Education Bubble???

          I thought this was an interesting article that dealt with some ideas I have been toying with lately.  It in part deals with the idea of there being an education bubble in our country.  I'm sure many of you have heard the phrase or even joked to others that a college degree is the new high school degree (thus making a masters or higher degree the new college degree).  While we may joke about it, I tend to think that's actually becoming a reality.

          This evidence is definitely anecdotal, but a lot of the kids that went to my high school and went on to get a college degree are currently unemployed or at jobs you would consider to be far below their educational level (ex cashier at Borders with no other plans on the horizon).  Many of them are going back to school for masters degrees they don't particularly need or want.  Friends of mine have confirmed seeing similar results in their acquaintances.

          I'm confident that part of this is the economy.  However, I do think this reflects a fundamental aspect of our society: there are simply more college graduates than there are college graduate level jobs.

          The article I linked to talks a lot about the financial aspects of this.  For example, did you know that nationwide student debt is now greater than nationwide credit card debt?  That's fascinating.  It's scary, too, though.  If I'm right, and there are more college grads than there are college graduate level jobs, more kids are going to end up with lower paying jobs.  Many of them will have built up large sums of debt for their undergraduate education, but unfortunately they may not get any return on that investment.  Students who accumulate debt then end up as a cashier at Borders are going to have a very, very big problem.

          If these trends continue, I personally suspect state school admission will become more competitive, while many mid to lower tier private schools may find applications dropping.  Why would you pay up to attend a private school when you could attend a public school with comparable (or in many cases much better) educational standards?

          Personally, I'm glad this trend won't play too much of a role in my life.  The fact that there are very few medical school spots nationwide sucks when you're applying.  It's terrifying and daunting and leaves some kids out in the cold.

          However, as an accepted student, from where I'm standing, it looks like a damn nice thing.  The number of medical school spots in the US almost directly translates into the number of doctors produced each year.  There is a limit.  This is simple supply and demand.  The supply of doctors is low enough that there will likely always be a demand for more.  As long as I am competent, I will likely be employed.

         What about the others and this potential education bubble?  I have no idea.  I found another article on this here if you're interested.