It has come to my attention that in today’s economy it is entirely possible to be overqualified and under-experienced. Not only is it possible, it’s common, it’s an epidemic! Is it possible that too many people are going to college? Are too many people coming out with degrees? There are thousands of colleges out there these days. Not only are there the junior colleges and universities of the old days, there are now purely online universities, private universities and colleges by the score, and growing numbers of public universities as the demand for higher education continues to grow.

But is this just a vicious cycle? Do you actually need a four year degree in psychology to be a scheduler for a marriage counselor? Do you need a BS in Math to work as a junior book keeper? Aren’t we setting the standards for these jobs a little high? But yet every one of these positions requires a college degree. It seems that these days every office, sales, or white collar jobs says “BA/BS preferred.” Thus creating the need for more people to go to college and get a degree to fill the position that they didn’t really need a degree to do.

Wouldn’t it be fairer to our students to provide more specialized vocational training or career advise at an early age? Would it be completely un-PC to give job training in high school instead of requiring students to take a 4th year of English they don’t want or a 3rd year of a language they’ve been failing for 2 years before? Couldn’t we offer these students technology training or carpentry skills or book keeping? Can’t we tell our kids that not everyone needs to go to college to succeed? Can’t we just say out loud that this pressured academic requirement we’ve created is keeping our kids from succeeding? What we’re doing instead is pushing students to go to a college, that may or may not be truly accredited, get into tens of thousands of dollars of debts, only to begin a job that will pay them the same or less than a vocational job they could have had right out of high school.

And then there are people like me. A four year degree, 2 years of grad school and a teaching credential. And the jobs I’m being offered are either paying $10/hr, but to which I’ll never be hired since I’m incredibly overqualified to spend my day filing and copying. It seems employers would rather hire someone with fewer credentials, since they are less likely to leave the position for something better. And the jobs that I would like, that pay according to my academic credentials, I don’t have the relevant experience for; that is, I didn’t spend the last 3-5 years copying and filing. So what am I to do?

I think I’ll try a writing career!