This story was originally published on Quartz on work.qz.com on October 25, 2017. This story was written by Oliver Staley, a reporter for Quartz. To view the original story on work.qz.com, click here.
A four-year college degree, long seen as the ticket to the upper ranks of American society, is increasingly becoming a necessary credential for even a middle-class existence. Dozens of occupations—from bookkeepers to administrative assistants—can now require college degrees when none was required before.
While the nature of the work hasn’t changed, the ratcheting up of necessary qualifications erects a higher barrier of entry, threatening the social mobility of millions and adding costs to both workers and employers, according to a new study from Harvard Business School, Accenture, and Year Up, a nonprofit that places young people into jobs.
According to an analysis of millions of help-wanted postings, there are as many as 6.2 million jobs, now performed by workers without degrees, in fields that have started making higher-education a common requirement. For example, among the 603,0000 people employed as production supervisors, only 16% have four-year college degrees, yet 67% of job listings for the role require them.
A four-year college degree, long seen as the ticket to the upper ranks of American society, is increasingly becoming a necessary credential for even a middle-class existence. Dozens of occupations—from bookkeepers to administrative assistants—can now require college degrees when none was required before.
While the nature of the work hasn’t changed, the ratcheting up of necessary qualifications erects a higher barrier of entry, threatening the social mobility of millions and adding costs to both workers and employers, according to a new study from Harvard Business School, Accenture, and Year Up, a nonprofit that places young people into jobs.
According to an analysis of millions of help-wanted postings, there are as many as 6.2 million jobs, now performed by workers without degrees, in fields that have started making higher-education a common requirement. For example, among the 603,0000 people employed as production supervisors, only 16% have four-year college degrees, yet 67% of job listings for the role require them.
A four-year college degree, long seen as the ticket to the upper ranks of American society, is increasingly becoming a necessary credential for even a middle-class existence. Dozens of occupations—from bookkeepers to administrative assistants—can now require college degrees when none was required before.
While the nature of the work hasn’t changed, the ratcheting up of necessary qualifications erects a higher barrier of entry, threatening the social mobility of millions and adding costs to both workers and employers, according to a new study from Harvard Business School, Accenture, and Year Up, a nonprofit that places young people into jobs.
According to an analysis of millions of help-wanted postings, there are as many as 6.2 million jobs, now performed by workers without degrees, in fields that have started making higher-education a common requirement. For example, among the 603,0000 people employed as production supervisors, only 16% have four-year college degrees, yet 67% of job listings for the role require them.