[wastedyears]

This sort-of-but-not-really makes me feel better about not having gone to college.

[meyer]

They might ought to break this down into which degrees the folks working these jobs have. Some degrees are marketable, some are not.

[VanDeKoik]

Maybe that’s what their degree is worth?

A college degree does not equal a natural demand.

[Flavius]

Hey remember when people use to laugh at Russian taxi drivers with rocket science degrees
Welcome to third world yay

[Never on my watch]

Their working. That’s a start. No one is entitled to a career.

Besides, I thought some of these were the jobs Americans wouldn’t do.

[FrankR]

A bachelor's degree is not a written contract guaranteeing anyone a job. The sheepskin is a credential, that's all...the rest is still hard work, common sense, and integrity.

Too many people go to college to get a degree, for the sake of having a degree, then find out as they mature that what they studied is not at all what they want to be doing the rest of their lives.

My son - the math wiz - went to college for three years working toward a degree in actuarial science; but the more he studied and the more he found out about the job, the less he wanted to do it. He changed his degree to computer science and is now a very successful programmer working as a consultant for a major company...and he's very happy with it.

Starting college at 18, many kids think they know what they want to be, but they mature and many change their minds.

Many are happy to be working with their hands and had rather be an auto mechanic or a carpenter...two well-paying jobs that don't require a degree.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Maybe we should rethink the idea that everybody, no matter how academically-challenged, should go to college.

They should take out the loans and everything so that they can continue to be indentured slaves to the federal government, but just dispense with the illusion of giving them an education.

Beer-bust every day!

[GeronL]

too many people are going to college, I guess

[Tax Government]

A college degree does not normally qualify a person for any job. Former students who believe otherwise should file or join lawsuits against universities, claiming misrepresentation of the benefits.

Law school is an option for those of them who take this problem seriously.

[rabscuttle385]

So are any colleges worth the money?

The worth, or value, of a degree is in the eyes of the market.

If you want to get a degree, make sure that it supports your personal goals and mission. Better yet, if you are going to finance the degree through debt, make sure that there's a payoff at the end of the day.

Far too many people bought houses and degrees over the last twenty years without any thought to whether their purchases actually were in line with their personal goals and missions (or their budgets, for that matter). And, much like going shopping without a list can result in buying too much, far too many Americans simply bought too much, particularly with easy credit and subsidies from the various levels of government, which were eagerly chasing after noble social goals like educating more people and making home affordable.

For those in the time who acted responsibly, here's a hat tip to you. As for the rest of us, the hangover will be long and painful.

[Steamburg]

Just think how many of these people would actually have careers if the government stopped screwing small business and allowed Capitalism to flourish. Maybe some of these people might even be interested meaningful degrees. I fear that too many of them have received degrees in social dogma and basket weaving. Is a BA in liberal arts really a degree?

[hometoroost]

The title should read “17,000,000 million Americans who would have better off in trade school wasted their money and ours on a federally subsidized college education.”

[donna]

Wasting Their Degree On Menial Jobs

They should learn the lessons of America's roots:

Puritan Work Ethic:

"The Puritans declared the sanctity of all honorable work. In so doing, they rejected a centuries-old division of callings into “sacred” and “secular”… This Puritan rejection of the dichotomy between sacred and secular work has far-reaching implications. It judges every honorable job to be of intrinsic value, and integrates every vocation with a Christian’s spiritual life. It makes every job consequential by regarding it as the arena for glorifying and obeying God and for expressing love (through service) to a neighbor."

Puritan Work Ethic: the Dignity of Life’s Labors Christianity Today, October 1979, p. 15

[Eva]

I am sure that the SEIU is complaining that these college graduates are stealing the jobs that they want for the “oppressed” people in the country.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

17,000,000 American Menial Workers Wasted Their Time and Money Getting a Worthless Diploma

[JimSEA]

Some of this is simple supply and demand. Eons ago, I got my degree with Labor Relations and Law courses(before IR degrees were offered at Arizona), did my duty to Uncle Sam and discovered nobody wanted me. I had worked my way through school at a mine and returned there for 12 years until a labor relations job opened up. Every thing worked out and I made good money.

[668 - Neighbor of the Beast]

We’ll always need plumbers. Just sayin. Trash haulers too!

[jeffc]

There also happens to be a lot of jobs that require a degree (it doesn't really matter in what discipline, only that you have a degree). I worked at an IT company that required me to have a 4 year degree. I had an MCSE, but only a 2 year degree, so I lied about the degree.

They hired me and the job was so easy, I spent half my day reading trade journals and manuals (OK, I did need to read the manuals, but I REALLY read them over and over). Bottom line, all you really needed was some certification, not a bachelors.

[P-Marlowe]

A Liberal Arts degree is the functional equivalent of a GED. That and $5 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

[GailA]

Then they will learn to NOT vote in marxist!