Posted on Oct 20, 2017
SFC Christopher Taggart
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‘…like that old saying, 50 is the new 40!’ Does anyone think that a Bachelor’s degree is the “new” High School diploma, meaning most everyone has one? I just recently obtained my Master’s degree and I’m just now feeling competitive in the hiring process in the civilian world. Most enlisted soldiers don’t have one or don’t get a degree while in the military, unlike Officers who need to keep up their education to go up the latter.
Edited 7 y ago
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SCPO Hospital Corpsman
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Checking the current stats for Adult education levels in the US

No HS 13%
HS 30%
AS 29%
BS/BA 18%
Post Grad 10%

With those numbers, as listed it does not support that hypothesis as stated. I was surprised with the above data, I expect to see an increase in the workforce that have completed a secondary education, since our nations technical work force has increased and the jobs that the traditional high school education prepared the nation for such as labor, factory, construction have gone away or now require additional training offered by community colleges. The numbers provided still offers those that have a four year or greater degree has not saturated the work force. So no I do not think that the Bachelors has become the new HS equal.
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LTC Field Artillery Officer
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Agree, still a lot to build out in this country and opportunities that dont require a degree
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SSgt Investigative Analyst
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Hi, SFC Taggart.

Only half of the US population has a Bachelor’s degree. It seems like everyone has one because everyone applying for the same jobs you are does; the job requires an undergraduate degree, so the field is populated with them. The undergrad stood out more when we were an agrarian or industrial society. You didn’t need one to build a car, just to manage the factory. Having transitioned to an information- or knowledge-based job market, a lot of jobs have funneled their application requirements to a higher level of education, perhaps whether the job requires it or not.

I always described my MBA as the Bachelor’s degree I needed a Bachelor’s degree to get.
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SSgt Geospatial Intelligence
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SFC Christopher Taggart If it is not already at that point, it is very quickly approaching. A bachelor's is like a drop in the bucket - everyone has one, and more and more in a subject that has no practical application to the world.
I think that is one reason we are seeing a push in the technical fields, too.
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