The Dwindling Power of a College Degree?

An article in the NY Times by Adam Davidson that calls into question the power of a college degree in securing a well-paying job refers to a graph that purportedly shows the disparity in income within professional fields as a function of some larger inequality. I might be missing something here, but the only inequality that's apparent is exactly the kind of inequality one would want to see, and one that makes perfect sense: professionals with a greater skill set and more training earn more money in their fields than those with inferior skills and less training. If anything, this graph would seem to underline the importance of a college degree inasmuch as it provides an individual with the means of advancing in a given industry. Indeed, Davidson, despite the title of the article, seems to say as much when he writes it's hard to see any career potential for high school dropouts or high school grads with no technical skills.

By no means does a college degree or technical training guarantee a well-paying job. For that matter, neither does hard work and a bit of luck. But, it is more a prerequisite than it ever was in former years.