You could be spending thousands of dollars on education just to end up on the street. College was once seen as a requirement to be successful, nowadays it is hard for even college graduates to find work. People are starting to question whether college is really worth the cost. What’s a College Education Really Worth? Not Enough by Naomi Schaefer Reilly and Is College Worth It? Found on economist.com discuss the pros and cons of obtaining a college education and whether or not it is as needed as it used to be. Whether college is worth the time and money has become a hot topic as more people are obtaining a college education. Both articles discuss the overall benefit of college but also have differences when discussing if college is worth the cost.
Despite the common misconception that without college you cannot be successful in life, sometimes you can get a degree and not be successful or be successful enough before college to not even have to go. In Is College Worth It, they discuss a girl who obtained a college degree in Spanish, but living in the U.S. there was not a large need of Spanish majors. This resulted in her working a minimum wage job until she returned to school to obtain a “real” degree which
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allowed her to find a good job. Despite the substantial amount of loans she racked up by going to school twice, her finance major allowed her to pay it off quickly. Many people believe that with a college degree you are set to be successful after school. But not majoring in the right thing can result in difficulty of finding a job and the feeling of time and money wasted in college. Those that feel that college is not worth the money are most likely people who major in things that don’t supply them with a financially stable job. By obtaining a college education you are already at a better chance of being successful then a person who entered the work field right out of high school. On the other side of the argument, some people do not need a college education because they become successful entrepreneurs before they even graduate high school. In What’s a College Education Really Worth? Peter Theil offered “$100,000 to young people who would stay out of college for two years and work instead on scientific and technological innovation.”(Rielly). Theil feels as though college is the default activity after high school and a small fraction of kids are so successful that college would just pause them continuing to be successful. The kids that participated in the program were some of the smartest kids in America and had already started businesses and interned at fortune 500 companies. Being involved in the program benefited their future more than pausing their success to study at a university. But since most kids are not super geniuses who have businesses and other projects before graduating high school, College still aids students in finding solid jobs after high school. Most people go to college after high school because it is the default next step. While that can be a good thing as students figure out what they want to do with their future, others go to college because it is just what you are supposed to do. In a quote from Obama in Is College worth It, he states that “folks can make a lot more” by learning a trade “than they might with an art history degree”. An angry art history professor forced him to apologize, but he was right.” Getting a college degree pushes you forward to get a stable job, but majoring in a useless major will put a student worse off than if they started working out of high school. What’s a College Education Really Worth discusses the students who go to college and expect a six figure job right out of high school because of their degree. Riley states that “most will see college as an opportunity to have fun and then come out the other end of the pipeline with the stamp of approval they need to make a decent salary after graduation”. Students go into college and use the new found freedom to their advantage by having as much fun as possible and do not prioritize studying and planning for the future. Out of college they have a degree but do not have the experience or skills to obtain a solid job, wasting the time and money they spent in college. When students are not mentally and physically prepared for the real world after college, their degree seems like a waste because they are not obtaining jobs. But college is fully worth the cost if the student makes it worth every penny by preparing themselves for the future and choosing a degree that will support them. Lastly, while Is College Worth it?
argues that majoring in something very difficult like engineering will definitely pay off in the long run, What’s a college education really worth argues that no matter what, college does not teach you the fundamental skills to obtain jobs and racks up debt. Is College Worth it? claims “engineering is a good bet wherever you study it. An engineering graduate from the University of California, Berkeley can expect to be nearly $1.1m better off after 20 years than someone who never went to college.” Working hard in college and challenging yourself pays off when looking for a job. Those who say that college is not worth it either did not study a difficult major or did not use college to elevate their skills to be able to
pay off debt and make a good living. By pushing yourself to your limits in school, you see it pay off in the real world. What’s a college education really worth? States that no matter what kind of degree you obtain, college does not teach fundamental skills needed in the workforce, making it difficult for all types of degrees and people to obtain jobs. The article states that “Executives at U.S. companies routinely complain about the lack of reading, writing and math skills in the recent graduates they hire” (economist.com). Although students are becoming qualified to do many jobs within their major, they are lacking skills that most people only study heavily in high school. This is hindering employers to want to hire recent graduates. If colleges forced students to take more classes on fundamental skills, those against college would be more supportive and graduates would be finding jobs easier. Even though graduates are having trouble finding jobs, they are still more involved in the work force then those without a college degree. According to CNN Money, 68% of people without a degree are likely to have a job while 83% of college graduates are likely to occupy the work force. College is an expensive investment, but majoring in something that will supply a graduate with job security makes it worth it. Despite the debate on whether or not college is worth the cost, people will continue to go to college for a higher education and be better off than those that did not go.
College is the place where people go to retain the necessary training for a job that requires specific skills, which results in earning a higher pay check. In today’s world, employers are scouting out for individuals with the proper dexterities to fill the shoes for that specific job. Blanche D. Blank, the author of “A Question of Degree," argues that possessing a degree of higher education isn’t the only way to have a very successful life. This statement is highly argumentative, due to the fact that college graduates still out-earn people without degrees. Obtaining a college degree is one of the best things someone can do for themselves, when it comes to looking for a stable job. There is also so much more to college than just receiving a
Is college worth it? Is college worth the time and energy you invest? This is a question that many students ask themselves as the cost of college rises and jobs are harder to find. As a 27 year, old college student myself I really thought about this question. I had to think back when I first started college at the age of 18 and how I was excited about starting college. I easily got tired of all the work that it took to get the degree so I dropped out. After having my first child and trying to work and take of her and myself with only making minimal wages, barely get by that when I knew college is worth it. A college education is one of the most reliable paths to financial success for students and gives the opportunity
In addition, the writer of “The Benefits of a College Degree” wrote that”One of the most important and obvious reasons to earn a college degree is to increase your earning potential”(“The Benefits”). While it is true that college is indubitably expensive, the years of learning a particular trade or skill for the future of career of these students is important and worth the cost. Also, students can apply for a variety of scholarships for different amounts of money to help pay for college and lower the amount of debt caused by schooling. Furthermore, multiple students believe that a college education is not needed for their future and that they can get good paying jobs without it. This philosophy does not apply to any good paying careers with the exception of the military and some construction jobs. The good paying jobs require at least a bachelor’s degree in many cases, except for a few that require an
Is college a beautiful illusion of that if we go then all our problems in life won’t be so hard or is it actually is a place people go to shape and mold themselves into better people. Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus, in their essay, Are Colleges Worth the price of Admission? Says that whether or not you go to a public or private institution, the cost of attending college has doubled, compared to when our parents and every other generation before us went to college. They went on and made a few good point by saying how schools should engage the students more, also how they should replace tenure with multiyear contracts, but their arguments about postgraduate training and spreading donations around is where they might had begun to lose their audience.
Honestly college at this certain point in time does not seem worth it. Everywhere else in the world college is free but the United States. People would feel more motivated to go to college if it was free. College is the main reason Americans are having to live such a hard lifestyle. My father did not go to college and makes eighteen dollars an hour. On the other hand my aunt did go to college and make twenty-four dollars an hour but is still paying back student loans so after paying all of her stuff back she only makes around fifteen dollars an hour that she gets to bring back and that doesn’t include taxes. That’s the reason college doesn’t seem like a good choice to make in life.
There is no true price that you can pay for what collegeoffers. That is, because a high school graduate can readily and unfortunately expect “higherunemployment rates than college graduates” (Fain 1). And if those high school graduates happento find a job, they can expect college graduates to make approximately “$17,500 more” (TheRising Cost of Not Going to College 1) than college graduates. The statistics for going to collegemight be scary, but the ones for not going to college are terrifying.So, what exactly is so good about college? It might not seem like it, but college isn’t justthe lesser of two evils, really, college can be great for most people. College gives young adultswith the first taste of true and undeniably terrifying freedom. It gives its students greaterresponsibility. But above all else, college is a platform in which one evolves and grows within anintellectual yet social atmosphere. It allows students to make their future brighter and it sets themup for a comfortable and happy life in which they can prosper. According to Jennifer Pfeffer“college graduates report being happier” (1). That in on itself is a great attribute for collegegraduates. Just about everyone is looking and striving for happiness, college gives you a boost toachieve
College is thought of as what every parent wants for their child, so they can go off andmake something of themselves. For the most part, this is true. Those who attend college arebetter off than those who do not, on average, earning far more than their undereducatedcounterparts. College is a worthwhile investment and should be pursued by all who have thechance because it helps students further their knowledge, it is a place to find who you are, and itgives them a different perspective of the world.College is worth the cost because if college was available for everybody and collegedegrees were handed out as commonly and at the same rate as high school diplomas then collegewould not be that special. Therefore, college would just be an extension of high school. Ifanyone could get their hands on a degree, how would you be able to get the job you want? It isbetter for college to cost money because if a student really wants to attend college and furthertheir education, they should have already been willing to pay or to find a way to pay for collegeto get the upper hand on the general
Due to the fact that a majority of people want a good amount of income, they choose to go to college. Majority of people choose to go to college so that they are able to receive a better salary and afford more possessions. Going to college will help you receive a better wage and a better job compared to those that only graduate from high school. College graduates are estimated to earn far more money over the course of a lifetime than compared to high school graduates (“President’s Perspective: Why go to College?”). This means that people who go to college are estimated to earn more money in one life time than that of someone who only graduated from high school. It is not always certain that going to college will get you a better salary but many statistics show that going to college can help. One of these statistics is the starting salaries of college graduates compared to those of a high school graduate. The starting salaries of college graduates are better than that of people who only graduated from high school. Starting salaries of college graduates are also steadily increasing over time. The overall average starting salary for a U.S. class of 2013 college graduates stands at $45,327, an increase of 2.4 percent over the report...
The American Dream. The ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. This ideology that anybody, regardless of race, gender, or social status, is able to work up the ladder and achieve success. However, the process to receive and live in this prosperity in today’s world has been greatly flawed. A key element to having a true chance of the American Dream is getting an education that goes beyond a high school degree. Yet, even this seemingly simple step in the process is difficult to achieve for many for countless reasons, however, college tuition is the prime cause for this setback. Even though there are people who believe that a college admission is fair to all, I firmly disagree, as countless people cannot pay for higher education, and, therefore, are not given an equal chance to live a moment of the American Dream.
In the article written by Rodney K.Smith where he puts forward a clear argument about “Yes, a College Education is Worth the Cost. There are more opportunities and doors open for those with higher education compared to those without. Higher education allows people to live in better neighborhoods; it brings financial security and stability. ”. Financially secured people not only are able to afford extracurricular activities for their kids, such as sports, music lessons, art, dancing etc, it also allows to have intellectual knowledge in general as well as better nutrition and medical care compared to uneducated people. A college education is worth the cost and investment of the students’ time.
Having a college degree in today’s world is very important because more companies and businesses are requiring that anyone they hire has at least a two-year college degree, which is also known as an Associate 's degree. High school graduates and other people who have had thoughts about going to college should do so because it is getting harder for just a high school graduate to get a job, this is a result of hiring companies and businesses don’t want anyone without a college degree. Having a college degree will open more opportunities for the future. By doing so they further their lives and create a future that they want.
There is a lot of people perhaps famous that didn’t attend college and they were successful. That is because I think they had to put in a lot of hardwork and dedication. One famous person that did not attend college and was successful was Steve Jobs (Lynn). Steve Jobs was the founder and creator of apple. Perhaps the most successful company in the
A child does not typically think about their life ahead. Although, they may not think about college, it is still there. Life ahead means getting a job to make money for everything else and if one wants a well paying job in the future, then college is the best option. College education is worth it because it makes a person better and more educated, college is not as expensive as some think, and the college pays for itself once there is a job to pay for it.
Even though, colleges and universities might have an increasingly negative reputation due to things like high tuition fees, less faculty, and less than desirable graduation rates, it is still very important to attend college. Having an education does not necessarily mean going to school for years in order to have a great job with a great pay. Of course going to college, and getting a degree can lead students to a well-paying job instead of having to settle for making minimum wage with only part time opportunities. College is about more than just getting a degree. It is something that plays a crucial part in future success. Statistics may say that the majority of students end up in debt trying to pay for college, or
In today’s society, the idea of receiving a college education has been pondered quite a bit as to whether or not it is actually worth it. According to Michelle Adam, many people “…today believe that getting a good education is key to success in our society, this revealed surprising issues that challenge the notion of higher education being worth its price tag” (59). Naturally, many high school graduates apply for college right before or after graduation. Others decide to go into the work force, armed forces, or simply remain unemployed. The question that many people debate about is, is a college education worth it in the long run? Though some people believe a college education will benefit ones’ career, others believe it will cause a mass of debt and loans for college students and graduates, and postpone life events.