I wrote about “useless degrees” previously on this blog. The premise of that post is that purpose of pursuing a college degree isn’t to gain vocational training.
No degree is “useless,” unless you think an education is the same as a vocation.
People should look up the words education and vocation and learn the difference, because…
Somewhere along the way, people confused a college degree with a job contract.
They enroll, graduate, and then act shocked when employers don’t roll out a red carpet and a six-figure salary in their field of study.
That’s not how it works — and it was never supposed to work this way.
College is designed for education, not guaranteed employment. The problem isn’t the degree — it’s the unrealistic expectation.
1. A Degree Proves You Were Trained — Not That You’re Useful
Finishing college demonstrates you can complete assignments, absorb information, and follow structure. It doesn’t prove you can solve real problems, produce results, or generate income.
Too many “educated idiots” out there for an employer to assume that you aren’t one of them just because you have a degree.
2. You Weren’t Promised a Job — You Assumed One Would Automatically Materialize
A diploma is not a hiring agreement.
Schools don’t guarantee employment, industries don’t owe you a spot, and companies don’t care that you studied something unless it adds measurable value. Value that you can demonstrate.
3. Vocation Requires Skill, Not Just Book Knowledge
Just because you majored in business, psychology, or communications doesn’t mean you’re qualified to work in those fields with any degree of expertise or competence.
Employers care about what you can execute, not what you can recite.
Having the credential is great, but it is only a discriminator at best when you’re fresh out of college with little to no experience.
4. College Isn’t Job Training — It’s Intellectual Training
Degrees teach:
-Theory
-Analysis
-History
-Perspective
-Structure of thought
Important things, to be certain, but…
They don’t teach:
-Sales
-Coding fluency
-Marketable execution
-Customer acquisition
-Industry tools
-Adaptation on the fly
That’s not failure — that’s design.
Education is the foundation, not the roof. There is a reason that even professional degrees, like law and medicine, require that you have post-graduate certifications (like the bar exam) or go through some kind of on-the-job, supervised training (like the residency that new medical school graduates have to go through).
5. The Entitlement Is the Real Scam; You Scammed Yourself
People graduate with debt, then assume the world owes them a job because they “put in the work.”
No — you attended college. Period. You haven’t produced anything yet.
6. The Market Doesn’t Care What You Studied — It Cares What You Can Do
A degree might open a door. Your competence determines whether you stay in the building.
7. You Went to College for Knowledge — Not Employment Assistance
If you treated college like a career launchpad but never picked up practical skills, networked, interned, or built anything — that’s not higher education’s fault.
8. People Want Prestige Without Purpose
They chase degrees for identity and bragging rights, then get angry when the “real world” doesn’t treat their education like a free pass to a six-figure job.
Final Thought 💭
College is the gym for your mind — not a job offer.
You don’t get hired because you attended a weight room. You get hired when you can lift something that matters.
-The Rational Ram
The Rational Ram 