Is College Necessary for a Successful Future?

Alex Tabarrok once said, “Education is the key to the future: You’ve heard it a million times, and it’s not wrong. Educated people have higher wages and lower unemployment rates, and better-educated countries grow faster and innovate more than other countries. But going to college is not enough. You also have to study the right subjects” (Reich par. 5). This quote is a very popular quote because it is a true to connection to education. The general assumption about college consists of how important it is to personal success, our future, and our general lives. However, questioning whether college is really important or not is becoming increasingly more popular in our society. Going to college is commonly one of the biggest decisions that we make in our lives so let me ask you this question, is college necessary for personal success?

From a young age, most kids have been brainwashed to believe that college is the only path to success in life. Is it? Is college the right choice for everyone? Or are there better alternatives? These are questions that have been asked many different times but it seems like there has been a lack of a clear-cut answer. There are many different things to consider when looking at colleges as the only path to success.

Data from the U.S Department of Labor shows that college graduates have lower rates of unemployment. The rate of unemployment with a bachelor’s degree is 2.7%, while the rate of those with a high school education is 5.2% (Employment Projections, Bureau of Labor Statistics). This depicts that those who earn a college education have a better chance at getting a job. Their data also shows that those with a college education have higher salaries. The median weekly earning for those with a college degree is $1,156 and the median weekly earnings for those with a high school education is $692. That’s a $464 a week difference and $24,128 a year difference (Employment Projections, Bureau of Labor Statistics). Not only are college graduates getting jobs and making more money, but they are also healthier and happier. Professor Phillip Trostel, reports college graduates are four times less likely than high school graduates to smoke and are more likely to exercise, wear a seat belt, be a healthy weight, and go to the doctor’s (Want to be Happy and Healthier, Merisotis, Jamie).

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

As technology evolves and the price of higher education increases, alternatives to College are considered. Some people don’t believe a college education is necessary to be successful. Instead, they decide to go into business for themselves, using the skills and crafts that they 've developed on their own time to become entrepreneurs. In this day and age, it is easier than ever to learn from the comfort of ones home and actually get a degree in something with a high pay out, such as a real estate license or accounting degrees. But what social skills will be gained from sitting in pajamas on the couch? In college, you not only finish with a degree, you get real world experience. College is necessary for success and survival.

People are wanted to hire people that have college degree more than people without college degree. Also, they are less likely to lose their jobs of recession. College grads usually are happier with their job because they are according to financial advice column are more likely get health care coverage and other benefits through their work.

College graduates tend to make more money than high school graduates. According to the Economic Policy Institute, “College graduates, on average, earned 56% more than high school grads in 2015” (Pay Gap Between…). Although, this stat might not be for everyone it is for the majority of people. Jobs tend to pay higher if the person has a college degree than if one did not. To be successful people might have to spend money to make money. If someone spends thousands for college for 4 plus years, but in return they are making 56% more money than a high school graduate in the long run it will be worth it. They will have a lot of debt and student loans to pay, but once they pay it off they will start catching up to high school graduate in profit quickly. Many jobs would rather have someone with a college degree than one with just a high school diploma. The stats prove that people tend to make more later on than someone who goes straight into the workforce.

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)

Not too many years ago, even high school was considered un-useful, but as todays economy continues to go up, the more school becomes valuable. Even thirteen years of education is not enough for todays standards, as it continues to become more of a “technology advanced” world the more years in college will be suggested to be “well-off”, even not going to college can cost you, as New York Times article by Kaufman reads “Not going to college can cost you up to half a million dollars”. Therefore, the fact of it all is the economy is going to force us to go to college so we can make a living and be considered to standard, and for this to be achieved 16 or more years of school will be necessary. Yet, from the average person, this seems to only fix a minor percentage of issues we all

“College graduates aged 25 to 32 who are working full time earn about $17,500 more annually than their peers who have only a high school diploma, according to the Pew Research Centre, a think-tank.”(Web) Most students that graduate college agree that college is a good investment despite the cost of university increasing and job salaries staying the same.

A college education isn’t meant to make people become rich, but to help them fulfill their interests within a career with the long term benefits of receiving a degree. “People who argue that college is worth it contend that college graduates have higher employment rates, bigger salaries, and more work benefits than high school graduates (ProCon.org).” So, it seems that college is worth more than just graduating from high school with a diploma and entering the work force.

When the average induvial thinks about attending college they usually thank the end result will be a higher paying job. It doesn’t matter what level degree one has, there will always be completion for any job. It just a beneficial speculation that many people have the idea that college will always lead to higher paying job. This is not always the case. Michelle Adam states “the study reported that a majority of Americans (57%) say that the higher education system in the United States fails to provide students with good value for the money.” That’s more than half of students that are going to college and not getting what they thought they would from college. The high education is going in the wrong direction.

College can make it easier to be able to retain jobs that have high-paying salaries, making it less stressful for someone who worries about paying his next

The first reason is college is a place where people should go to gain knowledge, not just to focus on getting a better paying job. Higher education helps people gain academic knowledge in various subjects, it also opens up the mind to view material in a critical and philosophical way. It is an investment that can pay off in the future. As stated in is college worth it by Adam Michelle, “According to the survey, adults with a college degree estimated, on average, that they earn $20,000 a year more because of having achieved a degree. The same held true for adults with only a high school diploma, who believed, on average, that they earn $20,000 a year less. This matched up with 2010 Census Bureau data, which showed that the earnings difference between a high school graduate and a college

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