The Importance Of A College Degree

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.

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

Data from the U.S Department of Labor shows that college graduates have lower rates of unemployment. The rate of unemployment with a bachelor’s degree is 2.7%, while the rate of those with a high school education is 5.2% (Employment Projections, Bureau of Labor Statistics). This depicts that those who earn a college education have a better chance at getting a job. Their data also shows that those with a college education have higher salaries. The median weekly earning for those with a college degree is $1,156 and the median weekly earnings for those with a high school education is $692. That’s a $464 a week difference and $24,128 a year difference (Employment Projections, Bureau of Labor Statistics). Not only are college graduates getting jobs and making more money, but they are also healthier and happier. Professor Phillip Trostel, reports college graduates are four times less likely than high school graduates to smoke and are more likely to exercise, wear a seat belt, be a healthy weight, and go to the doctor’s (Want to be Happy and Healthier, Merisotis, Jamie).

In society today, a college education is often seen as a “the next step” in a young adult’s life. Whether they actually know what they would like to earn a degree in, they feel the need to continue their education as almost everyone around them is pursuing post-secondary education of some sort. It is often argued that a college education is not necessary to get ahead because of the manufacture based workforce that is up and coming in America, however, there are many benefits to having a post-secondary education such as a higher rate of pay and more job opportunities.

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

Despite the fact that hourly wages for college educated people are decreasing,”college educated in 2000 were $22.75, but that dropped almost a full dollar.”(C) ,the wage gap between college graduates and those with only a high school diploma has in fact increased.”(D) Last year the gap reached 83 percent.” The gap is bigger than it has ever been , making the option of going to college better than it was before.

Society today is often very pressuring towards young adults when it comes to attending college. Maybe it’s because it is the most appropriate idea for people. College provides the average human with a higher satisfaction of life due to the experience and the positives outcomes than that of someone who chooses not to go to college. Although college results in the possibility of debt afterwards, it is still worth the journey.

A former president, Theodore Roosevelt, once said, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are,” but yet more than 30% of students don’t attend college the following fall after graduation. As of right now, college is only an option for students, not a requirement. But as technology increases, and jobs become tougher to get a hold of, college is more of a necessity and definitely worth the price tag. It has long term benefits and increases the chances of a successful future. College is definitely worth the cost for the reasons that college graduates have a higher salary than a high school graduates, more and more jobs recently require a college degree, and college graduates more likely to have health insurance and retirement plans.

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.

For a well-paying and/or professional job, a college degree is essential. According to Labor Department statistics by the Economic Policy Institute in Washington as stated by Leonhardt, “Americans with four-year college degrees made 98 percent more an hour on average in 2013 than with people without a degree.” A higher income is what most people expect when attaining a degree, but most jobs require

One of these articles by the "Upshot," magazine provided many very convincing and factual data. "The pay gap between college graduates and everyone else reached a record high last year, according to the new data, which is based on an analysis of Labor Department statistics by the Economic Policy Institute in Washington," says the article. They also stated that "Americans with four-year college degrees made 98 percent more an hour on average in 2013 than people without a degree." The fact is that the want of higher educated workers is proliferating.

When thinking about the future, college is usually the first option on student’s mind. It is the place to go if someone wants to have a successful life, but there is more than one way to get to a destination and that applies to life after high school to. College is important, but careful considerations need to be put in on the debt that would have to be paid back, the other options that are available that could earn as much as a person with a degree, and the stigma of not going to college because there are many different roads that can lead to success.

As the evidence substantiates, college is worth the time and money. In this situation, worth means of high value. College has been proven to yield people a better financial future. In this time period, where jobs are hard to acquire, attempting to obtain a quality, well-paying job is nearly impossible. As displayed by the Hill, the average high school graduates salary is $35,615 per year. Meanwhile, the average college graduates yearly income is $65,482; this evidence was taken from a US Congress census; again from the The Hill. This exhibits the fact that college graduates, on average, make 48% more than high school graduates. Having a little advantage in pay is beneficiary in this time period. By going to college people are not only thinking about themselves, but for the better of their family. In the case of someone coming from a menial background, going to college can change their monetary needs. In the same way, only 260,000 people with college diplomas are working in minimum wage jobs. Around 72,000,000 or 33% of the adults in America have gone to college, proven by another US Congress Census. That means that 1 in every 277 people who attend college have a job paying minimum wage. Furthermore, a Georgetown University study has shown that 99% of the post 2008 recession jobs, have gone to college graduates. After reviewing this piece of evidence, going to college is a major bonus in the job market. A college degree of any sort can help in most leagues of study. Many employers noticed the college degree, and almost immediately hire that person. According to evidence number 15, the unemployment rate for someone who went to college is 3.8%. On the contrary, the unemployment rate for someone who only attended high school is 12.2%.

A College degree doesn’t only require hard work, but also a lot of money which can lead to conflict. Students might get discouraged to continue with their education because of how much it costs. Having a college education provides the benefits of better job opportunities, higher salaries, and improves