52% of working graduates are in jobs that do not make use of their skills or credentials.
From that point of view, Adam Kissel, visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation's Center for Education Policy, points out that most students do not expect their degrees to set their job paths for the rest of their lives. Many do not understand the job market for the degree program that they have chosen, and the career that opens to them is often different from what they thought.
"The broader issue is that college is extremely overenrolled," he submits. "Far too many people who are not ready for college and shouldn't be in college are being persuaded to go to college, and a lot of them leave with debt and no degree."
Others end up with a degree that does not help them beyond their general education development. But the solution is simple.
"We need a lot more people going into career colleges and getting apprenticeships and a lot fewer people, those who are not really ready or cut out for it, going to a four-year college program," Kissel offers.
He advises students to think about the dynamics of a changing job market in the United States and thinks colleges should help them understand that as they proceed through their degrees.
He also thinks colleges should show students what their likely income would be a few years after they graduate college so they can better understand what their near future might look like with their degree.
