I’m sitting here on Christmas Eve doing a little reading and I just came across this post (Business Week) about how the real wages of those with college degrees has declined for the fourth straight year.  I can’t say that I find it surprising, but it is a little depressing.  I’d say that it is evidence that today’s college degree is equivalent to a high school degree in my parents’ day.  Back in "the day" you could be pretty certain that you could get a good job with a high school degree, but as the US economy shifted away from manufacturing and towards "knowledge work" it became more important to have the skills equated with a college degree.

Of equal interest to me was a comment attached to the blog post that was written by someone who obviously graduated from college in the 70s with a degree from a liberal arts college.  She blurted  that old saw about how going to college isn’t about making more money it’s about being able to ask questions, expand your mind, etc.  Then she said that she’d recently been an adjunct professor at a state college in the south and all the students cared about was passing the test, not "learning", and if that was indicative of today’s students then colleges are in trouble.

That cracked me up.  Does she really believe that students in the 70s were that different?  I guarantee you there were as many students just looking to pass the test in her day, but maybe she didn’t know them or hang out with them. Her observations about college in the 70s were just as anecdotal as those about today’s students.  And does she really think that college is just about expanding your mind for the sake of expanding your mind?  No, it’s learning how to think so that you can be more successful later in life (notice I didn’t say wealthier, although that’s often a consequence of being more successful) and essentially a more productive contributor to society.  Believe me, if the average student didn’t expect a positive economic impact from earning their degree they wouldn’t go to college.

And let’s not forget about networking.  As another commenter to the post said it isn’t what you know, it’s who you know.  While that’s simplistic it is partly true.  If two qualified people are in the running for a position or a deal then if one person has a personal connection to the decision maker then they have an inside track.  There’s no doubt that you begin the "who do you know" game in college and it definitely provides a leg up in your professional life.

Unfortunately, it seems from the data provided by the post’s author that the old BA/BS is less valuable today than it was five years ago.  Still, I’d certainly rather have a less valuable BA than none at all.