College Education DBQ Essay

Many people believe that a college education is a worthy investment. The ability to become a college graduate will result in making more money. There are more jobs in today’s society that require college degrees. College graduates develop more and better employment opportunities within earning a degree. Self-discipline is a major element in becoming a successful graduate. Also, college graduates are healthier and live longer. Adults-young and old, male and female-who have a bachelor’s degree or higher have twice the annual median income than someone with only a high school degree ("Do college graduates," 2014).

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

This week for PLN I read "Is College Worth It? Clearly, New Data Say" by David Leonhardt is about how college is worth it even with its cost. In the article, it describes how important a degree is. It said in the article that 98% of people with a degree made more money than people without a degree. There is nothing inevitable about this trend. If there were more college graduates the pay gap would shrink. The true cost of a degree is negative $500,000. The unemployment rate for 25 and 34 years old is 3%. That is from having a degree. The average hourly wage for a college graduates has risen 1% to 32.60.

One question that comes to mind when graduating high school is, “should I attend college?” For many graduates this question have a very obvious answer. A high school graduate may state that, “college is the best option if one is trying to get a higher level of education, and will help one compete for a higher paying job.” However, in my opinion most graduates do not consider the fact that going to college is a very big decision to make and that the schoolwork will not be easy. Going to college is not the best choice for every high school graduate because many students cannot handle college, colleges’ lower standards, and not all jobs require a college degree.

Recent high school students are debating whether to or not attend college, should consider the benefits of attaining a college degree. For many low or middle income students, this a route to gain opportunities to improve their economic circumstances. An article, “Pathways to Prosperity,” states in 2008, workers with bachelor's degree make about 65 percent higher than high school graduates and workers with associate's degree make about 73 percent more than high school dropouts.. This is evidence obtaining a college degree can be an opportunity to have earnings higher and significantly increase one's income.

College graduates, on average, make a whopping one million dollars more in lifetime earnings than those with a high school diploma. Those with a college degree now make $17,500 more per year than those without — a wage gap that's doubled in recent decades. Those without a degree are four times more likely to be unemployed.One of the biggest and most important reasons for anyone to attend college is the upper hand it gives with regards to jobs and career. A college graduate has a higher chance of landing a job when compared to an individual with a high school qualification. Further, a college graduate also has better options and opportunities to progress in their

Attending college or pursuing a higher education is worth it because a degree ensures a stable, well paying job and provides a better quality of life. In Document A, “Earning and Unemployment Rates Based on Educational Attainment, 2015” compiled by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, a higher educational degree, such as a Doctorate or Professional degree, corresponded to a lower unemployment rate with a higher pay, while little to no educational degree corresponded to a higher unemployment rate with a lower pay. This means people who received a college degree had a better chance of finding and retaining a well-paying job because they are typically skilled in one profession that cannot easily be replaced, such as a doctor or engineer.

According to the article Is College Worth it? Clearly, New Data say by David Leonhardt, Labor Department statistics by the Economic Policy Institution in Washington released that the “Americans with four-year college degree made 98 percent more an hour” on average than “people without a degree” (1). However, this claim automatically assumes that the degree caused the higher earnings and failed to consider the fact that those who complete college are already more likely to be financially successful whether they attend university or not. In “Alternative Funding Resources for Higher Education”, Nicolas Barr responds to Leonhardt’s assumption of lower or free college tuition increase productivity by providing his research that shows that first, “education beyond a basic level does not increase productivity” and second, “that firms seek high-ability workers but unable to distinguish them from those with low-ability” (719). He explains that the assumption that higher education increases productivity is false. That does not mean that higher education is not associated with an increase in productivity, it simply means that there are more influences like “natural ability and family background” on the productivity of a student (720). Furthermore, Critics such as Leonhardt claim that “college degree is worth $1 million over the lifetime of a worker” (2). However, he failed to calculate the worth of each major. There are so many other factors to consider such as unemployment rate, the demand, and the salary of each job. For example, it assumes that a Bachelor of Arts in art history has the same outcome than a Bachelor of Science in quantum

After finishing high school people go through a dilemma on whether or not they want to continue their education. They could either go to college or begin working as just a highschool graduate. Going to college is a necessity. College takes four years and maybe another four years of studying. They is very little in comparison to an average 80 year lifetime. That’s not much time at all! College costs $20,000 - $30,000, college is like putting an investment into yourself and in hope that you’ll prosper and get a deserving career. Many jobs require special skills and that’s where college degrees come in. College brings many job opportunities, whether it be flexible or just high paying. Debt could easily be payed off if college is completed because of the better income.

In recent discussions of Is College Worth It? By John Green, a controversial issue has been whether, people should attend college or get a job after they finish high school. On the one hand, some argue that people can get a monthly income better than if they have a degree. From this perspective, some people they do not want to attend college. On the other hand, however, others insist that people should attend college after they finish high school. In the words of John Green, one of this view’s proponents, “after graduating from college, I actually made $1 per hour less when I started working as an assistant at Booklist Magazine, but the job was better in every way” (video). According to this view, he was working at Stake and Shake and he was getting better salary than what he got after graduate by 1$ less but money is not everything in life. Then he proved to the audiences through his experience that he was more comfortable with working as assistant at Booklist Magazine even he is making less money. Because he got a better job, got the knowledge, and work on something that he like. In sum, then, the issue is whether to attend college or work without a degree. My own view is that attending college is worth it even if it will cost some sacrifices of things that we can get it in the future. After, all, I have chosen to identify as a college student at Winona State University. Though I concede that choosing the university and working to enroll and pay the

Although college tuition is a lot nowadays, graduates are “far less likely to be unemployed than non-graduates.” (D) A college degree gives you a higher chance of getting a job to assist in securing the future of you and your family while also helping paying off your financial obligations. A college degree not only helps you obtain a job, but it also increase your income. “Construction workers,police officers… make significantly more with a degree…“(D)

College is where you go to get higher sources of education. Many high school students dream of attending college in order to attain more knowledge, yet so many people fail to realize the cost of college. Attending college, currently, is nearly impossible to do without being in some sort of financial debt or seeking out government help. According to the American Association of University Professors, “two-thirds of American college students graduate with substantial debt, averaging nearly $30,000 (if one includes charge cards) in 2008 and rising.” (AAUP, 2012) Although going to college is beneficial, there is an argument on whether or not going to college is worth the possible debt incurred. The goal

Americans have always believed that going to college is beneficial in many aspects and leads to a promising financial future.Recently, people have started to challenge this belief. Back in the day, if you had a college degree you were almost guaranteed a job. As Sir Ken Robinson puts it “You’re better having a degree than not, but it's not a guarantee”. Robinson has a valid argument; education trumps ignorance, but at the same, you don’t always have a high paying job waiting for you. Common sense seems to dictate that if their isn’t a job awaiting you then why waste money on a degree? This imposes another debate; are colleges worth the price of admission? In Andrew Hacker’s recent studies, Hacker seeked to compose an answer. He concluded that

The report “Should Everyone Go to College” by Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill states that typically, there are numerous perks for attaining a college degree; that observation is not consistent depending on variables like school, majors, occupation and individual. In the report, different factors were investigated that impact the benefits of a college degree in the course of one’s career. One of those factors noted an increase in earnings by 10% with an extra year of college education. Along with non-financial payoffs observed with acquiring a college degree like an enriched overall wellbeing. The other factor discusses how the school, course of study and rate of graduation affect the return from a college degree. The earning potential for

     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