What is "progressive credentialism?"
How does it delay the incubation of the US labor force?
And how can you avoid it?
Well, just watch this video.
(on a very serious note, this video should be viewed by every 14-18 year old so they know what lies ahead).
I know about this first hand. I'm a Registered Nurse. To advance my career I need to get my BSN (Bachelors in the science of Nursing). At the same time I have to get my BLS (Basic Life Support). If I want to work in an ICU I need to get my ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support). Eventually, I want to graduate to the highest paid nursing specialty of CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist). So thats 2 years of school to become a nurse, another year for my bachelors, several classes for certifications, and then 2 and a half more years for my CRNA.
ReplyDeleteIn Australia we've now got a system where Engineers can become chartered after three years experience and so many CPD points of ongoing learning.
ReplyDeleteCatch is that to stay chartered one must belong to an Institute of Engineers (paying their fees).
Used to be that only engineers who were super dedicated or had too much time on their hands bothered.
Now it's becoming a minimum requirement for some jobs and, in my last company, was a requirement to become a Senior Engineer.
They effectively found a way to force engineers into compulsory paid for organisation.
Sir John A MacDonald, Canada's first prime minister left formal education at age 15. He wrote the Law Society of Upper Canada exam that allowed him to become an articling clerk (apprentice lawyer). Three years later he was running a law office, two years later (twenty years old) he had his own practice. He went on to be our first PM and serve in that capacity for 19 years. Not bad for leaving formal education at 15.
ReplyDeleteAaron, I agree with you most of the time but you're wrong here. Playing free trade when all the rest of the world is playing protectionism is a recipe for getting wiped out. When the jobs are precious and holding them seems to be arbitrary in a lot of cases, protecting them is good sense. Darwin doesn't care how you create an environment for raising children to adulthood, only that you do.
ReplyDeleteThe tech guys wanted to be free trade libertarians and got wiped out for their fair play mentality. The lawyers thought knowledge of the law was a blessing everybody could benefit from, and they've been wiped out for their idealism.
The dentists said 'Aw, hell no' and make six figures. The accountants crank out reams of legislation that ensure corporate America will be taking care of them forever. When the big companies are full of internal politics and play influence games with the government, not protecting yourself is foolishness.
Also, as an accountant myself, I'll tell you that an M.S. requirement is the next logical step. You see a lot of people getting them even if they took the required classes at the B.S. level just because it gets them another spin at the employment roulette wheel. If going $30k into debt buys you a Big Four name on your resume that you otherwise wouldn't have gotten rather than working for a local firm (the CPA equivalent of the community bank) then it's totally worth it. This is not a profession that is kind to people who graduate jobless.
This is my problem with the engineering profession. The PE license test you take really has little to do with what you do as a consulting engineer (the ones who design systems for buildings, the foundation, structure, etc.).
ReplyDeleteStupid legislators decided that continuing education credits were a good idea though they are totally useless to most engineers. The employer wants you to do it on your own time and in the end it is just another game; you take the CE whether it has any real application to your specialty or not.
Also, who decides how much that 8 hours you spend is worth? I attended one years ago, though I did not need it, only amounted to 1 CE credit for 8 hours.