Credential inflation

Lately, I have been hearing quite a bit about credential inflation (sometimes referred to as degree inflation). The general idea behind credential inflation is that people have to spend more time in school now than what was required in the past for the same jobs. The reason that credential inflation has stood out to me is because some of my arguments are built off of observations of credential inflation. I just didn't know what it was called.

I have been known to criticize colleges on the grounds that they have become a buy-in model for the most desirable jobs. The more interest there is in a job, the more it takes to stand out to a potential employer. To simplify searches for employees, most businesses tend to throw out applications based off of schooling history. If the most capable applicant learned too much outside of the schools, he or she almost certainly will not be taken seriously. The more you pay on schooling, the more likely you will be to stand out, even if you are completely incompetent.

Although there is still a socioeconomic gap in high school, that gap has significantly narrowed over the years. With more high school graduates, many jobs previously obtainable with a high school diploma started requiring employees to graduate from college. College is more expensive, which means that our free high schools have effectively put desirable jobs further out of the reach of those whose parents don't have money.

What do people want to do to address credential inflation? For the most part, they want to treat college more like high school. By making college free, just like high school, they hope to eliminate the barrier for the poor to accomplish more. Odds are, such an approach would have the similar effect as free high school. A college degree would no longer be sufficient for most desirable jobs. Post-graduate requirements would make desirable jobs further out of the reach of the poor. The gap between the rich and the poor would become even wider.

Usually, those who promote free college are only acknowledging that most desirable jobs now require college. They do not acknowledge that credential inflation is part of the reason for this shift. This is why their arguments are so nonsensical. They are trying to address credential inflation without acknowledging the legitimacy of credential inflation.

Free college definitely won't fix our problems. What should we be doing instead? One person shouldn't take responsibility for fixing everything, so I won't go into details. What I will say is that we need an alternate path. People should have the opportunity to prove themselves outside of a school setting. If we can find this path, people might once again be able to work their way to the top instead of buying their way to the top. If we truly want those who are born in poverty to have a way to contribute to society, this makes a lot more sense than even more schooling than we have today.