Introduction
Going to college is considered to be the most appropriate path a student can take so as to become successful in life. Today's society has an attitude that students who do not attend colleges cannot make a decent life. Besides, many parents believe that the rate of return on the college education is surprisingly good irrespective of whether the college is competitive or not. Degree graduates are held in high esteem in the society and parents sacrifice a considerable amount of resources to ensure their children to go to college. However, not all successful people in the community have attended a college. It is not a necessity for a person to attend college so as to earn good salary. Going to college is not a smart investment due to the low rate of return on investment, diverse areas of as interests among learners, and variation in what constitutes financial success.
The Rate of Return on Education
The rate of return on education does not indicate the true effect of the college education. A good number of college graduates get employed and live a decent life. Having a job enable the graduates to afford substantial amounts of money to cater for house and car mortgages, health insurances, fees for children, and recreational purposes. The fact that many college graduates earn a decent living does not mean that those who did not attend college do not. A good number of successful individuals have not attended colleges and can cater for all their needs and those of
Many people believe that a college education is a worthy investment. The ability to become a college graduate will result in making more money. There are more jobs in today’s society that require college degrees. College graduates develop more and better employment opportunities within earning a degree. Self-discipline is a major element in becoming a successful graduate. Also, college graduates are healthier and live longer. Adults-young and old, male and female-who have a bachelor’s degree or higher have twice the annual median income than someone with only a high school degree ("Do college graduates," 2014).
One must consider their choice of major, cost of school, where they are attending school, and a variety of other factors. Depending on the situation college may not be a smart investment (Owen and Sawhill 209). I agree with this notion that some people are not meant for college, but we as a society still push the idea of college which creates conflicting thoughts in the mind of a student. When discussing the benefits of attending college the biggest supporting reason revolves around further expanding one’s knowledge in order to earn a higher income. They use ethos in their appeals but they fail to provide evidence of this. They may show numbers that are skewed showing the difference in salary of a high school graduate and a college graduate but they don’t show the majors that earning that high income. They don’t show the number of college graduates without a job and how much debt they are in. Owen and Sawhill do a tremendous job in their report of giving us those numbers and statistics to back up their
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.
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
Today many high school students are trying see if college education would good idea for future jobs or careers. Teachers and parents alike think about college being a good investments in for their children or students future. They believe that college is helping people to grow mentally and socially. Furthermore, they believe that getting a college degree is good for students that are trying to start higher paying careers, which will turn into a higher sum of money. On the other hand, there are many naysayers arguing that college is not the only option for education. But there are other options such as self-education, online schooling and vocational schooling. They consider college in being too expensive and requiring to take out loans making
As it is heavily believed and statistically proved by Document A, Earnings and Unemployment Rates Based on Educational Attainments (2015), the higher the degree earned, the more money attained, similarly the higher the degree earned, the lower the unemployment rate. This proves the worth of college by giving numerical comparisons of those who invested in it verses those who didn’t. The median weekly earnings of $1,730 from someone with a professional degree put up against the $678 from someone who only graduated from high school shows a very obvious difference. This information greatly supports the decision of going to college by displaying the “in the long run” advantage of college through the amount of money you can make in the future with the degree you earn
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.
In their article “Should everyone go to college?” Stephanie Owen, Senior research assistant, and Isabel Sawhill, former Vice President of the Brookings Institute, argue that many factors lead to individuals not being able to attend college. They go on to claim these factors to be school choice, career field, graduation, and area of study. The article states that while on average the rate of return is usually positive, there are cases in which it is negative. One of their focal points is what it cost to attend college and its affordability. Claiming that with the rise in the cost of college, which progresses at a faster rate than that of the job wage increase, that college is becoming less affordable. In their conclusion a three step policy plan is included for individuals who plan to attend college. While realistically I agree that yes, some individuals should not go to college, my optimistic side would like to believe that everyone should and can go to college without it becoming a sour investment.
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)
Imagine being someone who struggled throughout high school, but is constantly being told they need to go to college. If a student is constantly having problems with their learning, thinking, money, and support, why should they be obligated to continue their education when they are struggling today? The problem today is that people feel like they have no other choice but go to college to be successful. Many people today do not go to college, but get a job and slowly start to become successful. A person can work and gain experience and knowledge, which allows a person to move up. Since there are many jobs today that do not require a college degree, going to college should not be obligated by students after high school. College is not for everyone, and no one should be forced to go.
The authors also look at some statistics and see if it would be beneficial to go to college. To determine if college is right for a person, they should look at the increased earnings for every year the person is in college. Every additional year of school, the rate of return is roughly 10 percent. When looking at the percentage of wages between high school diplomas, bachelor’s
The report “Should Everyone Go to College” by Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill states that typically, there are numerous perks for attaining a college degree; that observation is not consistent depending on variables like school, majors, occupation and individual. In the report, different factors were investigated that impact the benefits of a college degree in the course of one’s career. One of those factors noted an increase in earnings by 10% with an extra year of college education. Along with non-financial payoffs observed with acquiring a college degree like an enriched overall wellbeing. The other factor discusses how the school, course of study and rate of graduation affect the return from a college degree. The earning potential for
Student in high school, college students, and even adults ask a simple question. Is college worth the money? This paper will answer just that question. We all know someone that says it’s not worth it, and that coming out of college with tons of debt and no job is an almost guarantee.
Getting a successful career after graduating from college has an outcome of “earning $20,000 more a year as a result of having gotten that degree” (Source F). Because all of the money spent for college would be paid off after a few years, college is worth its cost. Also, “86% [of college graduates] say that college has been a good investment for them” (Source F). Students who invest earlier for college are benefitted because they get a portion of their money back that they utilized for their education. Earning a bachelor’s degree after graduating makes college more worth it, because “workers with a bachelor’s degree [make 83 percent] more than those with only a high-school diploma” (Source D). Making 83 percent more than the young adults that did not go to college proves that
I have vigorous convictions that lead me to believe that a college education is worth it. A number of jobs require some college inculcation or a degree. The number of the jobs that require college education have highly incremented over the years; furthermore, a college education will proffer a plethora of money, diverse from what just a high school education would give you. In the article “Is a College Education Worth it?”, Henry Punoinoin encapsulates the essence that college is unanimously worth going to by divulging information and evidence fortifying his tone and noetic conceptions about the topic.