And that kid that’s making his own job? That’s precisely what we need in this country – a drive to succeed and a willingness to do hard work.

An eighth grade education in the late 1800’s to mid 1900’s meant a better education than a high school diploma with a few years of college does today. Brother Rabbit is right. We spend too much time and energy and money dithering over self-esteem and diversity and pc stuff and not enough on sheer educating in math, science, reading, spelling, and writing. But there will be a trophy for everyone who shows up!

First, many of us college graduates mowed lawns through high school. The young man the Guardian cites is not unique.

Second, has anyone tried to actually get a job in the past 10 years (and especially in the past 3) without a college degree? Good luck.

We can wax philosophic about whether the market is saturated with college grads and taking on large student loan debt is prudent; these are interesting questions. But the reality is not having a degree pretty much forecloses you from most jobs. That secretary with a doctorate the well-educated electrical engineer (irony!) references: all else being equal, would you hire the college graduate or the lady with only a high school diploma?

The job market now is like any job market: it is competitive and people do all they can to become better positioned to succeed, whether that’s starting their own business or working for someone else.

EDITOR NOTE–TJ, for clarification. We make no conclusions, that’s why we put up the topic. There IS a problem when we keep pumping out college grads and don’t have jobs for them.

I marvel at the millions of kids that spend their future income or their
parents present savings in order to obtain that four (or more) year
degree in history, sociology, language, art, etc., and are then
surprised after they graduate, that they cannot find a job.

I remember working on a project in central California where I had need for a
secretary/clerk (mid 1980’s). I hired a young lady who had a doctorate
in ancient history. All those years in school and she was earning just
over the minimum wage.

My point is that somebody needs to look at our present (and if possible,
future) job situation. What and where are all the jobs. What level of
education do these jobs require? What portion of the job market could
be better served with vocational studies?

As it presently stands, we are graduating these kids with all these
degrees and they cannot find jobs. On top of that, I believe it is
fairly safe to say that we have dumbed down the requirements for
graduating from all levels of education. Our schools spend far too much
time on social engineering and far too little time on math and the
sciences. We are graduating all these young students who cannot find
employment but each year we are asking for greater numbers of foreign
worker visas in order to fill the technical positions. Why is that?

We are in an ever increasing downward spiral and I do not see any of our
present leaders willing to step up and admit that there is a problem.
Until they do, this problem will only increase until it reaches a
boiling point.

And don’t worry, the finacial condition of America is just fine until after Obama’s re-election.