8 College Degrees with the Worst Return on Investment

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

it used to be that college was absolutely necessary to getting a good job. 

I'll take this and run with it as if it were a pair of scissors...

It may not be 'necessary', but more and more companies are requiring at least a associates degree before even looking at a resume.  And we're talking about entry level jobs, specifically in the construction industry on the management side.  I had difficulty getting interviews with companies that I have worked for as a subcontractor for several 6-7 years.

The couple of PMs that I knew had told me about openings and asked me to come over, and they just 'assumed' that I had a degree of some sort.   I never made it past the first interview with any of the companies, even with over a decade of experience in the field. 

I get that in a lot of cases, 'who you know' is a helluva lot more important that 'what you know', but when you can't get past the local interviews due to a lack of 'paper qualification'.

[Overstreet]

I told my kids to get as much education as they can when they are young because it never gets any easier. later on responsibility, job, and family get in the way.  Also the first college degree may get you in the door but the second will cement your vocation. For example, my oldest daughter took a psychology degree and went into space and missile systems for the Air Force. The Major selectee is now studying for her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree.  The Psychology degree was just a stepping stone. But none of that is in the field of psychology and likely would not show up in this type ranking.   

Many of the previous posters had undergrad degrees on the list but graduate degrees in a specific field.

The problem stems from definition.  On a technical degree you have a defined starting point. Those on the list not so much.

Another example. My first degree was in Aviation Maintenance. I spend a lot of years as a USAF Aircraft & Munitions Maintenance Officer. I have another in Construction. I now am a Senior Project Manager building big buildings.  Both definable as to profession. 

[Tacachale]

it used to be that college was absolutely necessary to getting a good job. 

I'll take this and run with it as if it were a pair of scissors...

It may not be 'necessary', but more and more companies are requiring at least a associates degree before even looking at a resume.  And we're talking about entry level jobs, specifically in the construction industry on the management side.  I had difficulty getting interviews with companies that I have worked for as a subcontractor for several 6-7 years.

The couple of PMs that I knew had told me about openings and asked me to come over, and they just 'assumed' that I had a degree of some sort.   I never made it past the first interview with any of the companies, even with over a decade of experience in the field. 

I get that in a lot of cases, 'who you know' is a helluva lot more important that 'what you know', but when you can't get past the local interviews due to a lack of 'paper qualification'.

That's becoming more and more of a problem. One of my best friends has been passed over many times in his company because he doesn't have his AA in favor of people who have pieces of paper in totally unrelated fields, and in some cases people with degrees from unaccredited schools. It's become frequent that HR software automatically sorts out any applicants who don't have "minimum requirements" before anyone even gets to look at them.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

and in some cases people with degrees from unaccredited schools. It's become frequent that HR software automatically sorts out any applicants who don't have "minimum requirements" before anyone even gets to look at them.

^^  I also believe that this is becoming a big issue as well. 

[CityLife]

^A lot of public sector type jobs require you answer a few questions to see if you meet the required education or experience before you can even apply these days. If not you get an overwhelming amount of unqualified applicants. I reviewed applications at my last job for a position that required either a masters or certain experience, and we still got quite a few absolutely ridiculous applicants. Given the ease of applying over the internet, there have to be some type of quality control measures, or application reviewers get bogged down.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Personally, I think every application should come with a test, but I'm sure that actually verifying someone's skill-set during / before the interview process would give some an unfair advantage...   

It could easily be done for interweb applicants as well.

If the job requires you to type 50wpm, then there should be a typing test.

If the job requires knowledge of basic Word, Excel programs, then, as a hiring department, there should be a way to find out beforehand.

I'm sorry, but it doesn't take a degree to file paperwork and I'm of the opinion that actual job knowledge should trump a piece of paper in every instance. 

I guess those two examples are quite possibly the reason that I'm now self-employed.   

[CityLife]

I was a Poli Sci/International Affairs major with enough minors (english, philosophy, film studies) to make Buster Bluth jealous. Had a lot of work experience prior to graduation...and after graduation worked at a bank for a year, then Fidelity Investments for a year, then went to grad school for Urban and Regional Planning. Literally got my Masters in the worst year ever for people in my field, but also left my job at Fidelity right before the market crash, so I guess that worked out. Was one of the first people hired at Fidelity in Jax and was to be in the first group promoted before I quit, which would have put me in line for either a managerial position or high net worth client position. Basically, I'd be making way more money than I am now, without having to take out loans for grad school. However, I'm much more satisfied professionally and think that my long term career trajectory is a lot more exciting.

I think Tacachale made a great point about the flaw in looking at what jobs require each degree vs. what people with each degree do. I don't have any data and I may be wrong, but I believe a very high percentage of CEO's and execs have Liberal Arts backgrounds...though of course many probably also have advanced degrees.

[Tacachale]

^My boss's bachelor's is in fine arts and a Ph.D. in art education, and he's a VP at a university.

[Overstreet]

Except in large bureaucracies.............corporate and government......where the degree is a square filler for HR job descriptions.......the degree may get you in the door but it is still what you do that gets you ahead. 

[simms3]

I have friends/acquaintances at Goldman, Carlyle, Blackrock or [insert bank/equity shop here] who have liberal arts degrees.  Granted, most people I know and work with at this point went to Ivy League or some prominent university and come from established backgrounds, so it's not apples to apples.  We just hired two associates for the office/division I work in this week and one did undergrad at Middlebury, yet his first job out of college was at Lehman.  He has his MBA from Dartmouth.  The other did undergrad at Bryant in RI (Communications), has no MBA, and yet has managed to snag jobs at AEW, Dubai Investment Group, Eastdil Secured and UBS.

There are so many factors at play that these rankings become silly.  Yes, overall, majoring in Lit and minoring in journalism or something along those lines will not land you an analyst position at Credit Suisse or an engineering job at DoD or Lockheed, but for the former if you have connections, went to a school seen by the financial sector's elite as respectable, made good grades, and interview well - then you have good chances, even if you don't have a Bs in Finance, etc.

[spuwho]

and in some cases people with degrees from unaccredited schools. It's become frequent that HR software automatically sorts out any applicants who don't have "minimum requirements" before anyone even gets to look at them.

^^  I also believe that this is becoming a big issue as well.

It is well documented that HR management systems from companies like Taleo sort out resumes without the correct type and amount of keywords in the resume.

At a friends recommendation, I submitted a resume for a particular role he had recommended for me.  At his request, I emailed him when I had completed this. The next day he could not find my submission immediately. The HR Recruiting engine had sifted through my resume and placed it in the bottom quartile of the applicants.  Surprised, he pulled it "out of the dumps" and made sure it got to the corporate recruiter.

No joy, the recruiter saw on the system that my profile ranked lower than other candidates that submitted electronically. Because of that they told the hiring manager to not contact me since I was "not recommended" by the system.

Now, the system is one thing, but is it really the recruiters fault for not using their own mind to make decisions?

Today being in a connected world where a job posting can now be see by a potential 5 or 6 billion world wide, I have been on the other side of the tree where I got over a thousand responses to a posting, 900 of which were from overseas, with resumes or profiles that aren't even close to matching the requirements. The only way to screen out these candidates was to use the same profile scanning engine as I noted before.

College degree can help, it helps you get past certain qualifiers, but there is more to it now in a global job economy.

[JFman00]

PBS has been doing a series on job-hunting in today's economy.  A recurring theme is the inefficiency of the typical online job search. Great article from April: Ask The Headhunter: The Talent Shortage Myth and Why HR Should Get Out of the Hiring Business

A senior project manager with a large multinational I know has never accepted an HR recommended candidate and always hired from within or through his own connections. Apparently they never sent him candidates with the combination of skills, attitude and work ethic he looks for. For better or worse, networking is more than a trendy buzzword these days (something I'm still terrible at doing myself).

[duvaldude08]

I have an associates in Visual Communications (web design), and I'll be finish in Jan with a bachelors in Communications & Technology.

[mbwright]

I have a BA in Music, instrument Bassoon.  I have been working in the IT field for about 15 years.  Music deals with discipline, organization, analysis, attention to detail, creativity, grace under pressure, accuracy (it's got to be done correctly) and much more that apply to the IT arena.  I have many friends with musical backgrounds that work in IT.