An Inconvienient Infrastructure

By Christopher Waldeck on August 20, 2014

The debate regarding the minimum wage is a sign of a troubling reality for those in the job market.  While most minimum wage jobs are still filled by students often trying to gain work experience, the raising is often being debated for those who work full time and can’t afford living standards.  While, I still believe that the minimum wage shouldn’t be raised to the point that people who are inexperienced can’t find work, I think the issue of those dependent on working these jobs is a strong sign of an economy that is producing less jobs for qualified students and those who get degrees are often saddled with jobs that aren’t in their career field due to a strong disconnect between what is being taught in school versus what employers require them to have.

A study found out that employers are often dissatisfied with millennials and find it hard to fill jobs due to the lack of skills and experience that is required for specific positions.  Millennials were also found to be difficult to manage.  As a result, numerous college students are finding work that is either not in their major or undervalued considering how much they spent towards their education.  As a result, educated students and inexperienced to undereducated workers are competing for the same jobs. This is evidence that the minimum wage being raised is an insufficient short term solution to a long term problem that needs to be addressed very carefully.

That long-term problem is an inadequate infrastructure that is leading towards numerous students having to take jobs that are below entry level to even internship because there aren’t positions available that they qualify for.  Education that is being provided isn’t allowing for students to obtain these skills in the job market.  While arguments can be made about education being underfunded, one can also argue that college isn’t providing the correct skills based on the amount of students coming out of college and being inadequately experienced.

The rise of education MOOCS and free resources such as Code Academy are becoming more popular and even used on resumes in substitutes of degrees.   Trade and vocational degrees are becoming useful for second careers on the side in order make a little bit of extra money on the side while on pursues as career.  Sometimes, these skills will pay better than the degree itself.   This is putting pressure on those colleges offering academic degrees and it makes me question whether they are considering integrating these important skills with the education that is being provided.

I hear the constant solutions of raising taxes or cutting spending to be the answer, but the real answer should be reforming what is being taught within specific programs. This disparity in skills doesn’t just exist between the United States and other countries, but it varies by states as well. This can be a sign of economic competition by states, but it also shows that students who graduate from certain programs in certain states will be at a disadvantage when going for a job out of their area.

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