I think of it more as a problem with apprenticeship than technicians. A 4 year liberal arts degree is, for some reason, almost required to get in at the bottom of jobs that don't really need a college education but at least have a chance at advancement. In these jobs, the "candidate for apprenticeship" must show they can work hard and learn. If they pay attention, work hard, and learn on the job, they can work their way up to decent paying jobs, or better.
Those without a degree are often forced to take jobs (example: fast food or coffee server) that don't provide the apprenticeship opportunities to learn and move up, as those are all occupied by the under-employed college graduates. So people without a degree have, on average, a lower chance of advancement through apprenticeship. This tends to be even worse in technical jobs. Historically (and I have a lot of history behind me - ouch), I've known only a few people that worked their way up to be engineers without engineering or science college degrees. But it appears there is a special situation/opportunity right now, and supposedly into the foreseeable future, with software and related jobs. Unemployment is effectively zero in this sector and jobs are going unfilled. I have heard repeatedly that you can get a junior level job if you can show a basic understanding of the technology. Then it is learn and improve on the job and you can potentially move up in very few years using the apprenticeship model. I know that basic skills be obtained by taking one MOOC a quarter, but that can take six quarters to get the full set of basics and some people *cough* aren't that patient, plus one still may not know how to spell github or participate in an agile process from taking MOOCs or free tutorials online, nor from reading how-to programming books. I think the companies desperate for trained coders are encouraging and perhaps even providing some financial/equipment/space/teaching support to the coding camps. If that is not true, I'd like to know. Note that $3000 tuition and 3 months is a different order of magnitude of cost and time than places like Phoenix and DeVry are infamous for. But is is a valid hypothesis. I appreciate your input and opinions on both sides of the argument, Greg
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