In the not-so-distant past, it used to be that kids went to college, earned a degree, and got a good job in their field after graduation. Not anymore.

 

Close to half of all college students who graduated in 2010—48 percent—are working in jobs that don’t require a bachelor’s degree. Another 38 percent earn a paycheck working a job that doesn’t even require a high school diploma. These statistics from a new report by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity are not good news for recent or soon-to-be college grads.

 

The report also cited a possible rise in the number of workers who are overeducated for their jobs. For example, in 1970, fewer than 1 percent of taxi drivers and 2 percent of firefighters had graduated from college. Today, 15 percent of both jobs have a college degree.

 

In 2010 there were 41.7 million working college graduates. The report states the number of graduates will grow by 19 million in the decade between 2010 and 2020, while predictions of the number of jobs requiring a college education will grow by fewer than 7 million. And you don’t need a college degree to do that math and understand, as the researchers note, a college diploma is no longer a golden ticket.