Is a College Education Really Worth It? Essay Sample with the Answer

A college degree was very valuable in the 1990s. However, not many people were fortunate enough to have it. Therefore, employers hired both college-educated individuals and high school drop-outs. The available jobs were also enough to cater for both college graduates and people with a high school diploma (Delbanco, 2014). Therefore, a high school diploma in this era was enough to get one decent job with a minimum wage. Factors such as competition for jobs and technological advancement have made it impossible for a high school diploma to be enough to sustain acquire a well-paying job. A lot of income from parents goes to the education of their children every year with the hope that they will graduate and become more marketable than their peers in the job market. Despite the cost of obtaining a degree has becoming greater than in previous decades, graduates have a higher chance of getting employed and earning higher salaries. Approximately 60% of students enrolled in college in the past year to pursue a college degree or diploma (Delbanco, 2014). The advantages of obtaining a college degree are more compared to the disadvantages.

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Acquiring a college education is accompanied by job security. Research shows that 60% of college graduates prefer to land a secure job at the end of their college studies (Statistics, 2014). The same research shows that in case of economic recession, teachers and doctors who have a college education are less likely to be laid off. In comparison, workers who have a high school diploma become the first to get laid off during such periods. This is because no organization can run effectively without the invaluable expertise offered by employees who have gone through a formal education and understand every aspect of their jobs. Therefore, it may be worth it that students get a college education before joining the job market to avoid becoming the sacrificial lambs for the employers in difficult economic times.

A majority of students who attend college are healthier and contribute more to the society in comparison to their peers who dropped out (Karlsberg & Karlsberg, n.d). They do this by being more productive in their places of work and paying their taxes promptly. Being healthier also reduces pressure on healthcare facilities in the country. While they are in college, students gain social skills that are crucial for their interaction with other employees or their employer. Those who will go on to become employers will also need these social skills to interact with clients and employees in their organizations. This facilitates their success in career advancement.

Getting a college education also allows a person to widen their network (CBD College, 2018). This would involve a network of people they met while studying in college. When an opening arises in an organization, it is easier to land the job when the person who is looking to hire is already familiar with the graduate and their skills. For instance, when a human resource manager is looking to hire an internal auditor, he would be more willing to entrust the job to someone whom they have known for a long time. Therefore, a college education enables one to build a strong network that makes the journey of a job less frustrating.

Additionally, when one acquires a college education, they are better placed to accumulate a larger amount of lifetime savings compared to their counterparts (Karlsberg & Karlsberg, n.d). This is because their earnings are usually higher It is estimated that employees with a college education, a worker has the potential of earning $1,000,000 more than a worker without a college education over their respective lifetimes (Statistics, 2014). From this statistic, it is evident that, even if the tuition fees continue to rise, the graduates are still better equipped to pay off their tuition debts and save going forward. They are also likely to enjoy better living standards than their counterparts who possess only a high school diploma. There are students across the world whose families do not just believe in hard work but also the value of education. The parents have obtained masters and advanced college degrees hence they know the value of education.

The knowledge acquired through college education is very important for employers. Currently, it is difficult for any employer to hire without a college education (CBD College, 2018). College is the best place to learn most of the skills that are related to work. It is not advisable to work without prior knowledge in certain jobs, for instance, programming, because this can lead to massive losses to the organization if a mistake is committed in the process of learning. Assuming every student seeks to become an employer or venture into business immediately post-high school studies, sooner or later there will be a shortage of employees in organizations. Such an imbalance will lead to challenges such as employees demanding for salaries beyond their qualification simply because there is a shortage of personnel who are qualified for the same job. Therefore, a college education is very important because it makes available the requisite skills that employers require to run their organizations.

The modern world is dependent on technology in nearly all aspects (Craig, 2015). This means that in every field that one lands in, they will come across computers and other gadgets that require technological know-how. The best way to acquire such knowledge is through a college education. Older people are heading back to college to gain further knowledge, lest they lose the jobs they currently hold. All aspects of their jobs have been integrated with technology, yet the knowledge they acquired in high school is not sufficient to sustain the challenging roles they play in their respective organizations. Coding and computerized accounting are some of the skills that are important in this information age. Every successful organization needs individuals who are proficient in such skills in order to run efficiently. By heading back to college to acquire such knowledge, an employee would be boosting their chances of gaining a promotion or salary increment.

This is not to say that the importance of a college education has not been overstated. It is a fact that many parents have invested a fortune in college education yet their sons and daughters have ended up struggling to get a decent job just like their peers who have a high school diploma (Daily, 2018). Most parents instill in their children the notion that once they get a college education, everything else will take care of itself. However, this is a very simplistic assumption. There are millions of college graduates who are stuck in careers that they are not satisfied with and certified for, simply because they found it difficult to get the job that they dreamt of and worked hard to attain. Therefore, parents need to inform their children that as much as a college education matters, they should also be innovative and find something else that they are passionate about and pursue it. If they did this, the world would not be flooded with millions of hopeless college-educated individuals who do not see a difference between themselves and their 'friends' who have a high school diploma.

One may also argue that college education plunges students and parents alike into unnecessary debt (Daily, 2018). A student may be willing to go through college education but if the costs are too high to match, they may opt for student loans and other forms of debt. Such loans attract very high rates of interest and become a major headache for students when the time comes to repay the loan. Such loans are repaid over a very long period of time and they may hamper the financial growth of the individual while they are working. The situation may be worse if the student is not lucky to get employed early enough in their career. Such a situation can be frustrating because the lenders are always on their necks upon the loan maturity. Therefore, a college education may not be worth it after all if it does not yield sufficient funds to repay the student loan within a short time after completion of college studies.

Overall, I believe a college education is really worth it. A college education is accompanied by job security, higher lifetime income, social benefits, and high chances of employment among other benefits. College may have its disadvantages such as a crippling debt, and a risk of remaining unemployed for many years. However, this should not discourage individuals from pursuing this journey because its long-term gains are far greater than the challenges that come with it. Individuals should beware of being misled by the lucky few who were able to make it big in business and tech because everyone should forge their own path in life. A college education is really worth it.

References

CBD College. (2018). 9 Benefits Of Earning A College Degree | Cbd College. [online] Available at: https://www.cbd.edu/9-benefits-college-degree/ [Accessed 12 Apr. 2018].

Craig, R. (2015). College disrupted: The great unbundling of higher education. St. Martin's Press.

Daily, T. (2018). 6 Disadvantages Of Going To College. [online] The Alternative Daily. Available at: https://www.thealternativedaily.com/disadvantages-of-going-to-college [Accessed 12 Apr. 2018].

Delbanco, A. (2014). College: What it was, is, and should be. Princeton University Press.

Karlsberg, J., & Karlsberg.(n.d). Is a college degree really worth it?

Statistics, L. (2014). US Department of Labor. Dostepne w internecie: http://www. msha. gov. Dostep w dniu, 10.