A Piece of Paper and Years of Schooling Does Not Define Success
It is forced in the minds of students since the very beginning of their scholastic journey, in order to achieve the favorable and prosperous end goal of endeavors or “to be hired by Bill Gates” (Slouka, 4), a degree is a requirement. A college degree is simply a documentation, in other words a degree is a piece of paper confirming one met a certain level of pedagogic achievement. Nowadays, a college degree or post-secondary education is not synonymous with a stable income or secure job. Not to mention, people decide to take learning into their own hands and self-educate themselves. Too add on, education and professional accomplishments are not directly related to each other as
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Not to mention, many students pay a considerable amount of money to earn their post-secondary education and degree, yet still struggle a great deal in the work field along side those without an additional four years of education. That leaves students questioning the worth of education, perhaps degrees or certifications are not worth the paper they’re published on. According to Nona Willis Aronowitz, “nearly half of people ages 16-29 do not have a job” (2). The key reason many of these jobseekers are out of luck is for the reason that school professors are speaking at their students rather than teaching them. The job market requires practical application rather than knowledge, however, schools fail to give students that hands-on experience and that is why “more than a million young graduates are currently unemployed” (Johnston, 2). In addition, colleges and universities are simply educational institutions; these institutions are established to teach young minds but a few teachers in an ancient building cannot force students to learn, each individual makes that decision. Therefore, post-secondary does not guarantee success because memorizing information and listening during lectures has no significance, it is how individuals apply that knowledge that truly counts. With
In the article, “What’s College Good For?” , Bryan Caplan, an economics professor from George Mason University, argues that college is a waste of time and money. Caplan states that college teaches skills irrelevant to the job market, and that signaling is the main importance of a degree. Caplan further supports this by saying that students are not willing to work for their degrees, and that they either forget the material, or are unable to apply the material to the real world.
Higher education in America is facing many challenges, i.e., low retention, low graduation rates and less funding. Postsecondary institutions are scrambling to remain a competitive entity within society. In order to do so, students must remain in school (Talbert, 2012). The Office of the White House states (2014), educational attainment is critical to our county’s economic success. In essence, the work force is creating more jobs requiring more education and a higher level of skill than was previously achieved. Individuals with only a high school diploma will not make into the middle class sector because of
In his Essay “Are too many people going to college,” first published in a 2008 issue of AEI, Charles Murray explores many insights onto the topic of furthering education as well as exploring various other options to pursue after high school. Who exactly would think that too many people are going to college? Well with more and more students flooding campuses at the end of every school year and less and less going into trade schools, a shift in the job market is just beginning to be seen on the horizon. Charles Murray’s essay “Are too many people going to college” shows that not only are there other avenues to pursue a potential life long career, but that much of the time pursuing these avenues may offer better results for some wanting to go to college.
For decades, students have been told that college is the next step after high school graduation. Society reiterates this by glorifying individuals that have completed a degree and looking down upon those who do not have one. The problem is that many students have not acquired the necessary tools nor have the motivation to be successful while pursuing post-high school education. Some argue that college provides the foundation of liberal studies that will improve career opportunities. Charles Murray disagrees in his essay, "Are Too Many People Going to College." He states, "Most people should be getting the basics of a liberal education. But for most students, the place to provide those basics are elementary and middle school." (Graff, 238) This raises the question, is a four-year education the best option for all students. College provides many benefits that would be difficult to find elsewhere, such as, writing skills or cultural growth, but college is not meant for everyone. A college education does not guarantee a prosperous career, instead, gaining work experience or completing a trade school is a more intelligent option for the majority of potential students.
In society today, a college education is often seen as a “the next step” in a young adult’s life. Whether they actually know what they would like to earn a degree in, they feel the need to continue their education as almost everyone around them is pursuing post-secondary education of some sort. It is often argued that a college education is not necessary to get ahead because of the manufacture based workforce that is up and coming in America, however, there are many benefits to having a post-secondary education such as a higher rate of pay and more job opportunities.
Many young people think that obtaining a college degree is the best way—perhaps the only way—to get a good job anymore. So is it still possible to get a good job without one? According to Professor Blanche D. Blank, attaining a college degree doesn’t always guarantee success. In his published article “Degrees: Who Needs Them?”, he argues that American college is not teaching young adults the actual skills they need for the workforce, instead the education system is becoming a jumble of generalized credits that amount to a degree. College is becoming a mold for one to fit in the technological culture, rather than to release one to actively engage in the pursuit of knowledge. Blank begins building his credibility with personal experiences and
In the essay “College Value Goes Deeper Than the Degree” author Eric Hoover claims a college education is important to one 's well-being so they can get a job and be productive in other parts of life. Promoters of higher education have long emphasized how beneficial college’s value and its purpose. Many believe the notion that colleges teach students are life skills to apply anywhere, they also work hard to earn a degree and learn specific marketable skills which they can use to get a good job. Though obtaining a college education and a degree is helpful in countless of ways, it is not necessary to pursue a college degree in world where a college degree is seen different now, people without turn out fine, the growing average of debt that students who attend college have to pay off and people without a degree can obtain many jobs that do not require college degrees.
“What’s the key to success in the United States?”(Steinberg,2010), author Jacques Steinberg starts off his article “Plan B: Skip College” with a powerful question that has been asked by many Americans. Majority of Americans first thoughts would be higher education. The ideology that obtaining a degree is the best and sometimes only way to be successful in the American economy. This has been instilled in numerous children growing up. Steinberg states “perhaps no more than half of who began a four-year bachelor's degree program in the fall of 2006 will get that degree within six years according to the department of education”(Steinberg,2010). Students who tend to not excel in high school often take longer, or at times finish a higher education at all. These
Does college really give graduates the tools and knowledge required to succeed? In the article “Where College Fails Us”, author Caroline Bird attempts to argue that college may not be worth as much as people are led to believe. Bird believes that with the rise in college graduates being well above the Department of Labor Statistics anticipated job needs, college is quickly becoming a waste of time. Moreover, several reasons listed depict colleges many shortcomings, including the stress it puts on students and the unrealistic expectations it gives them combined with huge financial burdens. The author believes that the successful college graduates would have been successful regardless of their education, and that the majority of students felt forced to attend. Finally, she states that before wasting your money on a college education the reader should reflect on her article and determine if there is still value in a college experience. Although Caroline Bird presents many persuading arguments against the college experience in her article, I believe her logic to be outdated and generalized, and her content lacking of discrediting information. I disagree that all college graduates are taking dead-end jobs, and universities have withdrawn from the social side of their educational experience.
“Universities teach students how to think, but they do not provide real world experience, so people leave school unprepared for the workplace” (Smith). “More than half of all companies (60%) said new graduates lacked critical thinking skills and attention to detail (56%), while 44% found fault with their writing proficiency, and 39% were critical of their public speaking ability” (Berr). Students find it very difficult to understand what they need to do to prepare for the workforce. Instead, students could have been doing other things that could increase their techniques to help them make money in different
“In the United States today, there is no more certain investment than a college education”(Carnevale and Melton). Education has always been a major component of American society. One can only go so far without an education, and the more education and knowledge someone has, the better their chances of being successful. Some people believe a high school education is enough, and it is, enough to land a job at a fast food restaurant. I speculate they feel this way because they feel school is not for them, or maybe they just do not want to go far in life. To get far in life people must go above and beyond, and learn things that others do not know to make them
People in the past did not stress value of receiving a higher education because it was not as indispensable as it is today. Now, people perceive others not only by their appearances, but by their accomplishments. Employers always hire people with the most education and experience. The majority of students are concerned about getting a higher education throughout the years. Nevertheless, some people question the purposes of getting educated, and consider it meaningless. The concept of education has a significant meaning. It enables one to take control of knowledge and apply it. It is education what prepares the mind to comprehend and learn important ideas. A higher education is very important for an individual's success in
College, unable to deliver to everyone the promises of a “high-level” job because students lack skills (Michael Price). Consequently, with masses of students going to college, the government, Wall Street, and colleges “skyrocketed” tuition and students incur massive debt, Price explains. College graduates are ill-prepared for jobs, Michael emphases this sharing personal experience on needing more skills for jobs. Worthless degrees, too many graduates with the same experience, and the length of time it takes to get a degree the last things Price indicates problems with going to
Beginning at an early age, children who are encouraged academically by their parents, educators, and coaches will grow up with the realization that a thorough education will provide for them—financially and professionally—in the future. One of the first things that we are taught is that if we graduate with a degree from college, then we will have a better job and more opportunities in the future. There are many instances where this rings true. According to Brookings Institution publication “an individual with a college degree is nearly nine times more likely to make over $100,000 than someone with only a high school diploma and 13 times more likely to make more
After high school, a choice that many students have to make is whether to go to college or not. There are many factors that go into one’s decision. There are pros and cons to going to college and also there are pros and cons for not going to college. But the decision that will give someone the better opportunity to have a more successful life is to go to college. The money that one will earn after getting a college degree will be more than the money a person will make without getting a college degree. As our society has continued to evolve, education has become the optimal route to professional success: pursuing a degree is the best way to receive training, to gain expertise in a given field, and even to guide you and help you make choices