Even lowly jobs call for a degree

    Updated: 2013-03-03 08:04

    By Catherine Rampell(The New York Times)

      Print Mail Large Medium  Small

    ATLANTA - The college degree is becoming the new high school diploma: the new minimum requirement, albeit an expensive one, for getting even the lowest-level job in the United States.

    Consider the 45-person law firm of Busch, Slipakoff & Schuh here in Atlanta, a place that has seen tremendous growth in the college-educated population. Like other employers across the United States, the firm hires only people with a bachelor's degree, even for jobs that do not require college-level skills - the receptionist, paralegals, administrative assistants and file clerks. Even the in-house courier who, for $10 an hour, ferries documents between the courthouse and the office went to a four-year school.

    "College graduates are just more career-oriented," said Adam Slipakoff, the firm's managing partner. "Going to college means they are making a real commitment to their futures. They're not just looking for a paycheck."

    Economists have referred to this phenomenon as "degree inflation," and it has steadily infiltrated America's job market. Across industries and geographic areas, many other jobs that didn't previously require a diploma - positions like dental hygienists, cargo agents, clerks and claims adjusters - are increasingly requiring one, according to Burning Glass, a company that analyzes job ads.

    One effect is the push of the less educated further down the ladder, and it helps explain why the unemployment rate for workers in the United States with no more than a high school diploma is more than twice that for workers with a bachelor's degree: 8.1 percent versus 3.7 percent.

    Some jobs, like those in supply chain management and logistics, have become more technical, and so require more advanced skills. But more broadly, because so many people are going to college now, those who do not graduate are often assumed to be unambitious or less capable.

    "When you get 800 resumes for every job ad, you need to weed them out somehow," said Suzanne Manzagol, executive recruiter at Cardinal Recruiting Group.

    "When I started recruiting in '06, you didn't need a college degree, but there weren't that many candidates," Ms. Manzagol said.

    Even if they are not applying the knowledge they gained in college, the young graduates employed by Busch, Slipakoff & Schuh say they are grateful for even the rote office work.

    "It sure beats washing cars," said Landon Crider, 24, the firm's runner who did scrub sedans before and after graduating from college.

    Megan Parker, who earns $37,000 as the firm's receptionist, graduated from the Art Institute of Atlanta in 2011 with a degree in fashion and retail management, and spent months at a couture boutique while filling out office-job applications.

    "I am over $100,000 in student loan debt right now," she said. "I will probably never see the end of that bill, but I'm not really thinking about it right now."

    The risk with hiring college graduates for jobs they are supremely overqualified for is that they will leave as soon as they find something better.

    Mr. Slipakoff said his firm had little turnover, though, largely because of its rapid expansion. The company has grown to more than 30 lawyers from 5 in 2008, plus a support staff of about 15, and promotions have abounded.

    "They expect you to grow, and they want you to grow," said Ashley Atkinson, who graduated from Georgia Southern University in 2009 with a general studies degree. "You're not stuck here under some glass ceiling."

    The New York Times

    (China Daily 03/03/2013 page10)

    亚洲男人在线无码视频| 亚洲一区无码中文字幕| 无码人妻精品一区二区三区66 | 最近完整中文字幕2019电影 | 精品久久久久久无码中文字幕一区| 漂亮人妻被中出中文字幕久久| 亚洲AV无码精品色午夜果冻不卡| 最近免费中文字幕大全免费版视频| 亚洲成?v人片天堂网无码| 无码h黄动漫在线播放网站| 无码国产精品一区二区免费| 欧美日韩国产中文字幕| 亚洲人成人无码网www国产| 精品无码AV一区二区三区不卡 | 中文字幕无码精品三级在线电影 | 亚洲AV无码成H人在线观看| 无码少妇一区二区三区浪潮AV | 亚洲av无码无在线观看红杏| 亚洲欧美在线一区中文字幕| 人妻无码αv中文字幕久久| 天堂а在线中文在线新版| 成人免费无码H在线观看不卡| 亚洲AV无码国产精品麻豆天美| 亚洲天堂2017无码中文| 中文字幕一二区| 日本成人中文字幕| 中文字幕无码免费久久| 中文字幕精品亚洲无线码二区| 亚洲精品无码专区在线播放 | 精品人妻中文字幕有码在线| 亚洲精品无码你懂的网站| 午夜精品久久久久久久无码| 免费无码国产在线观国内自拍中文字幕| 亚洲AV永久无码精品水牛影视| 亚洲色偷拍另类无码专区| 人妻AV中出无码内射| 亚洲成A人片在线观看中文| 无码丰满熟妇juliaann与黑人| 中文字幕无码av激情不卡久久| 国产色无码专区在线观看| 国产成人无码AV一区二区|