Jessica Rainey English 102-39 Anne Wilbourne April 16, 2013 Value of a College Education Education has come along way through out the centuries, unlike in the past; education is the key to opening the door to endless opportunities. College can provide a sense of security and desire towards a stable career. As easy as it sounds to obtain this life, the market gets more competitive each day, allowing employers to raise their standards. When investing into a degree one should keep an open-mind, there are many aspects that follow along.
One mistake commonly made in college, is a student will choose a career with a higher paying salary. This career they might choose might not be something their interested in. That’s where a different aspect of college comes in; it’s for one to experience all different aspects of the world to see what fits them best, “In college you come in thinking one thing about yourself and you leave thinking in a completely different way” (Hoover). As said in the same article, she believes that college helped her overcome her shyness when required to interact with people of different backgrounds (Hoover).
College also serves the purpose of preparing a student for the “real world” as well as education. The best way to know what type of career one should pursue is through an internship allowing for experience. This value that college has to offer is a chance for one to become confident in their field of work “Without those four years I wouldn’t be the businessperson I am today. I wouldn’t have the confidence” (Hoover). Sadly, sometimes even with experience and a degree it still isn’t enough to get a career in todays market.
As said by the article Finding A Job Is Hard For Even The Most Educated, “With the unemployment rate at 9. 7 percent, sustained unemployment is afflicting even some of the most educated” (Noguchi). The article goes on and tells the readers about a 33-year-old who quit her job to go on to get her masters to find out two years from now she would be jobless due to the inefficient market (Noguchi). One should always take pre-cautious when deciding what type of field they want to enter.
This may explain why Canadians have more post-secondary education than anyone else; they are considered the most educated people in the world. Canadians ranging from the ages of 25 to 34 years old have a degree; this is what the market expects (Keller). A college degree can benefit someone tremendously, “According to the survey, adults with a college degree estimated, on average, that they earn $20,000 a year more because of having achieved a degree”(Adam). Unfortunately, tuition and fees for college has more than tripled over the years but 86% of graduates said college was a good investments (Adam).
By spending the money to educate one self they are improving their resume and becoming a better candidate for job qualifications. Students whom can get a job right out of college can make back the money invested into their education in a few short years, “A person with a professional degree tends to make twice as much as someone with just a bachelor’s degree” (Hanford). “Now that even many unskilled, entry-level jobs require a college degree while a high-school diploma does not even guarantee basic literacy, this qualification is a sort of passport to white-collar status mans to cold, hard cash” (Bowman).
With this statement, the public was racing to get into college, meanwhile, the universities hiked their prices up knowing that the public was desperate to get in, even if it meant paying an outrageous loan later on. The same article explains to the readers that the children, who are more likely to attend college, come from a wealthier family, who’s parents attended college as well (Bowman). This is a never-ending vicious cycle with education unable to reach the poor. The United States will need 22 more million people to be degree holders in order to meet the demand for educated (Hanford). Those not on the college track is more likely to come from low income households”(Adam). This is one the reason the United States is behind in education, some citizens are not able to afford the tuition. Even with this problem that should not stop one from bettering themself. As said by the article, College Value Goes Deeper Than The Degree, Graduates Say, his parents were poor, just like his childhood friends, but he wanted to change that (Hoover). College offers an education that is an important role in obtaining a career but the experience you receive is priceless.
In the article, Measuring the Value Of a College Education, the author states that one doesn’t just learn the essentials they need for their particular job, but they are taught to be a well-rounded individual. He goes on to explain that one can learn more about a tree than just the biology side of it. A tree has dimension and perspective, as well as color and shade to its leaves; this is how art is interrogated. Economics can also be involved; trees are an economic force, they produce acetone, charcoal, paper, etc. You know, the essential characteristic of an ignorant man is his compulsive insistence on simply answers to complex questions. Life to him is flat and two-dimensional; everything is reduced to a simply duality: Them and us Right and wrong Good and bad Friend and foe There’s no in-between. There are no other levels open for consideration. These are the standards bearers and phrasemakers”(Bellavance). The author makes a point that college teaches us about history and why it repeats itself people were closed-minded.
The journey that one goes through when enrolled in college is the difference of an undergraduate graduating making $100,000 and dreading work everyday, or $80,000 and considering their career as their passion. Post-secondary education is essential to survive in the economy today. College is designed for students to understand that life is multi-faced and operates at different levels. By educating a student with different levels of knowledge, college has successf ul completed its task by having one ready for the “real world”.
This is the true meaning of the value of a college education, to be able to graduate with no regrets and to be open minded to the world around you. Works Cited Adam, Michelle. “‘Is College Worth It? ‘. ” Education Digest 77. 6 (2012): 58-61. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Apr. 2013 Bellavance, Thomas E. “Measuring The Value Of A College Education. ” Vital Speeches Of The Day 51. 19 (1985): 603-605. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Apr. 2013 Bowman, James. “The Graduates. ” National Review 51. 9 (1999): 30-32. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Apr. 2013 Hanford, Emily. “The Value of a College Degree. ” The Value of a College Degree. American Public Media, n. d. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. Hoover, Eric. “College’s Value Goes Deeper Than The Degree, Graduates Say. ” Chronicle Of Higher Education 57. 37 (2011): A6. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. Keller, Tony. “The Best Investment Money Can Buy. ” Maclean’s 119. 45 (2006): 41. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. Noguchi, Yuki. “Finding A Job Is Hard For Even The Most Educated. ” NPR. NPR, 29 Mar. 2010. Web. 16 Apr. 2013.
