Heading
into the next decade, colleges and universities may have a tougher time selling
prospective students on the need for a bachelor’s degree.
An article in The Sacramento Bee rounded up a
lot of evidence that young people are gravitating to jobs that only require an
associate degree or less. As the economy slowly warms up, companies are adding
more of these higher-paying blue-collar positions—roughly 2.5 million of them,
according to USA Today.
More
companies are also willing to provide extensive training and apprenticeships to
new workers in order to gain the exact skills needed.
Of the 11
most rapidly growing jobs in the U.S. right now, just three mandate an advanced
degree. Some fields are expected to explode with new jobs, such as carpentry,
which is forecast for 24% growth within six years.