College degrees are becoming the new high school diploma when it comes to requirements for obtaining jobs, even low-level jobs, according to the New York Times.
The managing partner for the law firm of Busch, Slipakoff & Schuh, Adam Slipakoff, said, “College graduates are just more career-oriented. Going to college means they are making a real commitment to their futures. They’re not just looking for a paycheck.”
This change is being referred to as ‘degree inflation’ and it has been creeping into the job market of the United States for the past couple of years. With more and more companies requiring college degrees for open positions, those with just high school diplomas are experiencing higher unemployment rates.
There is such a difference that the unemployment rate for people holding a college degree is 3.7 percent. Those holding just a high school diploma have an unemployment rate of 8.1 percent.
“When you get 800 résumés for every job ad, you need to weed them out somehow,” said Suzanne Manzagol, executive recruiter at Cardinal Recruiting Group. “When I started recruiting in ’06, you didn’t need a college degree, but there weren’t that many candidates.”
Office camaraderie is stronger when everyone working there has been to college, according to Slipakoff.
“You know, if we had someone here with just a G.E.D. or something, I can see how they might feel slighted by the social atmosphere here,” he said. “There really is something sort of cohesive or binding about the fact that all of us went to college.”