Archived The Value of a College Degree

[IamLegendTGT]

http://www.businessinsider.com/college-educated-wasting-degree-2010-10?comments_page=1#comments. A very interesting article, I have to say it made me question some things. My goal is to begin my climb up the company's ladder once I finish up my degree (I have a year left). I am currently a team leader and have high ambition so it worries me when I hear the constant stories of college grauates working in grossly overqualified positions. I, like many others, have student loan debt to pay off. What are people's thoughts on this and how it relates to Spot's requirement that ETLs haves degree.

 

[TargetIng]

I was worried about this when I was entering college, so I resolved to pay for it all without loans which hasn't been easy. I think some of the best ways to guard against being stuck in a menial job after graduation are to do at least one internship and to get really good grades. Everyone I know at my college that has done those things already has a job offer and we're less than halfway through our senior year.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Spot has a req'd for tl to have a degree in the core roles now.

 

[tellmeaboutatime]

If you go on Targets web site and look into TL openings and requirements it still list only a HS diploma as required along with prior supervisory experience. Have they just not updated their requirements online yet?

 

[IamLegendTGT]

It is listed only under 'Desired' requirement.. The company would love to hire all TL's who have a degree or are in school but that just is not possible. If it were, then all my peers would be out of a job.

 

[naterstx]

It is listed only under 'Desired' requirement.. The company would love to hire all TL's who have a degree or are in school but that just is not possible. If it were, then all my peers would be out of a job.

My store would have one TL... Me.

 

[StateofTarget]

Although I agree that a lot of people who get degrees are screwed.... (for example, one of our ETLs has a worthless degree in criminal justice. Obviously will be going nowhere in life) you have to admit that having one does make it a hell of a lot easier to get a job. Take our company. If you walk in the door and apply you can get a TM spot pretty easy. If your have a degree you can walk in the door, apply the same way, and you're an ETL. That's a pretty huge difference right there.

 

[Frizzo the Clown]

Although I agree that a lot of people who get degrees are screwed.... (for example, one of our ETLs has a worthless degree in criminal justice. Obviously will be going nowhere in life) you have to admit that having one does make it a hell of a lot easier to get a job. Take our company. If you walk in the door and apply you can get a TM spot pretty easy. If your have a degree you can walk in the door, apply the same way, and you're an ETL. That's a pretty huge difference right there.

Not entirely so. My wife has a Master's Degree, and she's still a TM. Her store has no desire, it seems, to let her move up at all.

 

[commiecorvus]

Not entirely so. My wife has a Master's Degree, and she's still a TM. Her store has no desire, it seems, to let her move up at all.

We have a number of people at our store with degrees who aren't getting moved up.
I suspect it depends on what part of the country you are in.
(And how much you've pissed off the ETLs)

 

[Darikona]

Yeah...degrees don't guarantee crap. Also I'm curious about the breakdown of masters and doctorates and what fields they represented.

 

[insiteful1]

Not entirely so. My wife has a Master's Degree, and she's still a TM. Her store has no desire, it seems, to let her move up at all.

Let her move up? You still have to earn the move. A degree is not a free pass to climb the ladder. It is, however, the ticket.

 

[coolsocks]

Although I agree that a lot of people who get degrees are screwed.... (for example, one of our ETLs has a worthless degree in criminal justice. Obviously will be going nowhere in life) you have to admit that having one does make it a hell of a lot easier to get a job.

A degree in criminal justice is worthless for working at Target, but not for other career opportunities, like for instance, if you want to become a police officer. I had a friend who graduated with me in May with a degree in criminal justice, had an internship with a local police department and has since been hired there and has begun his training.

I have a bachelor of science and was only hired as seasonal help. I'm mostly using this job to save up some money so I can start my career within the field I studied.

 

[insiteful1]

All 4 year degrees carry the same weight. Teaching, business, CJ, psych, agriculture. All the same in terms of ETL'dom.

 

[coolsocks]

Any degree is better than no degree, but if I spent 4+ years studying a specific trade, I'd want to apply it to my career.

 

[StateofTarget]

Any degree is better than no degree, but if I spent 4+ years studying a specific trade, I'd want to apply it to my career.

Really you only spent 2 years. The first two years of a bachelors degree are the same for everyone regardless of what they study. It is only the last two years specific to a particular field.

 

[coolsocks]

Really you only spent 2 years. The first two years of a bachelors degree are the same for everyone regardless of what they study. It is only the last two years specific to a particular field.

It really depends on how you schedule your classes. If you mix the gen-ed and major-specific classes together like I did, you can easily take your major classes through all four years.