College Wage Gaps

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.

High school students are often stressed how important college is and how vital it will be for their future, but students often wonder if the thousands of dollars spent to further their education is worth it. According to the New York Times, “Student debt, meanwhile, has topped $1 trillion” (Leonhardt, 2014). Having that much in student debts, often questions individuals attend college or to join the work force right out of college. There are a lot of advantages of attending college as well as disadvantages of attending college. As an individual, you have to be the one to decide if it will be worth it or not. Some may view it is not worth all the debt in the long run, whereas some think it is worth every penny in the end. I have always had strong values when it came to education, therefore I think college is worth every penny.

Many students today look towards the future scared and frightened debating their future, all of them asking the same question. Is a college education truly worth the cost and the amount of debt that a student acquires over a four-year period? Many ask what are they doing this for, a piece of paper called a degree. That’s what the articles “Five Reasons Why College is Worth the Cost,” written by Reyna Gobel and “Is College worth the cost? Many recent graduates don’t think so,” written by Jeffrey J. Selingo both address. The articles take different standpoints and views on the topic. Gobel’s article siding with the view that college is worth the cost. While Selingo’s article argues that college is not worth the cost.

It has been a heavily debated topic over whether college is worth it or not. In “College’s Value,” college professor Eric Hoover explains his studies of college degrees and concludes that attending college has greater benefits than we expect. Nowadays, when families think of college, they think about the amount of financial burden instead of what they will gain from attending. In this article, Hoover states, “Yet the perceived benefits of attending college go well beyond the dollars” (Hoover 1). He writes how diplomas help receive better and higher paying jobs. Hoover is persuasive by using statistics, interviews with undergraduates and graduates, and acknowledging the opposing views as well as refuting them.

The debate about whether a college education is worth it may have begun when the pilgrims first came over from Europe and founded “New College”, which was later changed to Harvard University in 1636. With over 19.9 million college students enrolled today and a combined student debt for the country of over 1.2 trillion dollars the debate continues today. People who argue that college is not worth it, point to the crippling debt that some college graduates have which can delay graduates from saving for retirement or buying a house. They also say that everybody enrolling in college can have some unintended consequences and that many jobs, especially trade jobs, do not require a degree. People who say that a college education is worth it contend that college graduates have bigger salaries, higher employment rates, and more work benefits than those only with a high school diploma.

In “The Great Debate: Is College Still Worth It?” author Ricardo Azziz endorses post-secondary education by stating its economic advantage in today’s society. The author begins his article by introducing a survey done by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, which shows that the majority of college graduates believe college education is worth its cost. Not only are people convinced of the value of a college education, adults with a degree of some sort (bachelor’s degree or associate degree) tend to earn more than those without one. But also, post-secondary education gives people a better chance at achieving the “American Dream” through diligence and hard work. Azziz states that “college graduates were 5.3 times more likely to leave the bottom quintile than non-college graduates”. In addition, in times of an economic downturn, individuals with a college degree are often able to better cope with the difficulty than those without. However, amidst the benefits of college, Azziz does not forget to address the reality that attending college is still, without a question, an expensive endeavor.

Society today is often very pressuring towards young adults when it comes to attending college. Maybe it’s because it is the most appropriate idea for people. College provides the average human with a higher satisfaction of life due to the experience and the positives outcomes than that of someone who chooses not to go to college. Although college results in the possibility of debt afterwards, it is still worth the journey.

In today’s society, the idea of receiving a college education has been pondered quite a bit as to whether or not it is actually worth it. According to Michelle Adam, many people “…today believe that getting a good education is key to success in our society, this revealed surprising issues that challenge the notion of higher education being worth its price tag” (59). Naturally, many high school graduates apply for college right before or after graduation. Others decide to go into the work force, armed forces, or simply remain unemployed. The question that many people debate about is, is a college education worth it in the long run? Though some people believe a college education will benefit ones’ career, others believe it will cause a mass

“In fall 2016, some 20.5 million students are expected to attend American colleges and universities, constituting an increase of about 5.2 million since fall 2000” (National Center for Education Statistics). That number seems to be rising each and ever year, and it almost seems as students feel like they have to go to college directly after high school. Maybe it is because they feel that they have to fit in, even if college is not for them. Although some students attend college for academics, sports, and other reasons, some students attend college for no apparent reason; with that in mind, students should take into consideration the time and money that is put into going to college.

In recent conversations of the increment of the student loan debt, a controversial issue has been whether a college degree is worth getting. On the one hand, some argue that earning a college degree is a major life achievement that some consider to be part of the American dream. From this perspective, we can see that a college degree opens up more opportunities and possibilities of employment with a higher pay and position. On the other hand, however, others argue that many people succeed without college degrees. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the 30 projected 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. In sum, the issue is whether a college or career path is worth the debt or not.

Advocates of this form of higher education contend “a college degree is certainly no guarantee of financial success, but it is nearly a prerequisite for moving up the income ladder if you're poor” (Rampell 1). While college has the ability to aid in the advancement of a person’s financial standing, it proves to be a fruitless investment for some students. Even with the accreditation a diploma offers, millions of graduates struggle to earn a salary that ensures the benefits of their major investment. Academic philosopher Gary Jason insists “the rising price of college tends to erase the potential returns of a college education for students of only average ability” (Jason 1). The essence of Jason’s argument is that with a multitude of programs available as an appropriate substitute, college proves to be a waste of time and money for students pursuing careers that do not demand a diploma. The financial burden of college is growing, and in some cases, it cancels out the benefits. Believers in the college dream’s claim rests on the questionable assumption that all students will successfully obtain a diploma and follow a career path that will result in profits from the

The authors also use these graphs to show the contrasts between workers with only a highschool diploma when compared to workers with a college degree. The figures contrast the differences in work-life earnings between different degrees and majors, showing that some degrees have a slim chance of paying off or being worth the cost of attendance at a college or university. These contrasts help illuminate the fact that a degree just isn’t for everyone. Many students who are pressured into attending college end up making a massive and costly mistake. The author states that “nearly two hundred schools on the 2012 list have negative ROI’s (return on investment)” (p.214). In another essay, titled “Colleges & Early Decision: An Overview,” the authors, M. Lee and M. Clapp, explore the problems and difficulties that students must face during the application process. This information further supports Owen and Sawhill argument against the current system of education by explaining how college can affect students even before

With tuition costs skyrocketing and job opportunities declining for many graduates around the nation, it leaves many to question the supposed benefits of earning a college degree. In high school, students are geared towards the idea a college education will unlock various opportunities for those with a degree compared to those individuals without one. Although receiving a higher education may be extremely costly, it remains important to not underestimate its true value. There are a number of factors that make earning a college education crucial in today’s society. These include the knowledge you gain by earning a degree, and extensive opportunities made available after graduation. These two factors, along with the financial security and

The average college student will graduate with 37,173 dollars’ worth of debt and 40 percent of college students will drop out. (Cite should everyone go to college) Despite this, higher education typically allows an individual to follow their passion and make a living off it. In addition, college provides an intrinsic value that enlightens the individual. Although higher education requires a large investment that may not return its original value, I contend that this investment provides one the ability to typically earn significantly more money and pursue their passion.

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