By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
overman1 on 22 August 2014
Edit Thread
sc94597 said:
overman1 said:
sc94597 said:
overman1 said:

 alot of my friends who are just as educated as I am and still need a second sometimes third jobs to keep themselves and family afloat. 

When you say, "just as educated" you mean in the same field right? The problem with today's graudates is that they don't specialize in fields that have demand. Unless you subscribe to the labor theory of value (solely) the value of goods or services is not determined by the amount of labor put into producing them, but also (or solely) by the subjective value they hold in the eyes of others. So it makes perfect sense, for those who don't subscribe to such a theory, that some people who work just as hard don't succeed as easily.

Not entire true...

First it is very hard to tell when a certain field is open for your knowledge nowadays. Unless you pick a very stable job like Doctor etc. you can be so sure about your field anymore, the free market now flutuates like hell.

Secondly, I have friends with Masters in Law, Computer Science, Physics, Biology and even Education but thety still cant find work. Unless they wouldnt might downgrading. The other problem is too many people are doing the same courses. the work section for certain jobs have shrink severely and these sectors are overmanned. Could they do something else? yes, would it pay as much as they would have if they got a job they studied for? No.

there are more collage graduate now than ever but yet many are still unemployed. 

Actually, it is easier than ever. The internet provides plenty of resources when it comes to the demand and market price of certain occupations. 

For example, 

http://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm

Education is not a free-market, and that is why it is so hard to predict. The equillibrium price changes based on location. In urban cities you find shortages of educators, while in suburban areas you find surpluses. What one can predict is the unpredictability of the occupation, and that is why teacher unions are some of the largest, despite it being a government-financed occupation (no private unions come close.) 

Your friends must be missing out on a lot of opportunities. Computer Scientists are especially a high demand job. Physicists know very well that if they want to do physics they need a PhD, and if they get a PhD they will make it pretty easily - somewhere (I'm a physics major.) If they don't get a PhD, there are many companies hiring from finance sectors to industry, to lower education, just for the analytic skills one gains as a physics major.So again I doubt your "friends" are representative considering what I know of the field. As for biologists, they have even a wider scope of applications. There is a huge industry in biology, plenty of biologists need in academia, and overall biology is one of the "safer" sciences to go into. Lawyers might not be in demand like they used to be, but in today's age in the rising demand of civil disputes, I find it hard to believe that a lawyer can't find a good job. 

As for your last sentence, that explains it right there. There are more, and therefore the supply of college graduates is so much greater, making the equillibrium price so much less. Your value depends on your uniqueness and ability to provide a role that nobody else can provide, but which people demand. How much you are paid depends on these criteria. If there are many more teachers, then you as an individual teacher will have so many more to compete with, and unless you excel, the demand for you specifically is less. The more competitive the field, the more you have to give. That is just how nature works. 

With your first point right, education in the US is defintely not a free market since a great chuck of it is state controlled and regulated. While you are right about the availabilty of broad jobs. my friend who has a physics degree is married with 2 children. That is a factor for him being unable to properly pursue a PhD. now my friends aside, how many college student study in college for the sciences. if a student were to study finance or accounting. What are the chaces for a job despite the broadness of the field?