I have some thoughts that may surprise some.
I was sitting in the commencement ceremony of my brother in law and was thinking about the great achievement he has accomplished by getting his masters degree in Accounting. I was looking around at the crowd and thought about how many hours goes into something that one wants to master. I was reading in a book called Launching a Leadership Revolution and Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady mentioned that it takes over 10 thousand hours.
The effort he accomplished should be recognized as a high achievement and he should have lots of people cheering for him. I noticed that that the crowd was not that many and was a bit shocked to see such a small group for such a large graduating class. I remembered back to my graduation and there were many more spectators than there were this year for this class.
I also noticed that there were many that left early. When they got their diploma most quickly and quietly walked out and left. This was soon followed by many others including family of graduates and other spectators. I was beginning to feel that the degrees that were being awarded were not being rewarded they were being downgraded. It seemed to me that the importance of the effort and learning that one goes through has become less important and is beginning to become a thing that one checks a box. Or even a thing that one really doesn’t call a big step into life.
If we even consider just a little bit about what these degrees cost we can see some very interesting trends. It is even a bit of a shocker! The cost per semester for a Masters of Accounting is about $31,850 dollars and most take a couple of years working for that degree. So it usually takes close to 4 years to get a masters degree. So the time it take and the cost that seems really expensive. If I look at the Engineering Degree most are even more like close to $60,000 because they usually take more years to finish. This is really astonishing to me and I begin to wonder what the importance or even the reason for such great a cost. This is like buying a new car. And I bet the depreciation of that degree probably makes the degree not worth much just after a very short time after receiving it. Are we getting degrees for no good reason. Are we bloating the meaning, essentially making the whole meaning of the degree meaningless?
A growing trend I am seeing is the high paying positions that most aspire to have one day (especially just after getting a degree) are the choice people are working to achieve. But when we look at the ones that actually get the job are ones that have people skills. There is some level of technical skills that one most likely will have are learned from on the job training, but the reason one is selected is because of their ability to work with other people. These “soft skills” are the key, and it is not common for one to get this kind of training in a college setting.
These trends also are found in a statistical approach too. If you look at the number of college degrees or graduates that actually have a job after graduation is really close to 60%. This is absolutely crazy. You have to get a job that doesn’t even pertain to your degree to get a job with some relation to your degree. If you even look at what careers people go into and most will not even make a career with the degree they got. I am so shocked by this.
Thank goodness the plan my brother in law has is he worked out a job situation while in school and had it lined up before he even graduated. I have found that most don’t look this far ahead to make this the general outcome. I was also blessed to do the same to have a job in the same career as my degree. I also had a job lined up that actually paid for the schooling I got. There are many getting in but then to move on to the higher paying positions you have to make the right connections and you have to talk to the right people. They then have to like you because they usually choose the people that have people skills and work well with a team.
I am so grateful for the LIFE App because this is exactly what I have found, a method that teaches people skills and helps one get into the positions that do pay more. I am grateful for the many offers that have been given to me for different positions in the organization I am in. I am confident that without having the connection to the LIFE App as my life line I would not have what I have today.
Congrats to the graduates, and as a reminder that the school of Business speaker said today. “Hard-work and dedication will take us far” I hope our graduates can continue to work hard and to succeed in all they do. For they truly earned it!
