Gaining College Degrees

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.

Despite of whether going to college is worth it or not, recent college graduates have become more successful in their lives. Some people may think that attending college is a waste of time and money, while others feel that college gives them valuable skills in the real world. College will help the person gain the necessary work skills for his or her future job career. Moreover, the job that a person gets after college can outweigh the money and time the person spent in college. College graduates will be more favorable to have a better job than those who does not have a college degree. As our generation is rapidly changing, the work- force is getting tougher which means having a higher education is important in today’s world. Having a college degree is an obvious part of the candidate and is expected by the many employers. Nonetheless, going to college can also give students the opportunity network and develop personal connections among other students who are also interested in the career field.

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.

Over the past decade, it has become evident to the students of the United States that in order to attain a well paying job they must seek a higher education. The higher education, usually a college or university, is practically required in order to succeed. To be able to attend these schools and receive a degree in a specific field it means money, and often a lot of it. For students, the need for a degree is strong, but the cost of going to college may stand in the way of a successful future. Each year the expense of college rises, resulting in the need for students to take out loans. Many students expect to immediately get a job after graduation, however, in more recent years the chances for college graduates to get a well paying job

As it is heavily believed and statistically proved by Document A, Earnings and Unemployment Rates Based on Educational Attainments (2015), the higher the degree earned, the more money attained, similarly the higher the degree earned, the lower the unemployment rate. This proves the worth of college by giving numerical comparisons of those who invested in it verses those who didn’t. The median weekly earnings of $1,730 from someone with a professional degree put up against the $678 from someone who only graduated from high school shows a very obvious difference. This information greatly supports the decision of going to college by displaying the “in the long run” advantage of college through the amount of money you can make in the future with the degree you earn

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)

“… A college degree is the surest ticket to the middle class,” says President Barack Obama (10, “College Education”). However, many disagree. Only 44% of people say that college is worth it from a previous 75%. This is understandable because tuition is the highest it has ever been and is still rising; meanwhile, student debt has surpassed $1.2 trillion (4, “Is College Worth”). Is college really worth the money? It depends on many factors such as the student, major, college, and time taken to graduate. But for the average student, it is definitely worth it; in fact, a college degree has never been more valuable because it increases the chances of having better wages and benefits, more job opportunities, and marketable knowledge. Anthony Carnevale from Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce says that ““the only thing worse than going to college is not going to college,” meaning students must decide between risking lower wages and higher chance of unemployment or paying for college (4).

Many people are confused on why to invest time and money of attending college. A reason for obtaining a higher education is that a college degree can possibly earn a much higher salary than the majority of the people who have a high school diploma. College can be expensive and time consuming for the most of the people that do not have enough money and spare time to go to college. Stephen Rose, a research professor at the Georgetown University, wrote an article on “The Value of a College Degree” to explain if a college degree can be valuable to people to have. Eleni Karageorge, an author on the United States Department of Labor, wrote an article “Is A College Degree Still Worth It?” to give some details on job occupations that compares with employees having a bachelor’s degree or a high school diploma on how much they annually make on their job. Finally, Paul E. Barton, a consultant and a writer for topics related on education, wrote an article “How Many College Graduates Does the U.S. Labor Force Really Need?” on giving details on how valuable to have a college degree in the near future are needed when certain occupations are on high demand with a requirement on having a least a bachelor’s degree. We need to know why going to college is so important for anyone who wants to have professional occupations.

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.

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.

Across the nation, recent college graduates are experiencing an excessive amount of student debt and underemployment- in fact, it has now reached the largest in our nation’s history at a staggering 1.2 trillion dollars (Source 1). Additionally, as many as 44% of recent college graduates are facing underemployment (Source 2). Underemployment can be defined as working a job that doesn’t require a bachelor’s or college degree. With underemployment and student debt increasing at exponentially high rates, it’s now becoming debated whether or not college is even worth the cost and time investment. Though there is one question that should be asked: How did we get to this point as a nation? Why aren’t recent college graduates prospering in comparison

A common concept in today’s society is that in order to be successful you need some sort of higher education; but is this really true? Today about thirty-two percent of American’s have a bachelor’s degree or higher; compared to twenty-four percent in 2000. This number has increased due to the belief that if you get a degree you will be successful. However, what many people do not think about is what if you cannot find a job in the career path you have chosen or what if you acquire so much student debt that even your prestigious job can’t keep up.

However, many more opportunities are presented when one consider colleges. A college education doesn’t guarantee a job, but it does allow for the ability to look for jobs in more places. Students don’t even need a clear goal when they start, and may consider going to college with the intention attending classes in various fields to discover their interests. In particular, it is often the high paying jobs that require a college education, as college graduates tend to earn much more with higher credentials. According to Rodney K. Smith, former president of Southern Virginia University, “the average weekly income” is “$1,038 for those with a bachelors degree,” while only being “$626 for those with a high school degree” (29). Those with a college education are much more likely to find employment. Unemployment is a common concern as we are currently in recovery from a recession. Employers often prefer to hire employees with a college education. When looking at unemployment statistics, “10.3% of those with a high school education” are unemployed, while “5.4% of those with a bachelor’s degree,” and “2.4% of those with a professional degree” are unemployed. This is exemplified when you consider that many engineering companies turn first to Cal Poly graduates when looking for new employees. With the job market being so competitive, it is important to have more

The benefits of a college degree are not just for money, but also a college degree will also give a person more career options. A person with a college degree will have more career options than someone without a college degree because employers will see that one has a college degree and think that person knows what to do and can do the job well. Employers want the best person for the job and a college degree looks really good on a person’s resume (Ten Great…). In a survey that was casted to see what employers look for, those employers said that they wanted people that have dependability, reliability, a good attitude, the ability to read comfortably, the ability to think more consciously, computer skills, and the ability to communicate clearly whether it be spoken or in writing (Knowledge and…). Along the path of getting a college degree, one will also learn these skills and attributes.

Getting a job in a different occupations than what one received a degree seems to be easier than fighting the other 250 people applying for that one desired job. According to Alana Semuels in her article “College-Educated Workers are Taking Jobs That Don’t Require Degrees”, in 1970 under 3% of firefighters and taxi drivers had college degrees. However, today over 15% of workers in these occupations have college degrees, along with 25% of retail workers. This proves how difficult it is to get a job in the area that a person studied in. The job market is more competitive that it has ever been. Also, the entry level positions that college graduates can get do not pay very well. A college graduate might be able to find a job in their desired field. However, it cannot pay the bills. So one might decide to be a taxi driver so they are able to pay their bills.