Why is college required for so many jobs? There are alternate ways to do things...?

Question

Why are we forced to pay thousands of dollars for schooling? It doesn't make any sense. All it does is make it harder for low and middle class people to go through schooling and get nice paying jobs. This is my idea:
Eliminate colleges completely. A person goes to an interview for the job they want. The employer gives them a simple questionnaire (name, nationality, etc), coupled with a test on basic skills required for the job. If the employer wants, they could also do an in-person interview. People who perform at a certain level or higher would be put through a free class given by the company. At the end of the classes, the job-hopefuls would be given a test. People who scored good enough would be accepted and given the job.
Various tweaks could be made to this theory without ruining the concept...
So what do you think? What would you change about my idea? Constructive criticism accepted.

Umm..before you answer, try to actually read my WHOLE question...
And also, wouldn't the class help the employer see if the applier could learn skills?

To that BMWdriver11 or whatever:
I have never taken classes of any sort on many of the skills I posses. I know a Windows computer inside out for example. I can design websites without Dreamweaver or any other tool. Sorry if I seem like I'm bragging but doesn't this help prove my point? You don't need classes like college or anything to learn how to do stuff. Mind you I'm 14.

One way to eliminate the risk of employees quitting after a few months is this:
Make a contract possibly. Just like your wireless company, you'll need to work for atleast 2 years before you can quit.

Another idea:
To keep down the costs for employers on the schooling:
Use taxes. Just like Canadians pay for medical in taxes, we can pay for school in taxes....

Umm
I never said it was just one or two classes...

Answer 1

I think its crap. Pretty much anyone can afford college one way or the other. College is a good "weed out" tool- it shows who is motivated to become a white collar worker, and whom is not. It also shoudl give you a broad basis of knowledge, as well as specific knowledge in your field of study. I know a hell of a lot more after college, than I did after high school. And no high school kid could just start doing my job- they wouldnt have anywhere near the basis for understanding how things would work. So, overall, I would rate your idea about a -1 on a scale of 1 to 10. Education makes the US great- yopur idea would eliminate whole job classes- Doctors, Engineers, Architects, etc, all of which require intensive schooling- not some stupid test that anyone can pass.

Answer 2

Your idea does make sense, but a lot of employers want someone with a college degree because they want to know their employees worked hard for something they wanted and were commited to sticking with that degree and finishing it. That's why you see jobs posted and they don't require a certain degree, just a degree. Also lower and middle class people can still get an education they just need to apply for financial aid. The only reason I have been able to go to college has been because of financial aid. I do think it's unfair you have to have a college degree for certain jobs. Sometimes it doesn't make sense. Like being a secretary, you don't need to go to college for that. I don't think a company would want to educate an employee, what if they invested all this money in an employee and they quit within a couple months. That's a lot of money wasted.

Also it sounds like you are trying to convince yourself that it's okay you aren't going to go to college. It sounds like you've made up your mind about that. Don't settle for a life that doesn't involve college. Even though some employers don't require you to have a degree when working on computers, they prefer someone who does have experience, and how will you get that professional (meaning you go the experience at another job) if other employers won't hire you because you haven't gone to school? I know where you are coming from trust me. I'm in college right now and have applied for several job that involve working on computers which I know how to do, but they won't hire me because I haven't finished my degree.

Answer 3

Spending four years in college tells an employer that you can stick it out even when you have to do things you don't really want to do. (there are always a few courses that we'd rather not be taking but have to if we want to graduate).

It also tells your employer that you have skills beyond what you are being hired for that can't be tested, like communication skills on different levels, being able to handle more than one task on a deadline, being able to pay attention to details, be organized in your life not just your work space.

Plus some skills you probably won't get unless you go to college and study a particular course.

If college is not for you, thats okay, find a job that will train you on the job or get into a field that doesn't require four years but can be trained in under two. Plumbers learn thru apprentiseships, cosmotologists and LPNs are two year courses or less (depending on how the classes are set up), retail managers learn on the job.

So there is something for everyone. If college isn't for you, don't go, find an entry level job and work your way up that way.

Answer 4

See, colleges are accredited. Which means that they instruct students in specifically defined areas, and that they require students to master those subjects. Employers can easily asses what skills a person is likely to have based on what degree they attained. It allows for standardization and accountability.

As for your suggestion, unfortunately, not only do employers have no interest in administering, scoring, and evaluating countless long examinations, (the costs in payroll alone would be staggering) but they want better assurance from potential employees than the results of a single test.

Most degrees that are worth getting are the culmination of years of arduous study. There is no short-cut here, you have to put your nose to the wheel and put the time in the learn many disparate concepts. This is what employers see when they see a college graduate.

Your suggestion that college merely keeps lower-class people from getting into the job market is flagrantly ignorant. If you have the ability, you will get into college. As a minority from a low-income family in college, it is almost impossible to not get multiple scholarships. Even if you have to take out student loans, the pay increase from your degree will far outweigh the costs.

Edit - I can see you put a lot of thought into this, so I gave it a second read-through. Unfortunately, your suggestions are simply not workable in a free economy. You are putting the burden of testing and education on the employer, rather than centralizing it. That might work if we had a benevolent dictator who created monopolies in each industry, but it's simply unworkable in a capitolist society.

What you are doing is essentially breaking up college and distributing it among every company everywhere, leading to vast amounts of redundancy and wasted time and energy. It's simply not feasable.

Answer 5

I'm not sure I would want a person trained like this performing surgery on me or teaching children. Certainly there are many good ways to earn a living without college, but companies also need neutral 3rd parties to stay "honest." Regulatory agencies such and OSHA, JAHCO, etc. Professionals need to be accredited and credentialed by 3rd parties who do not have a stake in the company. Finally, who would have the expertise to administer tests in a company if people did not have formal training in evaluating human behavior. Without formal training, employers would not have a basis to evaluate knowledge, skills and abilities and probably would hesitate to invest significant money in training an unknown. What you are suggesting is to shift the cost of training from colleges and universities to companies as a primary way of training people. I do not think this would fly. Certainly companies do sponsor advanced and specialized training, but It would not be cost effective to have people who do not have needed skills when they come through the door. Anyone can say they have knowledge skills and abilities in a given area. Education and credentialing is proof that they meet minimal requirements. If a person is very competitive and they apply for scholarships they can obtain full funding for education.

Answer 6

a million. Saturday baseball on television 2. shop the DH. Why have an computerized out? Make the pitcher artwork. 3. sturdy song on the sound gadget in the previous baseball video games 4. The practice dealing with Safeco container 5. Popcorn on the interest issues to alter: a million. The Tigers constantly win, no count what the score is. 2. extra Interleague video games. Have 15 communities in each and each league so there'll constantly be an interleague interest and each and each team could play 40 5 interleague video games--3 against each and each team. 3. extra day video games on Saturday 4. A team from Detroit in the national League to enhance the Tigers. 5. each thing is radar--the participant's uniforms, balls, bats, bases, etc. so as that the umpires will by no ability make a mistake. we would possibly no longer even want umpires.

Answer 7

You basically replaced formal education with the companies offering free classes but only to the mid/high level applicants, depending on the first test. What about the low scorers? Welfare for them? How can the companies afford to train every employee for free? They will all need training, people aren't born with the skills needed to do most jobs.

Answer 8

I wouldnt trust a doctor to operate on me who didnt go to Med school! I dont care if he's a fast learner and scored well on some test. Thats just stupid! I wouldnt want some guy off the street designing the bridge I drive across everyday. People go to college because it takes that long to learn things sometimes. Doctors, Engineers, Computer Programmers, etc.... Those arent jobs you just "learn as you go". It takes a whole lot more than one or two free classes to to those things.

Answer 9

I think that you go to college to learn to, well learn. I can honestly say that after 4 years i cant really remeber anything about my freshman year, but I can tell you where to find information on Kinetic energy and thermodynamic proporties (im a crappy engineer... saddness) Your idea would work well, but its not just about knowing facts, its about being able to learn new skills.

Answer 10

Because people like people with skills. You know, num chuck skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills, oh and of course people who can dance.