AAS options post-Pierpont

[Ares]

In today's world, an associate's degree, unless in math, science, engineering, or the medical field (such as nursing, respiratory therapy, or dental hygiene), is like an extension of high school. Some people even use bachelor's degrees as new high school diplomas since the market is flooded with graduates, and it's so easy to obtain one nowadays, especially with degree hacking and all types of online ways to get them.

I disagree, there is a big difference in the skill level of job applicants who have an associates degree vs. those who do not but it matters how it was completed. These new HS "accelerated" associate degree graduates are no better than most HS graduates I have found it to be almost a joke. Degree hacking accounts for a very, very small amount of college graduates. When you look at popular social media sites like Reddit, they promote CBE schools like WGU far above degree hacking. Almost no one knows about degree hacking but many young HS grads have heard of WGU. I never bought into that Bachelor's degrees are the new High School diploma. I just do not see it.

I disagree; I have hired military vets with high school diplomas who performed well. Also, I have hired high school students eager to learn and excel. Just because you don't have an associate's degree does not mean you are less competent or less intelligent. It all depends on the person. Now, when looking at an associate degree, it doesn't matter how they obtained it traditionally, CBE, degree hacking, etc, since it is usually seen as a step-up median point between high school and a bachelor's degree. Now, with a market that has so many people getting a bachelor's degree, it's a new standard job requirement like a high school diploma; hence why, people say it's like the new high school diploma because of the competitiveness of having a bachelor's degree is no longer making an applicant's application shine. Usually, you have applicants with master's degrees or years of experience you are competing against; this is not like 10-15 years ago when a bachelor's degree was a huge deal, and the market was limited. We have an overflux of bachelor's degree holders and too many ways to obtain one. Information is so available nowadays with social media and youtube as a big part of how the youth obtain information; it is as simple as putting 1-year bachelor's degree on youtube.

Sure some with just a High School diploma can excel but in my job field (IT) especially if they have IT certs but I cannot risk those who do not. I have clear performance data showing that most associate degree holders out perform HS graduates at my company. All the military vets I have hired over the years already had a degree. No one in my company's IT department (we are a billion dollar company) has a master degree and I am not getting any applicants with masters degrees. Due to the economy being bad (literally all applicants this year told me this) we get Bachelor degree holders taking jobs that do not require one, even with that being said only 1 out of 3 of my job applicants had a Bachelors degree. This year alone I interviewed over 35 people and thanks to the bad economy I was able to hire overqualified people for lower level jobs. Everything you have stated I have heard repeatedly here but have never seen it in the real world.

Look at the views of those YouTube videos, it is nowhere near as popular as you think. I actually helped a kid on how to degree hack, who was not going to go for a Bachelors degree because they did not want to go into debt (smart kid). They are all over social media and never heard of degree hacking, their fist reaction was that it was not real which I am sure many who first see those videos believe as well.

We can agree or disagree. Since I am not in the IT field, I do not have accurate data to argue. The information is out there, and how people obtain it nowadays is easier than 10 years ago. If you take the time and do research, you can find the answers. Most hands-on jobs like mechanics, electricians, and plumbers never went to college but got some knowledge from trade schools. However, that's a whole different can of worms, lol. The market has too many associates and bachelor's degree holders; sometimes, it is hard to tell if someone is going to be good at a job solely based on their college degrees.

That is fine and I am not talking about trade jobs. In relation to those trying to transition from trade jobs to IT which I get applicants like this, they have been poor performers but then again if any of my IT guys tried to go weld it would be the same.

Just another note I am seeing more applicants lying or misleadingly stating (listing one on their resume but actually are pursuing one) that they have a degree than ever before. I caught 3 this year that got past HR. I highly suspect resume fraud to be causing some of this.

I also never hire anyone based only on their education.