The World Might Be Better Off Without College for Everyone | Hacker News Reader

The World Might Be Better Off Without College for Everyone

theatlantic.com

39 pointsSQL22196 comments

I read this and it seems to make a lot of good points..However, I'm not sure if the fact that I'm reading this at 2am instead of studying for my Spanish and Discrete Math exams validates or discredits the argument. I plan to review it again in a week when I can think straight.

I wonder what the net effect is from electronic job applications and the addition of the college degree check box; removing the human element. Then later filters which hiring managers use to set requirements for positions which turn away a fair amount of people from even applying. Is this when credentialism and education inflation began to run away?

Looking at archive.org, Facebook in 2006 said something along the lines of "A degree in Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), or equivalent work experience," but in early 2007 job listings contained "BS or BFA in any field" or "M.S. Computer Science or related field" [0][1].

[0] https://web.archive.org/web/20060203042947/http://www.facebo... [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20070210022307/http://www.facebo...

edit: where->when

The reason they can use check boxes is as an easy filter, as a credential arms race has made so many certified applicants, and the mean ability in that pool is higher as Caplan points out (mostly due to selection, not by learning).

Also instead of being hired by a senior worker, you are hired via human resources.

It's much easier for HR to require a degree than verifying abilities for a particular role they have only surface level understanding of.

Education inflation is difficult to solve when assessing the value of “education/experience currency” means having to consider “exchange rates” between different fields (see CS vs ‘Computer Engineering’) and institutions (potential degree mill, boot camp, well known university?). The opportunity for arbitrage and dumping “education currency” into the market is really huge so long as we see “education” as a single currency rather than a collection of different ones. It would be insanity to treat all fiat currency as one unit of value, one country deciding to print more money directly causing inflation for the whole world. Why should education be treated any differently as a market?

I think this is a very good point that needs to be explored more.

"The college-for-all mentality has fostered neglect of a realistic substitute: vocational education."

Education should not be about marketable skills, and this is all this article talks about...

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