When it comes to the topic of attaining a college degree, most will readily agree that it is essential to securing a successful career post-graduation. Whereas some are convinced that a college degree does not guarantee entry into a career in one 's field of study nor does it determine success in one 's career, others maintain that a higher education is, in fact, the way to job security and financial success. What comes into question is whether the investment in a college education is truly worth it or not in order to accomplish a student 's goals of success. I think it could be said for most prospective college students that the reason for going to college is to gain the credentials required for most jobs today. What many of those potential students may not realize is the substantial percentage of graduates who do not acquire a job related to their majors, how much debt they will incur, and just how many students don 't graduate at all for reasons such as an overwhelming workload and a poor work/ life balance. In the essay "College Graduates Fare Well, Even through Recession," author Catherine Rampell provides data that detail why a college education is worth the investment. She shares with us a positive perspective on the employment prospects after graduating from a 4-year institution. Rampell states that "there are more employed college graduates today than employed high school graduates and high school dropouts put together" (pg. 678). This is seemingly good news
In Catherine Rampell's New York Times essay "College Graduates Fare Well, Even through Recession," she writes an argument on whether college is worth the investment or not. In her essay, Rampell explains her position from the standpoint of agreement that college is well worth the investment. She provides a number of statistics based on the positive outcome of employment rates, post-graduation, for 4-year college graduates. Rampell gives a convincing outlook on the upside of investing in furthering one's education, resulting in a worthwhile outcome. Reading Response #4: College Graduates Fare Well, Even through Recession Written by Catherine Rampell
A college degree is a valuable asset that could ultimately lead to a productive life in society due to the received education, but people without a college degree do turn out more than adequate in regards to societal success. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the forecasted 30 fastest growing jobs between 2010 and 2020, five do not require a high school diploma, nine require a high school diploma, four require an associate 's degree, six require a bachelor 's degree, and six require graduate degrees to get the jobs (College). In an article called “College Education” by ProCon.org,
People think that having a college education is a pathway to success in life. However, what exactly is a college education? The actual meaning of it is “an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completion of secondary education.” By this definition, it is the highest level of an education before it allows us to step into the real world and start our career from everything that has been learned in college. It is also an optional opportunity for students to pursue if they choose to. Before entering college, I thought it was a place just to seek a degree to get a job satisfaction that I’ll be interested in and receive all kinds of benefits after college. What a college education really gives are many benefits for those that
When it comes to achieving success in the work force and finding a fulfilling and lucrative career there are few things more important that higher education. Going to college and getting a degree is essential in finding success in the work force. The problem is when the cost of gaining that degree outweighs the financial compensation the career that follows is able to supply. Very few people are able to pay for college out of pocket. The result of this is that students seeking higher education are forced to take out massive student loans. This means that they are entering the work force
Not only do we get a lot out of getting a college degree in what we want to do, but so does our society. There are requirements for every job for a reason. Jobs need people that specialize in just that career field. They want us to be passionate about what we do and more importantly know exactly what we are doing. For example, hospitals have no room for mistakes because not only may it cost a life, it can also costs them money. We feel safer knowing people know how to do their jobs right. College education is necessary whenever there is a shortage in certain careers. It’s important to have higher education so there can be growth and competition in our society.
The rise of college tuition along with room and board have lead many to believe that college isn’t worth the money. This among with the other factors of how getting a job into society is more difficult and that a college degree no longer competitive due to the high abundance of them. On the other side, many others urge the importance of a degree. They bring up how more jobs today require degrees, the return investment, and many other things.
This can be further illustrated by Andy Blevins, a college dropout who left college to pursue a warehouse job. He now thinks that he could've done more with a degree. He laments that when looking for a job "A lot of places, they're not looking that you're trained in something,They just want you to have a degree. " This contradicts one of the key parts of many people's conceptions of the american dream, which says that if you work hard, you’ll be rewarded accordingly. Rather, the key to a successful career is a college degree.
One must consider their choice of major, cost of school, where they are attending school, and a variety of other factors. Depending on the situation college may not be a smart investment (Owen and Sawhill 209). I agree with this notion that some people are not meant for college, but we as a society still push the idea of college which creates conflicting thoughts in the mind of a student. When discussing the benefits of attending college the biggest supporting reason revolves around further expanding one’s knowledge in order to earn a higher income. They use ethos in their appeals but they fail to provide evidence of this. They may show numbers that are skewed showing the difference in salary of a high school graduate and a college graduate but they don’t show the majors that earning that high income. They don’t show the number of college graduates without a job and how much debt they are in. Owen and Sawhill do a tremendous job in their report of giving us those numbers and statistics to back up their
Supporters of getting a college degree often point to the statistics that college graduates earn more than their high school educated peers over a lifetime. Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau reports that since 1977, “Adults with bachelor's degrees in the late 1970s earned 55 percent more than adults who had not advanced beyond high school. That gap grew to 75 percent by 1990 -- and is now at 85 percent.” A gap of an 85% pay difference is a huge figure and a clear reason why college is a great option for some people. But there are problems with that figure because when the number of college graduates who are either unemployed or underemployed is taken into account it changes the value of the statistic. In an article by Businessweek’s Richard Vedder we get statistics to counter that argument. He tells of how the number of new college graduates far exceeds job growth in technical, managerial, and professional jobs where graduates traditionally have searched for employment. As a consequence, we have underemployed college graduates doing jobs historically performed by those with just a highschool education. He says we have “more than 100,000 janitors with
I have read an article "Is a College Degree Necessary" published by Los Angeles Times, and was written by Mike Rustigan in my English class. The author wrote about the number of dropouts from the university because they feel that school is not the appropriate place for them to learn the knowledge and life. They just want to work with your hands, and learn a skill by itself after high school. By contrast, President Obama wants every student has the opportunity to attend college to obtain higher education. President Obama told Congress, "We expect all our children not only to graduate from high school but to graduate from college and get a good-paying job." (Los Angeles Times). After reading the article, there is the big question in my mind is: Is there a college degree necessary for success? Some people may think that not going to college will not have much influence on their life, because going to college or a vocational school, finally, people still go to work and earn money to support themselves and their families, should a college degree is not important and necessary; as long as we have the ability and effort, we will succeed. Is really very difficult to believe that a person needs a college education to succeed in life because success in life has different meanings for different people, and there are many who have succeeded , become a billionaire, but not through a whole school or class in life. Some others said that the university is not only a success, but the path
Growing up, we are all told to go to college and get a degree. This is simply because of the power and value a college degree holds. Having a college degree is a ticket that can help you get any kind of job you want. In Class Matters, there are people with different thoughts about a college degree. “The aluminum factory could get him into middle-class security quicker than a bachelors degree could” (Egan, Timothy 108). This was quoted from a man in the book named Mark McClellan, a pest controller. He feels that he doesn’t need a degree because he can just work for the same amount of money that a degree can help you get. He might be right but without a college degree you will be limited to what kind of jobs you can get, if any will hire you at all. With a college degree, “The world is yours,” you can get any job you want. A degree seems like it is nothing but a piece of paper
It seems in the society we live in today, having a college degree is a necessity. Years ago it was the norm for people to just go right into a full time job after high school, if they even finished high school; they did this to support their families. In today’s society a person has a difficult time getting a decent job without a college degree. During an adults working life, bachelor degree graduates will earn about $2.1 million and a high school graduate can expect to earn an average of $1.2 million (Day and Newburger, 2002). This is quite a difference and it puts a college education in
Thankfully statistics show that the unemployment rate is considerably lower for people who have graduated from college. After you have a college degree you are more likely to make a higher wage than the person who doesn’t, what is more, you will probably get hired faster. College degrees not only help that graduate out but it also helps out in the long run if they have a family that depends on them. College opens up better career opportunities that have enhanced job security and happiness. (Education Corner)
Most expect that by attending college and graduating they will be able to find a good paying career with benefits in a field that will interest them. It seems that from high school it is drilled into our heads that we must attend college to be successful in life and contribute to our society. However, college graduates often find themselves working in a field that is unrelated to their degree. This could be due to how many people are also trying to apply for jobs in that specific field, or it could be that that job does not provide them with enough money to live off. The most important thing that students really need to ask themselves before they attend college is, “is a college degree really enough in today’s world to get a good career
Now days, many people are told that they must graduate high school with good grades, so that they can get into a good college and be successful in life. Many people follow this because it’s what they have been taught their whole life. Most won’t even ask themselves, is college worth it, or is there a better alternative out there. College can be worth the time and money that is invested, for a lot of individuals, if they use it correctly. On the other hand, college isn’t for everyone and there are many reasons that make it not very appealing for these individuals. I consider college to be worth it if you use it correctly, even if it isn’t the best financial investment. While there are many people who think college is worth the time and money invested, there are others who disagree.