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[cookderosa]

"Any field with an AAS or AOS degree, if you go back 50 years, was probably an apprenticeship or on the job training career. Having an AAS/AOS is now a minimum in many of those fields for more than entry level (or sometimes for entry level) and not because the skills are now all of a sudden required to work the job, but because it's normed into the field and "everyone" has the training. I think making vocational/career/technical schools into academic degrees has been a setback, but again, another soap box of mine I'll stay off of."

I have to agree. For instance 20 years ago, when I first became credentialled as a Paramedic, a simple certificate of completion and passing the Natioanl Registry test was sufficient and EMS degrees weren't really heard of. The way it is now, alot of systems want an AAS at a minimum and if you have a BS/BA then you will rapidly ascend past those of us with 20 years experience and be telling us how to do our jobs.

People can line up with stories that support this. Ever think a line cook would need a college degree? What about a nurse? Landscaping, plumbing, construction, on and on.