Moneywise, December 2022
Dropping your kid off at college has long been a milestone for parents just as much as their teens. But is getting a degree going the way of bell bottoms, cable television and calling someone on the phone? With a strong economy and an excess of jobs with few workers to take them, big companies like Google, IBM and Delta Air Lines have eased up on educational requirements in an effort to find hires based on skills and experience instead. With a four-year degree perhaps seemingly not as crucial for Americans climbing the career ladder as it once was—young people might be rethinking the need for higher education as well.
“It’s a bit [like] musical chairs right now,” says Alicia Modestino, an associate professor and labor economist at Northeastern University. “We’re seeing a lot of people shift jobs, move up in the labor market. That’s great.”
