Reevaluating the Education Standard: Are Graduate Degrees Truly Necessary?

People are rethinking education.

Degrees are expensive. Room and board, educational supplies, tuition fees, the list adds up. While most people won’t argue with the necessity of a bachelor’s degree for meeting basic, entry-level societal educational standards, there are factors that are beginning to cast doubt on their necessity.

With obscene educational costs, inflation, and mountain ranges of student debt, many people and communities are beginning to reevaluate what has been the traditional opinion as to the cost-effectiveness of any degree, let alone advanced degrees.

This revolution has brought with it the question of, “Are graduate degrees truly necessary”?

Generational History

For decades, society demonstrated and promulgated the idea that having advanced degrees was a fast pass to promotions, higher salaries, and generally increased levels of success in business. While this mentality did have plenty of merit in previous generations— specifically with the Baby Boomers— the underlying idea that prompted this popular mentality has much to do with what was, at the time, different standards of educational success.

However, there has been a drastic shift in the value and attainability of educational resources over the last few generations, and with that came a shift in the predominant opinion as to what might powerfully contribute to success.

For the generation known as the “silent generation”, which spanned the period in history from 1928 to 1945, high school diplomas were far less common than the rates which are seen today or even in the previous three generations.

According to the Pew Research Center, the high school diploma graduate rate for the Silent generation hovered around 43% with only 13% going on to accrue “some college”, and another 15% actually finishing a bachelor’s degree or higher. Shockingly, the Silent Generation had a 30% score of people who did not even finish high school.

In comparison, in just one generational gap (from Silent to Boomer generation) that ratio fell by half. In turn, those numbers spilled over into raising the percentages of “some college” and attainment of bachelor’s degrees or higher to 21% and 25%. Those numbers increased again with Generation X (born 1965 to 1980) and Millennials (born1981 to 1996): 28% for “some college” and 29% for bachelors or higher. The Millennial generation outpaced previous generations, primarily in the attainment of bachelor’s or higher degrees with a further 10% increase from 29% to 39%. Why does this matter?

The point of sharing those statistics is to provide a border picture by which to understand the underlying psychology and sociological motivations that drove the idea that advanced degrees have high correlations to success in business and careers.

The reason people believed this was because, with the Silent Generation, the odds of someone with more education having success in life were much greater since nearly 40% of the population at that time had less than a high school diploma. The likelihood of greater success had larger, more noticeable margins than today. Very simply, a college degree provides greater security for a successful career.

Being that this idea was adopted and carried over to the new two generations, the ratios of public educational attainment shifted. As more people became better educated, the commonality of a bachelor’s degree meant that the once status quo of educational attainment (then a high school diploma) shifted to a Bachelor’s degree.

This pattern continued jumping up a notch with each generation. Now, even master’s degrees are not an uncommon educational attainment, and as a result, even those numbers are saturated.

The Current Challenges 

So much has changed culturally and economically in the last 100 years. However, in the last few years, with disturbing levels of inflation, pandemic challenges, housing market scares and political instabilities, businesses are reevaluating what it takes to operate a successful business.

Employers are learning that sometimes finding the most qualified, skilled worker comes in forms other than a formal education. Additionally, the return on investment in education has been thrown into doubt.

According to a study done by Georgetown University’s Center on Education, 60% of college graduates end up earning more than a mere high school graduate after a ten-year span. While that standard of educational difference still has a marked and proven return on investment, advanced degrees have been thrown into question. Far too many people who have made the investment are finding their spending repaid through higher wages.

Another major factor to consider is the shift in employers’ mentalities as to what constitutes a “qualified candidate”. The sheer need (sometimes desperation) of employers to staff empty positions has led to a reevaluation of how much bachelor’s degrees really matter— let alone graduate degrees. As a result, employers are choosing to include life experience, job history, and alternative continuing education certifications as designations of applicability.

The archaic mentality that advanced education most directly constitutes an ideal candidate is not just being challenged, it is fading, and for good reason. There are more reasons against investing the large sums of money often required for advanced degrees.

While those who do invest in a master’s degree tend to eventually end up finding higher-paying jobs than those with just a bachelor’s, the margin is questionable as an investment. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that only 24% of advanced degree holders are likely to make more than $150,000 or more in 2022.

With such things in mind, it appears far more reasonable for individuals to spend time researching carefully whether the industry and degree in question will fall into a category that necessitates and/or contributes to success. If not, then a bachelor’s degree, hard work, and the habitation of skills for success may be the smarter, more affordable way to go.