Having a college degree is not as helpful as it once was. In today’s economy, graduates are struggling to get jobs after they finish school, and many employers will only hire people who have degrees in the field they need. However, many jobs do not require a specific degree. For example, plumbing, truck driving, and electrician jobs do not require higher education. People are asking, is a college degree necessary or worth it in today’s job market? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Annual average unemployment rate, of civilian labor force 16 years and over, has risen from 4% to 8.9% in the past 11 years.

Some people think a college degree is not necessary and not as important as networking and experience in today’s job market. Huge successes like Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Michael Dell, and Richard Branson are all successful people who either dropped out of high school or did not finish college. Although stories like theirs are not very abundant in our economy,  there are other jobs that are unlikely to be outsourced that can be done without having a degree.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers, a forecaster of employers’ hiring plans and other employment issues, details what majors are in-demand, and how important a college degree is in this job market. Year after year, they inform the public that employers look to hire graduates in certain fields, such as business, engineering, and the computer sciences. While some industries hire by degree in order to have an educated employee, there are some skills that are not learned in the classroom.

The N-A-C-E research job outlook for 2012 says that there are other important qualities for students who make the GPA cutoff. Major is obviously important when hiring for specific skill sets, and employers are also highly influenced by a candidate’s leadership experience.”

Another important part of the no-degree side is opportunity cost. The Library of Economics and Liberty defines opportunity cost as “the value of the next-highest-valued alternative use of that resource.” If a student put money away in a mutual fund, the money could increase to more money than he or she would be making and spending while in school.

However, there is the pro-degree side. Some jobs require a certain degree in order to get a job in that industry. Majors with the lowest unemployment, according to “The college solution” blog, are medical technology technicians, nursing, and treatment therapy professions, which all require some type of degree specifically in those fields. Students who select more marketable college majors are going to increase their chances of landing a job.

It is important to note the difference between a liberal arts degree and a technical one. In an article from CNBC called “Is the Four-Year, Liberal-Arts Education Model Dead?” Richard K. Vedder, director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity and professor of economics at Ohio University, says we graduate more people from college than we have jobs for and that a college diploma doesn’t really cut it anymore as a sure path to success. He says, “Nowadays, you need a masters degree or an MBA.”

Another factor of the pro-degree debate would be student loan reform. According to the Obama administration, in a speech made in Colorado, students may be less worried about paying for their degree because of lower interest rates.

With the rise in tuition, student loan debt, and increasing unemployment rates for recent graduates, pursuing a college degree may not be worth it. However, the type of degree one attains and the field they enter can make the investment and years of studying worth their while. So many graduates are finding themselves in trouble after college, and some are doing just fine. It all depends on what one wants to do, and how they prepare themselves for it.

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LinkedIn is showing us their new application Volunteer Experience & Causes. The biggest industries that use LinkedIn concentrated on the high technology industry, finance, manufacturing business, and medical as well as corporate operations. But there is something that unites them all and it’s voluntary actions that are not reflected and valued in our resume.

Most users of LinkedIn come from North America, then Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa, Middle East and Oceania, respectively. And they can all be linked by non-profit companies, for volunteer work and help with cause. On one hand, this new application encourages profiles without volunteer positions or representation of causes to gain these.

For professionals who are active in advancing their favored causes, this is an enormous help. The second reason is the social influence. People can join to defend and support a cause. By including the causes, charities and volunteer profiles in LinkedIn, social networking becomes intertwined. This should lead to a positive, cause-aware influence on organizations.

There are two ways of understanding what it means to LinkedIn to promote social good. On the one hand, it encourages people to participate in voluntary work which will be reflected in their resume — and which will be valued. On the other hand, is a fantastic way for professionals and organizations to bond over a common causes. Contacts and business relations can spring from these types of links.

A Company Page is automatically created, making it up to you to claim it as your official representer on LinkedIn. Over 101,000 organizations currently use a Company Page to position their organization and differentiate themselves. As an example, the Company Page created by the American Red Cross has attracted thousands of followers.

So if you haven’t claimed your Company Page yet, now is the time to do it. Right now Facebook is gaining popularity with the application BranchOut which makes it an instant rival to LinkedIn. The application has become a hit with job seekers and employers because of its simplicity and extensive networking capabilities.

Facebook wanted to complete the bridge to the online job search and with BranchOut, will revolve around making it easy to post jobs through its system. But LinkedIn is still in good positions, expanding their market as we speak. In the near future, finding a job will be all about knowing hot to network online.

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