Education has come a long way since the dark ages. What we know today far surpasses what we knew even 50 years ago. We have bachelor degrees now that didn't even exist 30 years ago. We have professions that have blossomed and others that have pretty much died away. But in all of that, has the actual degree itself kept the same value that it had when our parents went to school? Some would say no.

Back in the early 80s, if a student were to get a bachelor degree in just about any discipline at all, that student could have gotten an excellent job in computer science or some form of data processing. Math majors especially were given the best computer jobs. Today, computer science majors face long unemployment lines because of the tough competition. Those without a degree in computer science have no chance getting into the industry.

The above example is just one that shows how a bachelor degree in any discipline isn't worth what it was 30 years ago. Back in the early 70s, if you were a college graduate you were pretty much assured of getting a good paying job, even if you decided to work for an insurance company or a bank. College graduates with a bachelor degree in just about anything were put in management training programs and usually moved into management within a year, or less.

Today, that same graduate has a long line ahead of him. Not only are more people going to college and getting a bachelor degree, but they are going to finer schools because of the advances in getting financial aid. Affirmative Action has made it much easier for minorities to get a bachelor degree from a highly accredited institution. This increases competition even more, not just for jobs after college but for scholarships just to get into a college. Valedictorians are no longer guaranteed a full scholarship.

As a result of the bachelor degree not having as much power as it did years ago, students are now being forced to continue their education and get masters degrees and maybe even PhD's. The bachelor degree of today is like the high school diploma of years ago.

The effects that this has had on the world in general have been so widespread that it would be impossible to quantify all of them. But there are just a few of them.

For one, since it is now harder to get entry level jobs, the pay for these jobs has actually decreased if you figure in inflation and cost of living increases. Entry level jobs aren't paying that much more than they did years ago, while the cost of living has skyrocketed. We're actually making less money today for our first job than we did 20 years ago.

Another way this has effected things is that because a student has to further his education even more to get ahead, the average cost for an education has skyrocketed. Colleges know that a bachelor degree isn't a luxury anymore. It's something all kids need if they're going to have any chance for a future. So tuitions are now through the roof.

The snowball effect of lower paying jobs and rising tuition costs affects everyone. People don't have as much money to spend so businesses don't make as much. So people have to be laid off, which causes more unemployment and more problems.

The question probably shouldn't be if a bachelor degree is worth what it was. The question we should be asking is if there is anything we can do to fix the mess that our educational system is in.