

This Time, Slump Hits Well-Educated, Too - tokenadult
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/nyregion/05unemployed.html

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tsally
It would be interesting to see data on the types and distribution of degrees
that are being laid off. The article does suggest a certain trend:

"In many ways, this recession resembles the deep downturn that began in 1989,
“which was really the first white-collar-driven recession,” Mr. Hughes said.
Then, too, there was a broad decline in employment in finance and related
professions like law and accounting, he said."

If the same thing is happening now as well, perhaps there are better ways to
optimize business, even when not in recession?

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TomOfTTB
I agree. I’d like to see what people we are specifically talking about here. I
think there’s a fallacy out there that having a high level degree means you’re
an educated person but in my experience that often isn’t the case. A lot of
people who have MBAs retained very little of the actual curriculum in school.

This is why companies tend to cut middle managers in a downturn. Because they
are essentially unskilled skilled workers in that they got an education but
failed to retain the skill. The examples given in the article (a manager at a
marketing firm and an editorial assistant) seem to fall in that category.

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spaghetti
In my experience there's an inverse correlation for high level education (MS,
PhD) and being smart, productive, etc. My approach was finish undergrad and
then take my "education" into my own hands. It's worked well.

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queensnake
Are the PhDs you know in the sciences? The ones I've met, even the bottom
rank, are at least solidly smart.

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spaghetti
Yes, in the sciences. In my experience I've noticed PhD comes along with a
certain lack of emotional maturity... which plays out in various negative ways
(overly emotional technical debates, focused more on blaming people for
problems rather than pursuing the simplest solution and so on).

