Bachelor's degree: "necessary, but not sufficient"

Following up on Joseph's October cover article, here's an article from Time magazine asking "Is a College Degree Worth Less?"

While covering many of the same bases as Joseph's article, the emphasis here is that because so many people have bachelor's degrees now, they just aren't worth that much to employers. In fact, some employers have come to view them as little more than evidence "that you can more or less show up on time and stick with it."

Students recognize the new reality that a bachelor's degree, in many cases, simply isn't sufficient anymore:

The devaluation of a college degree is no secret on campus. An annual survey by the Higher Education Research Institute has long asked freshmen what they think their highest academic degree will be. In 1972, 38% of respondents said a bachelor's degree, but in 2008 only 22% answered the same. The number of freshmen planning to get a master's degree rose from 31% in 1972 to 42% in 2008. Says John Pryor, the institute's director: "Years ago, the bachelor's degree was the key to getting better jobs. Now you really need more than that."

If all this wasn't so painfully expensive, it wouldn't be such a big problem. But it is. Time doesn't tackle any solutions to that cost problem, but thankfully Joseph did - see his article for ideas on combating the ever-rising costs of higher education.
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Mark Biller is Sound Mind Investing's Executive Editor. Visit www.soundmindinvesting.com to learn more.