Is Student Debt Worth It?
BY AMY HE
At the end of January, the Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP) released a report asking the question, “Why are recent college graduates underemployed?” It’s a question with built-in pessimism, and as the facts show, the statistics are indeed nothing to be optimistic about.
According to the AP, approximately one in two college grads are underemployed, meaning that they are either not employed, working very little, or working at jobs that have historically not required higher education. The CCAP report sheds more light on the plight of underemployed college students: in addition to being underemployed, many recent grads are applying to and working at jobs that don’t require college educations. Stunningly, for example, more than 15 percent of taxi drivers and firefighters have college degrees, compared to the one percent in 1970!
Not only are applicants without a college degree facing competition, but it creates a path where grads work at low-paying jobs that don’t afford them the ability to pay back their college debt, which is soaring at the same time college degrees become less valuable.
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