Is Obtaining a Degree Even Worth it?
The importance of obtaining a university credited degree has significantly increased over the past decade. In fact, a degree-level qualification is one of the most essential educational requirements you can obtain, especially in Western developed countries such as the UK and USA. The primary purpose of a degree is to prepare an individual for success in the field they choose. In doing so, an earned degree is a credential accolade that allows one to compete better in the job market. In today’s capitalist society, it appears that education is the pinnacle element leading to success. Society today has such a strong emphasis on education with more and more people deciding to continue further study to a university level every year. This is resulting in additional degree participants and subsequently, rapidly rising debt levels caused by tuition fees. Due to degree’s therefore becoming so common, it has become standard procedure for everyday professions to expect such high requirements. For a degree to be worth it, the potential benefits from obtaining a degree ought to be more significant than the time, energy and financial struggles encountered along the way. There seems to be many people who don’t believe that obtaining a degree is worth it, but just what do they mean by “worth” and are they right?
The term worth is different for every person. One person’s understanding may be different to another’s. According to Webster’s Dictionary, worth
In Charles Murray's article “Are Too Many People Going to College?” he argues that the route that has been set-up, whether knowingly or unknowingly, for individuals to achieve success in their life by obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree (B.A.) is obsolete in a modern world. He espouses six reasons for his position. In this essay, I’ll summarize Murray's position and then elucidate on his points while explaining my position on wach of his views. Lastly, I'll state my belief that getting a college degree is valuable even if it is not the source of my financial income.
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.
The rise of college tuition along with room and board have lead many to believe that college isn’t worth the money. This among with the other factors of how getting a job into society is more difficult and that a college degree no longer competitive due to the high abundance of them. On the other side, many others urge the importance of a degree. They bring up how more jobs today require degrees, the return investment, and many other things.
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.
In recent discussions of “Is College Worth It?” By John Green, a controversial issue has been whether, people should attend college or get a job after they finish high school. On the one hand, some argue that people can get a monthly income better than if they have a degree. From this perspective, some people they do not want to attend college. On the other hand, however, others insist that people should attend college after they finish high school. In the words of John Green, one of this view’s proponents, “after graduating from college, I actually made $1 per hour less when I started working as an assistant at Booklist Magazine, but the job was better in every way” (video). According to this view, he was working at Stake and Shake and he was getting better salary than what he got after graduate by 1$ less but money is not everything in life. Then he proved to the audiences through his experience that he was more comfortable with working as assistant at Booklist Magazine even he is making less money. Because he got a better job, got the knowledge, and work on something that he like. In sum, then, the issue is whether to attend college or work without a degree. My own view is that attending college is worth it even if it will cost some sacrifices of things that we can get it in the future. After, all, I have chosen to identify as a college student at Winona State University. Though I concede that choosing the university and working to
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 the essay “What A College Education Buys” written by Christopher Caldwell, the author questions whether or not the value of a college education today supports the high cost of obtaining a degree. Having a college degree is viewed as having achieved some measure of accomplishment. People think you are more intelligent for having gone to college. Employers seem to be more eager to hire college graduates. Certainly we have been told that having a degree will help to ensure you earn more money. But is being a college graduate an obtainable goal for everyone? Can we afford to succeed or has college become one more area that is reserved for more affluent people? According to the Caldwell “…the price of
In the United States alone, roughly about 20.2 million people are attending American universities and colleges as of the fall of 2015 (“Back to School Statistics”). Students around the country are paying thousands upon thousands of dollars to receive a degree in a field of their choice, where they may or may not be able to use to find work once they graduate. Is college really worth the money? Is it worth putting ourselves tens of thousands of dollars in debt to receive a diploma that doesn’t guarantee a job after graduating? I believe it isn’t. I believe that driving up the cost of education is utterly unreasonable and outrageous in a society that expects young adults to earn a degree to be successful in life.
People in the past did not stress value of receiving a higher education because it was not as indispensable as it is today. Now, people perceive others not only by their appearances, but by their accomplishments. Employers always hire people with the most education and experience. The majority of students are concerned about getting a higher education throughout the years. Nevertheless, some people question the purposes of getting educated, and consider it meaningless. The concept of education has a significant meaning. It enables one to take control of knowledge and apply it. It is education what prepares the mind to comprehend and learn important ideas. A higher education is very important for an individual's success in
Today, degrees are reflecting strongly on people’s lives. The cost of college has become too high for every student or parent to afford, which makes it impossible for everyone to obtain a degree. College level has become too tough and beyond student’s reach and abilities, not anyone who obtaining a degree can get through other majors, such as physics or math, degrees don’t evaluate your skills neither your efforts. For the most important, jobs in our market have been evaluating their applicants’ qualifications through their degrees. Degrees demand beyond the reach of people’s abilities and solutions should be suggested to undermine degrees as a job qualification.
University education, fraught with superstition and tremendous expectations of its young applicants, has lost its true meaning in all of the surrounding noise. In its current state in the United States, ‘going to college’ has been oversaturated in capitalism – especially in the recent decades with skyrocketing tuition rates (Cain). The perception that every accomplishment should have monetary value has seeped into American culture; even side-projects and hobbies come with the expectation of doubling as an extra source of income. This attitude has resulted in a resounding consequence, as “for large numbers of college students the purpose of college is to qualify them for a good job” (Longwell-Grice). This determination accounts for students’ personal drive and motivation towards schoolwork,
As of late, there has been major contention about the standards of American education, one of the major points being the cost to obtain a degree. Current societal standards have condition people to aim for a prestigious degree that will help make it 's holder successful. Of course, society defines success, for an individual, as being highly intelligent, outgoing, wealthy, and family-oriented. Yet, many American citizens are still stuck trying to meet the first item in the success definition. If a person refuses to attend post-secondary school in fear that the certificate of completion will offer no return on investment, or decides to quit due to financial hardships, then how can society uphold its expectation of that person 's success? Much work needs to be done to assuage the fear of a wasted investment, to motivate an individual to continue attending school despite financial difficulties, and to help individuals achieve the expected level of success that comes from higher education.
A degree is more than a piece of paper used to get one forward in life financially, mentally and physically; it is a mechanism needed to advance ones mindset in the world. When one obtains a degree, they feel a sense of
Why is it important to achieve a college degree, certificate or diploma? Generally speaking, what is the importance of having a college education? This is a question that I have been debating and fighting with myself for the past five years. Is it because with a college education a person can get a better job, earn more money and ensure himself of a better life? Or is the whole concept of college a fraud and a scam to manipulate individuals in feeling inferior without it? In this paper, I am going to enlighten you of the pros and cons of having a valid college education and what it means to me.
In today’s society getting an education is so important. Receiving an education is seen as a necessity that everyone should have. Now a day’s it’s almost impossible to get a job without having a college degree. Receiving a college degree is an honor and privilege, it’s also something that everyone should achieve but unfortunately not everyone is given this opportunity. Being given the opportunity to achieve a college degree is an exceptional thing that should not be taken for granted. Based on the statistics found in the source “If the World Were a Village”, it states what if only 7 out of 100 people received a college degree. These statistics show the privilege it is to receive a college degree.