I wouldn't say 'practically everyone' has one. Only ~30% of the US population holds one: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/24/education/census-finds-bac.... Just most of us on HN run in social circles were that number is 85%+, that we feel like everyone has one.
I would argue that "everyone has one" is inherently "everyone in my career has one", which the number that matters. If a heavy equipment operator doesn't have a bachelor's degree, well that doesn't really matter to me because I'm not competing for his job and he's not competing for mine. What matters if, what's the percentage of people competing for my job that holds a BS? Because that is the only determining factor of whether or not I should get one.
Isn't 30% is more than enough? If 3-4 people apply for a single position and 1-2 of them have a degree, then it's a fairly reasonable decision to ignore the other two.
And the ratios I've seen are far more than 3-4 applications per position.
> If 3-4 people apply for a single position and 1-2 of them have a degree, then it's a fairly reasonable decision to ignore the other two.
Years ago I found a copy of "The Screwing of the Average Man" at a thrift shop. According to Mr. Hapgood, getting preferential consideration for jobs was always the reason wealthy families sent their children to college.
After WWII the proletariat class got congress to subsidize college so they too could access jobs that had traditionally been reserved for the upper class. Thus began the college price spiral.
The problem is that everyone and their dog has their grade 12. Or at least that a Grade 12 education no longer guarantees that a Grade 12 no longer guarantees basic skills in reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic and reasoning.
Both of my grandfathers went to school through 8th grade. Both were quite successful and able to raise large families and retire well. At some point, we need to stop believing that more schooling is the only way for people to find their way in the world.
Then again, your grandfathers (and mine too!) weren't competing in a global economy where labor is fungible, but were able to rely on generational stability in smaller local economies.
Even if you ignore careers such as plumbers, dental hygienists, electrical technician, the entire construction industry, etc., ... a lot of web developers don't have one.
