Osborne, Ashley: Credentialing

There was once a time when education was a rare and highly valued attainment. Over the years, as more people sought out knowledge, it became easier for people to realize their dream and obtain a degree. “Dignity must be drained from the credential,” or else degrees will inflate and the more people that have them, the less they will be worth. This means that we have to stop overrating the importance of credentials.  More emphasis needs to be put on the work that doesn’t require a degree, such as manual labor. Yes, garbage collectors are paid less than lawyers, but are essential to keeping our society running. If everyone wants a degree, then there will be less stability in society.

“The accreditation arms race will become more fearsome,” meaning increased competition for higher paying, better jobs. It will become about who has the most education, that piece of paper signifying their qualifications. There will be more people out of work, because they can’t get a job with their hard earned, expensive degree. Of course, there will be plenty of lower level jobs open, but I bet that someone who just spent 4 years of their life trying to get somewhere in life won’t want to resort to a job that only requires on-the-job training.

“Yesterday’s medals will become tomorrow’s baubles,” restates how things that were so precious and rare a few years ago, are only going to be commonplace in the future. A bachelor’s degree in teaching won’t matter if everyone has a master’s degree. The former becomes irrelevant and people are forced into gaining higher credentials if they ever want to amount to anything.

“Quadrupling the supply of gold stickers is one way to devalue the credential; getting rid of the sticker system altogether is another,” because when everyone has credentials it is the same as no one having any. Inflation of credentials is obviously a problem that we need to face. But if we get rid of credentials altogether, how will we know who is qualified for a job and who isn’t? The answer is not dismissing the credentials, but emphasizing the importance of jobs that don’t require degrees, and taking off much of the pressure of getting a college education. I’m not saying that following one’s dreams of becoming a doctor or a lawyer is bad, but there are less prestigious jobs that are equally important to society.