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Re:Thesis Hatement by crusso on Friday April 05, 2013 @10:09AM (#5498484)
I don't agree with your assessment that this is a completely recent phenomenon.

"Is a college degree enough?" was a pervasive question when I got out of undergrad in 1991 since we were in a recession. My placement center and many magazines had "What is this degree worth?" compilations. This same information has been available online for at least the last 10+ years.

Ironically, I always thought of myself as being pretty blissfully unaware and unthoughtful of my own career and where I was headed... but I knew what my salary and job prospects were for my career before I settled on my major when I was a Sophomore in college.

Re:Thesis Hatement by MatthewPhillips on Friday April 05, 2013 @10:22AM (#5498572)
Sounds like you were a much better planner than most college students. I don't think that salary research is of much help for 18 year olds. It's hard to gauge what a good salary is at that age. This is where mentorship and parenting can be of great help. But we're still at a point where a minority of adults have college degrees so many parents believe sending college is the silver bullet to a good life.