I Have a College Degree. It Got Me to the Middle. Barely.
I Have a College Degree. It Got Me to the Middle. Barely.
I earned a Bachelor's in merchandising. Literally no employer has cared.
There’s a shift happening in America.
Have you seen it? Have you felt it?
High school graduates are looking for alternatives to college.
I kind of feel like college was the ultimate scam for Millennials. Colleges marketed themselves as the end-all-be-all option. “You’ll be a complete failure if you don’t get a college degree!” They warned.
Then they gave this generation heaps of crippling debt to make the college degree a reality. This massive generation can’t buy houses or live how their parents did because the cost of living has skyrocketed, and they’re still paying off college loans. At the same time, the salaries they earn haven’t increased fast enough.
(And the “Just don’t buy lattes” argument that Boomers like to throw down is over. We’re over it. We all see through it.)
Literally, no one looked at it.
As a part of Gen X, I escaped this horrific mess unscathed. I grew up in Arizona, went to a state college, and got in cheap. In the mid-nineties, my college tuition was $1,000 a semester. I know. I’m sorry. It’s true.
I got my degree, got out, and went to work in retail. I didn’t plan on making it a career; it slowly happened.
I liked it. I figured my degree would give me an edge as I rose through the ranks.
It didn’t.
Literally, no one looked at it.
For a moment, I almost wished I’d skipped college. The leaders that had started right out of high school were already running stores in their early twenties. I was still learning the business.
But I’m glad I went to college. No one ever looked at my education, but the experience and the travel were well worth it. I also learned how to navigate enormous bureaucratic machines, which has served me well in adulthood. (I’m looking at you, health insurance.)
However, if I were eighteen years old today, having to make this decision, I can’t say I’d go. Companies are finally noticing that requiring a traditional degree may mean missing out on the best candidate.
No Degree? That’s Okay
Many companies are striking college degree requirements from their job descriptions.
General Motors
Google
Apple
Microsoft
Penguin Random House
IBM
Bank of America
Walmart said last year that 75% of its U.S. salaried store management started their careers in hourly jobs.
Going to college in America is a privilege. If your parents didn’t go, you can’t secure the funds, or you don’t happen to have the “right” last name, you’re not getting in.
That’s a reality for more than half of the nation.
The pandemic is also to blame. High school kids realized they were more resourceful than they thought. They could learn independently, so why not get a job right out of high school?
Many did.
“Nationwide, undergraduate college enrollment dropped 8 percent from 2019 to 2022. The slide in the college-going rate since 2018 is the steepest on record, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.” - PBS
I don’t know how this will all shake out, but seeing people as a whole is always the right move.
Maybe an applicant has exceptional skills: empathy, resilience, dedication, and teamwork. But no degree? Fine by me. Fine by a lot of other significant companies, too.
Now, we need to give everyone’s paycheck a boost so they can stop treading water, afford to live where they want to live, and enjoy their lattes every damn day.
MAILBOX
On Tuesday, I sent my book to leaders I admire across many industries. Good leadership is good leadership no matter where you find it.
I spent countless hours designing custom notecards, bookmarks, and stickers to go in this package. I researched addresses, included hand-written notes, and walked to the post office.
I don’t know if any of these leaders will get my package, but I do know this book will not help anyone if they don’t know about it.
I wrote about this on LinkedIn, and someone left a comment,
”I need to get on that list.”
Huh, I thought. Okay.
So, I’m raffling off one of these book packages.
In a few weeks, one lucky winner will be chosen to receive:
⭐️ A signed copy of my book
⭐️ A custom bookmark, notecard, and stickers
I’ll return to the post office and mail it to any address in the continental United States.
Want in?
You can enter to win here.
LEVEL UP
One thing you can do this week to level up your leadership.
Let people be their unique, silly selves.
Work can be tedious. Professionalism is overrated.
Celebrate the quirky.
My friend works for Whole Foods. The other day, a customer discarded a single carrot at the register. A team member picked it up and proceeded to “interview” other team members using the carrot as a microphone.
“So, Joey. How did you feel about that last hour?” *Carrot in face*
”Do you think we’re on track as a whole? Has Michelle been carrying the team out here, or are we pulling together?” *Carrot in face*
That story made me miss my store team so much. We were always doing silly stuff like this. And I don’t know why, but using random objects as play microphones is always funny.
Let people have fun at work, and you’ll level up, for sure.
WE HAVE MERCH, PEOPLE
Fun fact about me:
When I’m supposed to be writing but I decide to procrastinate, I design.
I redesigned my website last week, and this week - I designed kick-ass merchandise you can buy. Weeeeeeeee!
My online shop is called Retail Renegades, and you can buy stickers that say, “Don’t Worry, I Work Retail” and other fun celebratory retail accessories.
Retail leaders are badass. We know it. Now, everyone else will know it, too.
If there’s anything you want in the store that you don’t see, let me know and I’ll look into designing it.
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The scene is a bit different here in the third world, where access to information is still not quite... massive, and college still lifts many from poverty. But it's becoming more true that you can find anything college can give you outside of college, *except* for the sense of community and the motivation that comes from taking a hard journey with a lot of other people just like you. For that reason alone I tell kids here to go to college if they can. Titles don't matter for the most part, but the friendships you'll make and the experiences you'll collect do matter.
You nailed the movement happening now. Great theme of seeing people as a whole instead of only the degree or no degree. And stickers??? How fun is that?