Higher Education: Only a Foundation

In the article, “What’s College Good For?” , Bryan Caplan, an economics professor from George Mason University, argues that college is a waste of time and money. Caplan states that college teaches skills irrelevant to the job market, and that signaling is the main importance of a degree. Caplan further supports this by saying that students are not willing to work for their degrees, and that they either forget the material, or are unable to apply the material to the real world.

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

Many young people think that obtaining a college degree is the best way—perhaps the only way—to get a good job anymore. So is it still possible to get a good job without one? According to Professor Blanche D. Blank, attaining a college degree doesn’t always guarantee success. In his published article “Degrees: Who Needs Them?”, he argues that American college is not teaching young adults the actual skills they need for the workforce, instead the education system is becoming a jumble of generalized credits that amount to a degree. College is becoming a mold for one to fit in the technological culture, rather than to release one to actively engage in the pursuit of knowledge. Blank begins building his credibility with personal experiences and

A college degree is a valuable asset that could ultimately lead to a productive life in society due to the received education, but people without a college degree do turn out more than adequate in regards to societal success. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the forecasted 30 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 to get the jobs (College). In an article called “College Education” by ProCon.org,

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

Not all have to go to college to be successful, and not all hardworking jobs require a college degree. College is not necessarily a measure of intelligence. Especially in todays economy, a lot of people can not afford to pursue higher education. That does not mean they would not make really fantastic doctors or lawyers if they could afford to go to college. Not everyone has the means to receive degrees and titles, some do not even have the desire to. “We reinforce this notion by defining intelligence solely on grades in school and numbers on IQ tests” Rose explained. (Rose, 279) I believe that higher education is definitely a worthwhile endeavor. I also believe while it may be the best route for some, it is not for everyone. For example, my mother and father both did not attend college. They both make good incomes, and love their everyday jobs. My mother always wanted to be a hair stylist, so obviously college was not the best option for her. My father was always good at persuading people to do things, so he got into the sales business. My mother and father are a prime example of being successful in their field, without pursuing higher education. Attending college is not the only way that a person can live a happy and full

When it comes to achieving success in the work force and finding a fulfilling and lucrative career there are few things more important that higher education. Going to college and getting a degree is essential in finding success in the work force. The problem is when the cost of gaining that degree outweighs the financial compensation the career that follows is able to supply. Very few people are able to pay for college out of pocket. The result of this is that students seeking higher education are forced to take out massive student loans. This means that they are entering the work force

Breaking what’s known as normal, people don’t realize college always isn’t beneficial, or needed for some students. In the article “Not Going to College is a Viable Option,” the author Lawrence B. Schlack provides many reasons as to why that statement is true. To start off, Schlack is a retired superintendent, and if someone who is that important for college admissions says that “College, however is not alway the logical next step for high school graduates,” you might want to listen. Schlack states that not going to college should not be viewed as a negative thing. Depending on the student and the situation, going to college could be a huge economic issue.

Dual enrollment, four year universities, community colleges and trade schools. I’ve seen people with college educations that have terrible jobs and no real prospects, and I’ve seen people without degrees, or with technical certificates, that are wildly successful and happy with the choice they made. Yet we continue to see the disparities between those that have vocational training or a two or four year degree, and those that do not.

Cofounder and executive chairman of LinkedIn Reid Hoffman calls for the broadened acceptance of alternative routes to higher education. He states, “there are an expanding number of ways to acquire specific skills and knowledge faster and less expensively than one can manage through a traditional four-year degree program” (Hoffman 1). Siemens and similar manufacturers have kickstarted programs that use real life experience in factories and other entry level jobs to build advanced skills in recent high school graduates. The employees are given the opportunity to earn their way up within the company, eliminating the need for a diploma. Although these programs exist, the underlying issue is most employers’ outlook; to employers, a four year bachelor’s degree signals a multitude of positive attributes: commitment, proficiency in at least one subject area, and self-sufficiency. However, the completion of a training program demonstrates these same qualities and is a more fiscally responsible route to preparedness for a job. Furthermore, expendable courses taken to fulfill the mandatory amount of credit hours for graduation waste time and money. School administrations impose such standards to ensure a sizeable profit, and students in turn are being forced to hand over the majority of their savings for knowledge not relevant to their

“According to the U.S Department of education, if you graduated in the bottom 40% of your high school class and went to college, 76 of 100 won’t earn a diploma, even if given 8 ½ years.” Marty Nemko believes that going to college isn’t for everyone and that it’s turned into a business depending on which university you attend. Nemko also gives some good examples, such as Morris, who completed his bachelor's degree from University of California, Berkeley and works as a truck driver to support his family. (ADD THESIS PART TWO) Nemko mentions that “ colleges are businesses, and students are a cost item while research is a profit center. (33)

Today, many computer programmers without college degrees get jobs by presenting examples of their work. With a little imagination, almost any corporation can come up with analogous work samples”(Murray 2). Although not everyone has the intellectual ability to do college work but that doesn’t make them not have the skills for a job. Twisting percentages in education would be a good idea for students who are not up to college level. In generally, many of college students drop out and clearly many of them get on campus without gaining the skills and knowledge in their freshman and sophomore years to succeed. Jobs and education aren’t always related. Education shouldn’t always be the reason for getting a well payed job but rather your skills, not everything you study in college is remembered and a research by Murray supports his point which states that, “About 10 percent to 20 percent of all 18-year-olds can absorb the material in your old liberal arts textbooks. For engineering and the hard sciences, the percentage is probably not as high as 10.” (Murray 1). In my community, most of the Americans say that the higher education system in the United States fell and didn’t provide students with good value for the money. In addition, even at times college presidents not only rated the quality of higher education lower than before, but also rated students lower as well. According to Adam, “About 60 percent said high schools

Finally is ‘’getting a good job’’ after graduation, For some jobs, If it does, then why do college grads make up 40% of the unemployment? And why do 46% of college grads work jobs that don’t need a college degree why? Most Companies crave people with experience .It’s a horrible cycle because to get experience, you need a job, And to get a job, you need experience. So a college degree just shows a prospective employee that you are willing to do hard work, you can meet deadlines, and you can plan and priorities mean something to you. That's it! A degree will get you "foot in the door" with employers,

Some graduates have parents who constantly push them to go after a degree, but when they do not want to attend college the constant push makes them not want to go even more. In today's time it is possible to be successful without a degree. For example Linda Lee stated in her article, famous people like Bill Gates and Walter Cronkite are very successful and are college dropouts. Not every student is the same, parents and teachers should know this and witness it everyday. Graduates who do not attend college shouldn’t be put down for not attending either, sometimes they end up being very successful and making thousands more then those who attended college.

Some are get jobs instead of going to school because they think that when they a job they think that their lives is stable.