Fondren, Michael: Credentialing

    I will discuss the following details from the article: “Death by Degrees”: the dependency of credentials from college to real life, and the importance of the credential's name.

    How important are credentials? The editors in the article questions the value of credentials as they quote a man named Jean Baudrillard who believes that exchange value underlines actually value, but that value is made from exchange. The editors use this to say that degrees do not determine merit, but merit is based on the total system of degrees. If a lot of people have a bachelor’s degree for the same job, then it’s hard for employers to hire an individual from the rest based on merit. Thus, employers would have to raise the standard by requiring a master’s degree, that way people stick out, making hiring easier. While growing up, I remember people saying that teaching in a 2-year college could be possible with a master’s degree. Now things appear different, it’s harder to get a teaching job. That said, I’ve noticed people saying that there are too many PhDs out there, so they end up teaching at 2-year colleges rather than universities. If “everyone” tries to get a degree—whether they need it or not—employers will have to keep raising the standard by requiring more education credentials.

    Does it matter if I decide to graduate to school at all? The authors write how most of the Obama administration's appointees have a degree from an Ivy League school. Who is more qualified for a job: a person who got their degree in an Ivy League school or a person who got their degree from a standard public university? Ivy League graduates stand out because of where they got their credentials. However, not everyone can afford the best schools. The article states the only way to lower credentials for these people is “…subverting the credentials from the top.” People from the top would have to decide to not go to college, but not everyone who can afford it will do that.

Its stuff like this that makes me appreciate that not every single job requires a college degree. Some people just need training at a vocational school. These people are respected and needed. It makes me question whether a college education helps the individual, but hurts the credential for employers as a whole. 

Shaffer, Cullen: Credentialing

            This is not the America of our forefathers. This is not that America where with hard work and perseverance one could make their way in life. In this America the citizens of this great nation are reminded at every turn that college is the way, the only way. Only 50% of people who attend college graduate with a bachelor’s degree, so what do the other 50% do? What of the people who don’t even make it to college? Are they left by the wayside, forced into menial low paying jobs? Some of America’s citizens will inevitably fall in this category. But others will find good paying jobs that do not require a college degree because honestly all the stuff required in college is not necessary to do most jobs. Colleges require people to learn all of this material and become “credentialed” when the reality is they won’t need to know how to do it on the job. Colleges however along with the “guild” associations ban together to set the standards unbearably high so that only a select few members of society can reach the “elite” plateau. It should not be required to have “million-dollar medical training… to perform an abortion.” The outrageous requirements to become a doctor or a lawyer are instituted by members of the elite who are intent of keeping their places and keeping everyone else out. College serves as way for many to better themselves and improve their position in life. But others are left unable to compete in multitude of jobs in the workforce today because they do not have a college degree. People could actually learn to perform many jobs that require college degrees by having on the job training instead of a college education. Realistically it doesn’t matter that someone knows history or can write an essay if one could rather be trained for a job that they could perform and they would then be allowed to contribute to society in an efficient manner. I will have to have a master’s degree to have the life I want to lead as a physical therapist and I will end up taking six chemistry courses that I don’t need. That’s the present system for Americans today.

Grier, Kelsey: Credentialing

“Death by Degrees” analyzes the increasing need for higher education and Ivy League degrees. This new need mimics what happened in China beginning in 605 BC. Emperor Yang Guang created a series of difficult exams. These exams, if passed, could help peasants become part of the elite group, bureaucrats. The exams were also used to decide how much rice and money people would make. For example people in higher tiers could receive up to 17 times the amount of rice a person in the bottom tier would receive. As time went on more and more people were able to pass the exams and become part of the elite group. With limited space left in government the emperor decided to make the exams more difficult. Many people could no longer pass the exams and the majority that did pass were wealthy, because they could afford tutors and to bribe the examiners. The difficult exams caused many people to end up in poverty with no way out and in debt from trying to pass the exams.

            What happened in China is beginning to happen in the United States. It is very difficult to get a job without at least a bachelor’s degree and it has almost become a necessity to have a master’s degree. Before long a master’s degree will not be enough and a doctorate degree will be needed. This can be discouraging to some people, because the cost of school is so high. To obtain all those degrees costs a vast amount of time and money, both of which some people do not have.

             Is it a bad thing that jobs are now requiring more education and higher degrees? For some jobs the amount of education needed can’t be learned in four years, for example doctors. The authors make a good point when they point out that too many degrees have useless core requirements. Middle school English teachers shouldn’t have to take Chemistry or Calculus. The education system in the United States focuses too much on trying to make a “well rounded student” and not enough on the subjects required for careers. If the focus were shifted to necessities instead of core requirements then people could graduate earlier and in less debt.

Godwin, Domonique: Credentialing

            My mother was always a pusher. She pushed me through sports, pageants, and above everything—school. "Education is the only thing in this world that can never be taken from you," she would say.

            In reading "Death by Degrees" I have come to realize how right the editors are when they point out a person's credentials should not be measured by their graduation certificate, a piece of paper, but by accomplishments and their ability to achieve. College has become an expensive stepping stone for a future in which I have to be certified with a Masters to be considered "qualified" for any "good paying" job.

            For example, I am a freshman in college, young (not even 18 yet), and already I am pushing to build my credentials. The more successful sides of the job market, involving quick inflation of ones' wallet, requires spunky individuals with outstanding recommendations and even better college degrees. As a result, students such as myself have to throw themselves into extra programs that set them apart from the majority. This is in hopes that an "esteemed" reward for spending thousands of dollars and training ourselves for four or more years in a particular subject, just as our counterparts did, will be commensurable in our reception of a  stamp on our graduation certificate. The difference is our graduation certificates will have a small stamp, unique to only us, placed in the bottom right corner to visually state that our classes were more difficult and our opportunities for experience in our chosen fields were more abundant. 

            Even my Honors College Director, Ed Kardas, stated on multiple occasions that he prefers not to assess a student's success rate based on their ACT scores. He has found that, statistics wise, students with better numerical qualifications are not always as successful in college.

            A college graduate with a Masters or Doctorate is considered to be in good credential standing. Ivy League graduates are in fantastic credential standing. As for myself, I need a Doctorate in psychology to start my own business and be noteworthy. Just as the Editors said, my " training will be overly complicated and outrageously expensive" whether I go big in my chosen career, or small. At this rate, by the time my kids graduate from college, something higher than a Doctorate will likely be invented due to the increased necessity for prestigious positions in every aspect of commendable credentials. 

Herren, Kyle: Credentialing

                  In “Death by Degrees,” the editors paint a strong picture. Their picture makes the degree a pivotal point in life. Without the degree in today’s society, one cannot compete with others.  Yang Guang established a system of education similar to today’s system. If you could pass the first step then you are able to increase your place in society, which led to the increase of people wanting to become relevant in society. Eventually there were many people who were eligible to become bureaucrats.

                  In modern society, one can see a change in the same way. To even be considered for most jobs, you must have a college degree. If you lack the college degree you would be turned away at the door. Some jobs even require a masters or a doctorate degree before being considered. Former president Bill Clinton said to this generation, “In my day you didn’t have to have a college degree to make a living. Today that has changed. I believe that you must have a college degree to succeed in today’s society.” Literally, he is saying that if you do not have a college education, then you indeed my die, literally death by not obtaining a degree.

                  This leads into the next point, that I am being forced to become credentialed. To make any living in society you must have a degree, from anywhere. My initial choices for college were Louisiana State University, Louisiana Tech, Ouachita Baptist with Southern Arkansas University being a backup if I couldn’t get into those schools. I ended up being accepted to all four colleges and had to make a decision.  I soon discovered that LSU wouldn’t waive out-of-state tuition, OBU was a private school that cost the most to attend, and Louisiana Tech was just barely out of reach financially. Therefore I made the most important decision of my life up to this point; I chose to attend Southern Arkansas University. In choosing SAU, I will leave college debt free and with a little money in my pocket. With the country just now recovering from a recession, my decision could give me a jump on my life in the real world. Although SAU isn’t Yale or Harvard, it is still a very good college that can give me a degree where I can survive and not die. 

McLelland, Kedar: Credentialing

It seems that today more than ever, a degree is the gateway to a brighter life full of success and riches. Right? Perhaps not. The practice of giving scholars accreditation is nothing new, dating back centuries before Christ, so should it be surprising that we’ve embraced this tradition and turned it into a money gobbling monster? Of course not! We’re Americans, and everything is done in excess and extravagance. The theory now is that if you don’t have a degree you pretty much amount to nothing. Our nation, and the world are becoming more and more obsessed with the pieces of paper that we call “diplomas.” The more years and money you pour into obtaining one, supposedly, the more learned you become, this in turn leads to enormous success in your personal life and business ventures.

                  And so it all comes down to a master factor: cost. It rules the way we approach almost everything in life nowadays and education is no different. A huge amount of high school sophomores say they want to go to college, and of course when you ask why the answer is, “To obtain a good, high paying job.” Myself? Oh, I was no different, but I never looked at the cost. Letters from huge name colleges came in, offers for scholarships were made. I’m talking five digit sums here, that’s enough to throw down the brakes and the money signs roll across my eyes like news tickers. In reality, the most well-known and respected colleges cost upwards of $100,000 a year. That by itself is the salary of the good paying job. So in this modern era, is it possible to not feel the pressure from degrees? I feel like there is a ton of pressure on us millennials to go to college and get a degree, it’s the “golden ticket” for your future nowadays. Society itself generates the image that people with degrees aren’t as successful. Colleges start recruiting at the 9^th grade level, what kind of drive is this? It has nothing to do with education anymore. It’s about separating the elite from the mediocre and uplifting those in the upper echelons even higher. That 1% is very real, and the gap is getting farther and farther then what most regular kids are able to jump, and honestly that terrifies me, a kid who is supposedly “better” than the others.

Lewis, Tyler: Credentialing

 With the current standing of our economy in the United States, college degrees are necessary to receive a good paying job with decent benefits, but today even that isn't enough.  College is becoming increasingly more common for youth to attend which creates more competition in America with the constant decline of jobs. The cost of college is also increasing, but without a college degree, the chances of one becoming successful go down to slim or none.

    Since that is  case in America, the demand for a degree at least at a master's level has become almost a requirement just to be considered for a job. Bachelor degrees used to work, but as the years pass on it is becoming evident that in order to have a place in the employed world, workers have to compete by getting an education that is becoming more and more unaffordable.

    Finding a degree plan for an affordable price was very hard for me. I was trying to attend an out of state college but found that even with the government assisting my financial needs that I would still have to pay a healthy part. I ended up deciding to attend SAU because I wouldn't have to pay for anything because of my in-state scholarships and the government's help. Getting my basics for free would be the better offer instead of taking out student loans especially since the statistic stated by the editors of the article titled Death by Degrees is that there is a debt of $300 billion dollars from student loans not being paid back. If finding a job straight out of college might be tough, the student loan would not be the way to start of my life in the real world. College students also have to earn money somehow in order to pay for everyday expenses such as gas, food, toiletries, and other necessities. With little to no jobs, students are finding it hard to live on campus.

    A college student can easily relate to this article no matter what their circumstances are, but one thing remains clear. College or an type of higher education demands are increasing, and job availability is decreasing. America is in a desperate state and needs improvement in this area. Hopefully by the time I'm done with college, there will be jobs.