Bear Ribs
Well-known member
One cause of degree inflation I haven't seen mentioned yet is the rise of automation in HR departments.
During economic downturns, there's usually widespread unemployment, and thus lots of people applying for each job, so HR departments have to pare down very large lists of applicants, preferably without spending much time or money on tons of interviews. Further, they can't pare the list down in any way that might trigger a lawsuit or discrimination complaint. They hit on using AI to pre-screen, but the AIs need keywords or numbers that indicate why it should get rid of a person. So, outrageous requirements for education and experience far more than what the job should reasonably need can give the AI a concrete standard that lets it quickly trim five thousand applicants down to a more manageable number and it's relatively lawsuit-proof.
Notably, requirements for jobs dropped way down and beginning wages went up during COVID, when most people were getting helicopter payments to not work and companies were competing fiercely for the few workers available.
During economic downturns, there's usually widespread unemployment, and thus lots of people applying for each job, so HR departments have to pare down very large lists of applicants, preferably without spending much time or money on tons of interviews. Further, they can't pare the list down in any way that might trigger a lawsuit or discrimination complaint. They hit on using AI to pre-screen, but the AIs need keywords or numbers that indicate why it should get rid of a person. So, outrageous requirements for education and experience far more than what the job should reasonably need can give the AI a concrete standard that lets it quickly trim five thousand applicants down to a more manageable number and it's relatively lawsuit-proof.
Notably, requirements for jobs dropped way down and beginning wages went up during COVID, when most people were getting helicopter payments to not work and companies were competing fiercely for the few workers available.