The Case Against Education

The Case Against Education: Why the Education System Is a Waste of Time and Money by Bryan Douglas Caplan. Princeton University Press; Updated edition (2019) 

Signaling

For many students, what they learned in college is used in their future jobs. But for many other students, either they didn’t learn much in college, or what they learned was not useful for gaining or retaining employment. For these latter students, the only value of going to college is that it signals to prospective employers that they are intelligent and hard working. 

Correlation is Not Causation

There is a positive correlation between going to college and getting a good job. Why? For the latter group of students mentioned above, it is because attending college signals to employers that you are intelligent and hardworking. Tremendous amounts of money are being wasted on fields of study that are not helpful in the world of work, and on students who are not learning much.

Cheaper Signaling Mechanism

We need a cheaper signaling mechanism. Why not give job applicants certification exams instead of requiring a college degree? The author discusses this issue. Is college good for things other than a good job, such as being a good citizen. The author discusses this also.