Essay on Is College the Only Option for Success?

This week for PLN I read "Is College Worth It? Clearly, New Data Say" by David Leonhardt is about how college is worth it even with its cost. In the article, it describes how important a degree is. It said in the article that 98% of people with a degree made more money than people without a degree. There is nothing inevitable about this trend. If there were more college graduates the pay gap would shrink. The true cost of a degree is negative $500,000. The unemployment rate for 25 and 34 years old is 3%. That is from having a degree. The average hourly wage for a college graduates has risen 1% to 32.60.

In the essay "College Graduates Fare Well, Even through Recession," author Catherine Rampell provides data that detail why a college education is worth the investment. She shares with us a positive perspective on the employment prospects after graduating from a 4-year institution. Rampell states that "there are more employed college graduates today than employed high school graduates and high school dropouts put together" (pg. 678). This is seemingly good news

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:

In his essay titled “Yes A College Education Is Worth the Costs,” published in USA Today, former president of Southern Virginia University and a law professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law Rodney K. Smith, raises his concern about people willing to invest in material things rather than their future. By using the Bureau of Labor Statistics on the unemployed population to show that the unemployment rate is caused by the absences of graduates to satisfy the jobs in demand, he tries to convince the reader of the importance of education. As a 2010 report by the BLS indicates compared to 14.9% unemployed people without a high school diploma, only 1.9% graduates with a doctoral degree are unemployed. In addition, the average weekly income of a high school degree holder is 1106 less than a doctoral degree holder (qtd in Smith).

Journalist David Leonhardt, in his article “Is College Worth It? Clearly New Data Say,” argues, through the use of statistical data, that from both a financial and economical perspective, that pursuing a higher education is beneficial. Leonhardt provides data from the Economic Policy Institute that states that, “Americans with four-year college degrees [made] 98% more an hour on average in 2013 than people without a degree.” Furthermore, on average, college graduates make “about $32.60” an hour while the average wage for those who did not pursue higher education is “about $16.50.” The disparity in wages should be a sufficient reason for pursuing a higher education. Yet, Leonhardt concedes that there is and will always be a percentage of graduates that will be unsuccessful in finding employment. According to Leonhardt, this unfortunate

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,

Is college worth it? This one question turns into this debate high school seniors begin to think about before graduating. In our society you cannot really say no to college education because many make it known as a necessity to be successful in life. Many of our parents have raised us to know that college is a must go and that there are no failures. However some may think different. A lot of people may think that not setting a foot in a university or community college does not make them successful and that they will do just fine without a degree towards a career. We all know once someone graduates they are not always guaranteed a successful life with well-paid career and awesome benefits for you and your family. There are different views from both sides of this debate.

David Leonhardt, the author of “Is College Worth It? Clearly, New Data Say,” makes the controversial argument that even with college debt increasing substantially in the United States it is still worth earning a degree. Leonhardt uses a variety of relevant figures and statistics to support his claim of the irreplaceable value of a college education. The majority of statistics used by Leonhardt concern the earnings advantage of college graduates as compared to their counterparts who decided not to attend college. Among the first issues Leonhardt addresses is the growing concerns prospective students and their parents have with attending college such as underemployment after graduation, debt, and unemployment (Leonhardt 33). To refute these arguments, he cites statistics from the Labor Department concerning inequality of income distribution; these statistics were

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)

Many think college is not worth it, however when I think of college not being worth it, I ask myself what is “it”? Is college not worth the sacrifice, time, or stress? In this case, many are not college material, simply for lacking the amount of effort and self motivation it takes to get through college. I oppose with the statement “For many, College isn’t worth it” because college is worth everything it takes for you to become great in the field you choose to study. Many people are not able or do not have the mindset to get through college, but that do not mean they will never have the mindset. Most people do not work hard under pressure or have great skills at testing or learning at a slow or fast pace. Some people believe that after highschool, since it is required, that going straight into an occupation is better for them. In my opinion, college is a stepping stool for achieving higher education and newer knowledge for the area you decide to infiltrate. I believe the educational world is bias to the brainpower of many people and people of the world is bias to the things they are capable of doing. Therefore, I am confident in stating college is worth it because having a college background ensures you quicker job opportunities, college gives you knowledge to become disciplined and self-motivated, and; college also enhances your communication skills.

The topic of “Are Too Many People Going to College?” was presented by Charles Murray, the W.H. Brady Scholar at the American Enterprise. In today’s world college is a must due to many employers seeking educated individuals. Murray develops an interesting conversation by demonstrating that many high school graduates who are seeking to go to college do not need a degree depending on their career paths. Murray provides the analogy of a high school graduate who is looking to become an electrician but is not sure if college is the most logical decision. Murray acknowledges the fact that a B.A. does not necessarily led to a higher income than one with a degree. The logical argument of money is brought to attention and is stated “the income for the top people in a wide variety of occupations that do not require a college degree is higher than the average income for many occupations that require a B.A.” (Murray 247). Although this is his main point, he understand that it varies due to the occupation one is leaning towards. There has been individuals without a college degree that are making millions of dollars, but it varies. Murray claims that getting a B.A. is going to be the wrong economic decision for many high school graduates (Murray 246); however not everyone wants to be an electrician or any other hand held jobs that doesn’t necessarily need a degree, but if one wants to be a lawyer, doctor, or anything require a degree, college is the answer. Having a degree in a

Last year [, in 2010], the gap reached 83%” (Leonhardt). Not only are those with a bachelor’s degree making 83% more than those without, but this percentage doubled in 30 years. This means that a college degree is becoming more and more worth it. Some, like Heidi Shierholz from Economic Policy Institute, argue that, “...the rewards for the time, energy, and money that young people put into college are less than they were a decade ago” (Shierholz). This implies that simply because the gap between wages earned with those who have a bachelor's degree is not increasing at the same pace it did years ago, college is not worth its cost. This is a dangerous, harmful, and incorrect analysis of the data. Just because the gap is not widening at the same pace, there still is a huge gap, a gap that is greater than it used to be. Leonhardt

Even excluding success in the job market, a college education seems to simply make people happier, due the psychic income earned when accomplishing their degree. I believe this last fact alone gives proof that college is a good thing. But many people, it seems, think differently.

     It seems in the society we live in today, having a college degree is a necessity. Years ago it was the norm for people to just go right into a full time job after high school, if they even finished high school; they did this to support their families. In today’s society a person has a difficult time getting a decent job without a college degree. During an adults working life, bachelor degree graduates will earn about $2.1 million and a high school graduate can expect to earn an average of $1.2 million (Day and Newburger, 2002). This is quite a difference and it puts a college education in

Alex Tabarrok once said, “Education is the key to the future: You’ve heard it a million times, and it’s not wrong. Educated people have higher wages and lower unemployment rates, and better-educated countries grow faster and innovate more than other countries. But going to college is not enough. You also have to study the right subjects” (Reich par. 5). This quote is a very popular quote because it is a true to connection to education. The general assumption about college consists of how important it is to personal success, our future, and our general lives. However, questioning whether college is really important or not is becoming increasingly more popular in our society. Going to college is commonly one of the biggest decisions that we make in our lives so let me ask you this question, is college necessary for personal success?