PayThePeople.com

Introduction

College degrees aren’t necessarily worth what they used to be. They cost more than they used to, but they’re no longer the golden ticket to a promising career, or even to a well-paying job — at least not for everyone. Many recent college graduates have a hard time finding work at all, and those who do find work often take jobs that don’t require a degree.

According to a May 2011 New York Times story, “only half of the jobs landed by … new graduates even require a college degree, reviving debates about whether higher education is ‘worth it’ after all.” Other troubling facts include:

• Median starting salary for college students graduating in 2009 and 2010 was $27,000, down from a pre-recession $30,000, a decline of 10 percent, even before taking inflation into account.
• Only 56% of the class of 2010 had held at least one job by one year after graduation, compared to 90% pre-recession.

Of course, a good deal of this is undoubtedly the impact of a very tough labor market for everyone these days. But it should provide food for thought to all potential college students, and reason to take a hard look at college versus careers without a college degree.

These challenges faced by today’s grads dont mean a college education won’t be useful to you, but should serve as a warning to be mindful of when and how it may be most useful and most likely to be worth the costs and debts you will incur.

Answer to “What’s Your Major” Question Affects Value of College Degree

According to the New York Times article, Labor Department data show that the major you choose in college plays a large part in your likelihood of finding a job that is applicable to your degree after graduation:

Young graduates who majored in education and teaching or engineering were most likely to find a job requiring a college degree, while area studies majors those who majored in Latin American studies, for example and humanities majors were least likely to do so. Among all recent education graduates, 71.1 percent were in jobs that required a college degree; of all area studies majors, the share was 44.7 percent.

The thing is, most grads still have student loans to pay off, and the interest is accruing. Before you plunge yourself deep into debt for a diploma that may not even put you in a position to pay it off, consider the possibility of postponing college; explore some careers without a college degree.

Here are some ideas for alternative options to consider.

Start Your Own Business to Have a Career Without a College Degree

It used to be that to start a business, you needed a lot of money. The Internet changed all that. Owning a business and guiding it to success still takes a lot of hard work and dedication, but it can be done much more quickly, and for a lot less money if you start an Internet-based business. There are many options for starting an online business, and depending on your interests some options may be better than others.

• Freelance Writing: Writing content for Web site owners is an easy way to start a freelancing career, and if you have an interest and talent for writing you dont need a degree to start.
• Creating an Online Store: If youre an artist or make hand-made goods, foregoing an art program at college in order to start selling the items you create is a great way to build a network and hone your craft. In April of 2010, the number of items sold on Etsy climbed to 1.3 million.
• Affiliate Marketing: If you don’t have a craft like writing or making things you can sell online, but still have expertise in an area and can recommend products or services to the general public, you can be an affiliate marketer. Check out the book Traffic and Trust a highly recommended piece to learn about this avenue and how to get started. (By the way, this book is self-published by the author as an e-book, making it almost all profit!)

For the cost of a domain and hosting, you can have a business up and running in less than 24 hours. Whether it keeps going beyond that depends on the quality of your product, how you market it, and how much time and effort you put in, but that’s true of any project.

A Web site costs a lot less than a college education. So much less that if one idea doesn’t pan out, you can move on to the next at little cost. Plus, if you start to become successful you can then invest in a business degree to further your knowledge and practices, starting with classes that seem most well-suited to fill gaps you’ve discovered (for example, you may decide you need to learn some accounting and marketing).

Tips on How to Succeed When Starting a New Web-Based Business

• Network: Use social media and bloggers in your field to reach out and spread the word about your venture.
• Research: Do plenty of preliminary research on the field youre planning to enter. Know things like who your competition would be and what they are doing to promote their business.
• Determination: Since youll be your own boss, it will be easy to make your own schedule. Just make sure that you implement daily tasks to complete and include those things you may not want to do, but need to get done. Always stick to a schedule.

Foreign Language Fluency Increases Your Value For Careers Without a College Degree

Starting a business isn’t for everyone, and if it’s not for you, there’s nothing wrong with that. You can still find a good job without a college degree — one that doesn’t require using a spatula to flip anything. But the reality is that few companies are going to hire anyone, even to entry level positions, unless they can demonstrate their worth, and unless they bring a little something extra to the table. One way to do that is by learning a foreign language.

Foreign language skills are highly sought after by a lot of companies. A business can teach anyone their internal processes, but language skills take time to cultivate — time most companies just don’t have. Companies that have foreign offices need people who can communicate with those overseas employees, and who can read and write documentation in that language. Even local businesses can use people with language skills.

If you live in an area with a high Hispanic population, learning to speak Spanish could make you stand out. Being able to talk to and help Spanish-speaking customers can give you an advantage over other job-seekers, including for careers without a college degree, especially since its projected that by the year 2050 the United States will be the largest Spanish-speaking country.

The good part is, you dont need to take language classes or go to college to learn. There are many tools to help you reach fluency:

• Audio-based Programs on CD: These programs are focused on perfecting your conversational abilities and pronunciation. Audio-based programs like the Pimsleur method are ideal to learn Spanish because they focus on speaking ability.
• Online Grammar Exercises: Since audio-based programs will help you with your fluency, supplementing them with grammar exercises will round out your knowledge of the language and help you with writing.
• Podcasts: On iTunes, change your location to a Spanish-speaking country (the menus and navigation will still stay in English). By doing this you can find podcasts in Spanish that are created by native speakers and use these as listening exercises.

Educate Yourself

Whether it’s that you couldn’t afford college, or you just didn’t want to spend the money, universities aren’t the only places offering education. Community colleges offer a lot of useful degrees and diplomas, and so do technical colleges and vocational schools. Rather than spending four years and many thousands of dollars on a degree you won’t really need or be able to use, look for alternative ways to educate yourself.

Below are some professions with high growth and good pay that do not require a Bachelors degree:

• Paralegal: A two-year degree is needed from a community college, and the job has an average pay of $46,120 per year.
• Electrical Technicians: A two-year degree from a technical school or community college is generally required. The average pay is around $53,240 per year, but varies depending on the industry.
• Police/Detective: A degree is not always required, although some departments require some coursework and a physical examination. The average pay for a police officer varies depending on which department youre in and what role you take.
• Medical Assistant: Two-year degree needed. Average pay is $28,300 per year. Employment for this profession is expected to grow by 35% within the next five years.

Aside from other institutions that offer courses in classroom settings, if you’re diligent and really have a desire to learn, there is little you can’t find on the Internet, or at the local library. Read. Research. Learn on your own about the things that interest you, and that will help you pursue the career you want. A degree can look nice on a resume, but a smart hiring manager will see a lot of value in someone who took the time and had the tenacity to educate themselves and can demonstrate knowledge in their chosen field.

Don’t let the expense or the bleak economy outlook stop you from pursuing your dream. You may have to adjust how you get there, but it can be an even more fulfilling journey. Careers without a college degree or without a four-year degree are definitely worth considering.