Higher Education – Is It Worth It?
Everyone always says that college is what you’re supposed to do after graduating; College has become an “expected” part of life. Everyone always says that you’re degree or “academic qualifications” is what will lead you on the road of success and help you achieve your goals. However, is it actually putting you on the road to success? Are your academic qualifications indeed important to your chances of a successful career? I think so. I find that a higher education will bring you closer to the successful path you want to be on in life. A degree will not only bring in extra pay for you, but will also raise your chances of employment as well as make you more marketable to an employer as well.
According to an article written by Beckie Supiano, “Over their careers, full-time, full-year workers whose highest degree is a bachelor 's make 74 percent more, on average, than those whose highest attainment is a high-school diploma, the authors found. When those with more than a bachelor 's degree are included, the premium for higher education rises to 84 percent.” (Supiano 2014) Agreeing with this statement is a similar claim in an article written by Michelle Arrouas, stating that “Among the key findings are that people aged 25-32 with a bachelor 's degree or more have a median annual income of $45,000 and lower unemployment (3.8%), while high school graduates only make $28,000 and 12.2% of them are unemployed. The study also showed that just
In today 's world, a college degree has great significance. It is worth the effort to obtain a degree, and this is due to the increasing wages that come with a degree, the lowering of unemployment rates, and having a degree is a requirement for many jobs. Having a college degree will get you far in life. For example the wage gap increases between high school graduates and college graduates, at the rate the degree does.
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.
I believe in order to have a successful career, you must go to college. When you have a degree, you have many more jobs to choose from (U.S Dep. of Education, 8). Employers would choose a college graduate over a high-school graduate. In the modern world, most good jobs require a college degree (Middle Schoolers: Why College?, 1). Having a degree insures that I can get a job with the competitive world we live in. A college degree also shows that you have persistent. It shows that you will push through when times get tough. Future employers look for this sort of mind-set. College is a stepping stone into joining a work
Having a college education is an important tool that contributes to several aspects of a person’s life. The areas that are impacted the most would be the professional and personal areas. It is important to learn the value of a college education in order to take advantage of what you learn and how to productively apply it in your personal and professional life. Having a college education is something that can always be looked at as a positive achievement that feels good and looks good on a resume. Earning a college degree
Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill report that bachelor’s degree holders make on average around 10% more than those with high school diplomas. They also write that a college education improve one’s standard of living. Gaining a bachelor’s degree is not accomplishable by everyone due to different reasons, so only a select few will be able to receive these benefits, given colleges’ selectivity.
Have you ever just stopped to think about what it must be like to be “qualified” for a job yet be unemployed and homeless? Starving on the streets because you paid everything you had to an institution that was supposed to guarantee a better life, a more stable and successful career. Obviously this is an extreme case, not everyone who pays for college ends up living on the streets and broke, but almost every college graduate is in debt. For as long as college has been around it has always meant a better life, it’s always been that people who went to college were more successful, smarter, and would make way more money than someone who didn’t go to college ever would. Lately, however, college has become so expensive that going to college will more than likely leave you in debt working for years upon years just to pay back what you owe and then start making money for yourself.
Many college students choose to also get more than one degree while attending college to earn more income and further their education. College graduates have the choice of get higher level degrees and training resulting in earn even more income based on the different higher level degrees earned and training received (this means the more degrees and training you have the more income you may receive). People with higher level degrees and training earn more money that those without degrees. In 1996, for example, workers with bachelor's degrees had median annual earnings of about $36,000, while college graduates with more advanced degrees earned around $40,000 (Mittelhauser 3). This is a four-thousand dollar difference in income; this is only one of several examples of how people who graduate college make more money than the average high school graduate and that of people with lower-level degrees. The median annual wage for a bachelor’s degree in 2010 was $63,430. While the median annual wage for a person with a doctoral or professional degree in 2010 was $87,500 ("Employment by Education and Training Assignment, 2010 and Projected 2020"). This is almost a twenty-four thousand difference income just based off of median annual wage of different degrees. The income difference from college graduates than to those of high school graduates is great. College graduates are getting better wages and job openings than those of high school graduates (“President’s Perspective:
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.
I have always been told that a college degree would get me a good job, and it would help me live a better life, but is it really worth it? I believe that a college degree is very worth it, not only to my future but for my self being. A college degree would bring me great satisfaction, to be able to accomplish something that nobody in my family has ever imagined to obtain. I do not rely on the fact or hope that a college degree will get me a job because either with or without it, I will still work my very hardest to make something out of myself.
Getting a “good” job is not straightforward as it used to be. In past generations, someone in an entry-level position could work their way up the ladder simply through hard work and determination; whether or not one had credentials or a diploma mattered very little. This is not the case today. Higher education is now critical to obtaining a better job because the demand for skilled labor is rising. For this reason, the value that a degree offers is higher than that of one’s actual intelligence or merit. Furthermore, workers without college degrees will quickly be outpaced in position and salary by degree
Is a college education worth it? While it is important to get a college education, there are many people who cannot afford to go to college. Going to college leaves adults in millions of dollars in debt for many years. This results in adults working most their life to just pay off their education. However, starting work right out of high school instead of going to a 4-year college has been more appealing to some people. Going to a trade school is less expensive and less time consuming. However, not all non-college jobs can support a family. To help ensure these skilled workers can make it, the work force needs to guarantee that non-college jobs pay well and offer good benefits. This requires strong labor standards, a tangible ability to
“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.
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
The author of the article “Should Everyone Go to College?” proved this point in her article by a college graduate with a bachelor’s degree earned $30,000 more per year than a high school graduate or about $570,000 more over a lifetime. Also, the median income for families headed by a bachelor's degree holder was $102,000, more than a double family headed by a high school graduate (Owen and Sawhill 214). This means, every higher degree, like from high school diploma to bachelor’s degree, there is a different salary and a higher education will lead to higher paychecks. In addition to the income raises, job requirements changed over the years too.
Furthermore, the amount of more money made by an individual with a bachelor degree surprises many people. According to the New York Times, “Americans with four-year college degrees made 98 percent more an hour on average in 2013 than people without a degree” (Leonhardt). This statistic proves that putting in the hard work and time will reward someone in the long run. College isn’t the only way to go from rags to riches, but it is one of the most popular ways to earn a good living for the rest of your life.