It’s finally here. The news is out and in a couple of years from now, a few of my other Associated Content articles will be getting lots of readers. I wrote a few pieces about college myths and why I don’t regret not going to college. In about twenty years, I think I will be in good company.

The go-to-college-to-get-a-good-job trend is finally coming full circle. Back in the 70’s, holding a bachelor’s degree was like holding the world in your hands. Only 47% of high school graduates went on to college. A good majority of us growing up in the 80’s felt the pressure from our parents to go to college because back then, it was the key to a good job. It gave you an edge above others. Fast forward to today, where more than 70% of high school graduates head off to college, and the majority of them aren’t stopping at just a bachelor’s degree. More and more students are pursuing master’s degrees.

The rose has been off the bloom on bachelor degrees for a while now. Since everyone has one, their value has declined. Simple economics at play here. Supply and demand. When supply is low, demand is high and a higher value is placed on the supply. Now that the supply is high, it has effectively eroded the demand, and the price it can fetch. In a few more years, a masters degree won’t mean much, either. Will doctorate degrees suffer the same fate?

What happens after that? I expect the value of real-world experience will carry a heavier weight in the deciding factor between hiring two doctorate-touting candidates. And what about the person who chooses not to get a doctorate, but instead goes into the workforce and now has a few years of work experience under their belt? Will that person edge out the two doctorate-holding candidates? I’ll be interested to find out, because I could see that happening.

It’s kind of ironic, really. Simple economics has outsmarted us once again. Yes, parents want the best for their children. Of course they do. And back in the 70’s our parents knew a bachelor degree would have really helped them out, so they propagated that idea forward to their children, us. And now the generation growing up between us and our children will be pursuing masters, because those parents know that’s where the money is. Will our children be the generation where college breaks itself? You can’t stay in school forever. The balance will tip, and I believe it will tip towards experience shortly after everyone goes out and gets a doctorate. The doctorate will become the Holy Grail for specialized fields, but I don’t think it will remain commonplace.

This is so fascinating. Think about it for a minute. People are in college longer. It used to be four years; now it’s six years. Six years! It’s even longer if you go part-time. Most people don’t get married and start families while they’re still in school. That comes after graduation. If the average masters-holding graduate graduates at age 25, how old will they be when they get married? When they have their first kid? This delay in marrying and having children is going to impact us economically. I’m not sure how yet; I haven’t figured it out, but there will be an impact. If a person starts a job later in life than before, they have less years to save for their own retirement. They may delay having children until they’ve stabilized and paid down their student loans to a more manageable size. Or maybe they won’t have children at all. Fancy that! All that work their parents did to give them a good start and then they don’t have children. Will potential grandparents feel gypped? Or, what if the push to give our kids the best advantages results in them not being able to afford to help us out in our old age and we can’t afford to help ourselves out because of the sacrifices we made to put our kids through college? What if they have to choose between having kids and helping out Mom and Dad? Because people are starting families later and later in life, by the time they have young children, they’re also dealing with older parents who are probably facing some health issues themselves. You think the sandwich generation has it bad now! What if it does come down to making that choice? Who wins?

Maybe that won’t happen. Maybe I’m way off in outer-space. Read Freakonomics. It will change the way you see the world around you. Maybe I’m not as looney-tunes as I sound.