If you have a college degree and you’re male, do not think that you are automatically entitled to a good paying job and a high level of status and respect.

In the US, we have a severe shortage of males with college degrees. This is already known. And, the vast majority of the most difficult to fill STEM jobs require a college degree. <br><br>But, our educational system is still producing far more females with college degrees than males. <br><br>So, if you’re a male with a college degree, congratulations. You beat the odds and you’ve achieved something that most males cannot. But you are not automatically entitled to a good paying job and a high level of status and respect. <br><br>Rather, you need to think carefully about the field that you wish to pursue, and what specific job you wish to pursue. And, how much training you need. And, how much of your free time you’re willing to put into developing your skills. <br><br>Just about every fields that requires a college degree is highly competitive. For about every about every specialty (for example, accounting or engineering or microbiology), there are often 1,000s of colleges that offer the same degree program. So, for example about 1,500 colleges offer a degree in accounting. For microbiology, about 900 colleges offer that degree. And, for engineering, about 700 colleges offer that degree. These are very general numbers and are based on my research I’ve done on about 25 different specialty fields for which a college degree is required. <br><br>So, if you’re a man with a college degree, you need to put in the effort to develop your skills and to build your knowledge base. You are not automatically entitled to success. And, you need to choose a specific job that you wish to pursue, and be prepared to put in the time to constantly develop your skills for that job.