everybody likes to complain about the fact that the mainstream media is completely out of touch with anyone who isn't upper middle class or above. susan thinks part of the problem is the obsession with credentials. working class college students can't afford to do the unpaid internships that help them meet potential mentors and employers in the media, but mainstream publications won't hire anyone without a college degree. how does an intelligent, articulate person with a completely under-represented point of view get hired and get published?
on that note, why do so many employers demand a college degree for jobs that don't really need one? a friend's elderly grandmother recently told me that she thought young people today have a much harder struggle to face than they did when she immigrated to the US at the age of thirteen. so many jobs nowadays require 'that piece of paper' even though the duties of the jobs often don't. she said, "We had all the jobs we wanted. I didn't speak a word of English, but I could still work." our economy has evolved to the point that even getting an entry level clerical job requires the investment of several years and thousands of dollars in education beyond high school. why is that?
frankly, if we are at the point that even pink collar jobs require a college degree then it's about time we start making college available to everyone free of charge, just like grade school and high school. if someone can't make it with just a high school degree, then our society is either setting the bar for employment too high or we're not preparing young people to enter the workforce. that is, essentially, what public education is for, isn't it?
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