The Relation Between Education and the Quality of Life

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Dan Rather once held the assumption that “A college degree is the key to realizing the American dream, well worth the financial sacrifice because it is supposed to open the door to a world of opportunity” ("Dan Rather Quote"). With today’s rough economic conditions, social mobility and the quality of life are controversial topics that have many different theories. Some people believe that increasing social mobility can be done in a variety of different ways, while others think achieving this mobility is impossible. The main problem is that individuals are left with minimum wage jobs, or even unemployed. Without a decent job they struggle to provide for themselves and their family, and their quality of life is very low. They live from paycheck to paycheck wondering why they are stuck in this horrible situation. However, improving the quality of life can be done and the answer is quite simple. To improve the quality of your life in eastern North Carolina, you must further your education and achieve degrees that exceed a high school diploma. Achieving a college degree instead of just a high school diploma will increase your employability, increase your earning potential, and make it easier to advance in a career.
In today’s society having just a high school diploma is not enough. Its value is rapidly diminishing, and employers are looking for college graduates to fill jobs that were traditionally held by those with a high school diploma. Justin Wolfers, a public policy and economics professor at the University of Michigan, stated, “High-skilled people can take the jobs of middle-skilled people, and middle-skilled people can take jobs of low-skilled people, and low-skilled people are out of luck” (Rampell para. 7). With the declinin...

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Rampell, Catherine. "College Graduates Fare Well in Jobs Market, Even Through Recession." The New York Times. N.p., 3 May 2013. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
"Three Reasons Why a Career in Nursing is Secure." Stratford University. N.p., 2 Aug. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
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