Saw this article on it today.

 

Minimum Wage Puzzle: Businesses Support Raises, Fret About Going Broke - NBC News

Interesting that tipped employees are paid the full minimum wage in some places. I wonder how that affects tips in those areas?

$12 / hour to wash dishes. My son is a trained, skilled labor welder making $13 / hour welding critical aircraft parts for GE jets….heck I would probably wash dishes for $12 and hour, it's probably not even by hand, just loading the machine and taking them out the other side. Gimme a break

Interesting that tipped employees are paid the full minimum wage in some places. I wonder how that affects tips in those areas?

 

I would guess (again guessing where I have nothing to back it up) that it is more like Europe where the tip is much, much smaller than what we are used to.

I completely agree with this, to a point. We now have entered a period wherein a college degree is barely more valuable than a high school diploma.

 

Colleges/Universities need to change their focus...degrees need to be job/career focused with the extraneous stuff eliminated. Currently degrees are set up to give as many of the colleges at a university a little piece of the student pie. I majored in Graphic Arts/Printing at the very beginning of computer based graphic arts really starting to take off, could not take classes related to that until I took a classes in which I had to learn how to operate a 100 year old printing press, computer based graphic arts classes weren't even offered until 3rd or 4th year...I had no need to excel in that field to take Plant Biology, Sociology or even History which I loved but all including PE were required college classes. Colleges need to focus on the end product and not just be an extension of high school for two years.

Colleges/Universities need to change their focus...degrees need to be job/career focused with the extraneous stuff eliminated. Currently degrees are set up to give as many of the colleges at a university a little piece of the student pie. I majored in Graphic Arts/Printing at the very beginning of computer based graphic arts really starting to take off, could not take classes related to that until I took a classes in which I had to learn how to operate a 100 year old printing press, computer based graphic arts classes weren't even offered until 3rd or 4th year...I had no need to excel in that field to take Plant Biology, Sociology or even History which I loved but all including PE were required college classes. Colleges need to focus on the end product and not just be an extension of high school for two years.

 

It doesn't help, though, that many employers look at a college degree...ANY 4 year degree...as one of the criteria for even granting an interview. I was solicited by a head hunter for a position with a national company. The head hunter had been given my name to reach out to, to see if I'd be interested, by the company with the position posted. However, because I didn't have a degree, the company declined to interview me. This company was one of my competitors in my city, and knew me, knew my work and my references are impeccable and respected. No degree...no interview. I could have had a degree in jay walking and gotten the job. But without a degree, not even an interview with a company who KNEW me. Why waste your time getting a job specific degree (except in certain obvious jobs), when it doesn't matter what your diploma says as long as you have one?

Colleges/Universities need to change their focus...degrees need to be job/career focused with the extraneous stuff eliminated. Currently degrees are set up to give as many of the colleges at a university a little piece of the student pie. I majored in Graphic Arts/Printing at the very beginning of computer based graphic arts really starting to take off, could not take classes related to that until I took a classes in which I had to learn how to operate a 100 year old printing press, computer based graphic arts classes weren't even offered until 3rd or 4th year...I had no need to excel in that field to take Plant Biology, Sociology or even History which I loved but all including PE were required college classes. Colleges need to focus on the end product and not just be an extension of high school for two years.

 

I'll add, colleges have to be an extension of high school because our educational system (as a whole) does not prepare kids for college. Look at the statistics on students entering with poor reading, writing and math skills. We do a good job with the best of the best, but suck at preparing the rest.

I agree with much that has been said. Maybe recruiters think that the job applicant with a college degree has been able to attain some goal and finish some task, whether or not the goal (degree) in and of itself has anything to do with the sought after job. They might consider it some tangible evidence of a person's perseverence and it might get the applicant in the door.

It doesn't help, though, that many employers look at a college degree...ANY 4 year degree...as one of the criteria for even granting an interview. I was solicited by a head hunter for a position with a national company. The head hunter had been given my name to reach out to, to see if I'd be interested, by the company with the position posted. However, because I didn't have a degree, the company declined to interview me. This company was one of my competitors in my city, and knew me, knew my work and my references are impeccable and respected. No degree...no interview. I could have had a degree in jay walking and gotten the job. But without a degree, not even an interview with a company who KNEW me. Why waste your time getting a job specific degree (except in certain obvious jobs), when it doesn't matter what your diploma says as long as you have one?

Things change in a healthy economy. College degrees are often used just to whittle down the number of resumes to a manageable number. When the real unemployment rate is very low, employers are much more willing to look beyond a college degree. I have worked with computer programmers who had no degrees, associate degrees, and degrees in totally unrelated majors like music. All my employer was interested in was whether they could write good code. People who look at a college degree as the end of their education are quickly surpassed by those who see learning as a life-long process.

 

When the economy is as sick as it is now, employers can afford to be super choosy with their hiring practices and employees become much more replaceable parts than valued team members. When there is no competition for labor, everybody loses.