As of now, there are some solid reasons and arguments why not to go to college, with 75% of Americans who think college is too expensive (“Is College worth It?”). A portion of Americans think college just is not worth it. However, being successful in college can lead to a far more successful career. Here are two significant reasons that show attending college is definitely worthwhile. Attaining a degree in college grants much greater wages and employment rates than simply a high school diploma.
Furthermore, having a college degree grants access to a much larger variety of jobs than those with a high school diploma. The many pros of college, higher salaries, lower unemployment, and opportunity to jobs make college quite worth the investment.
One of the main advantages of achieving a college degree is the potential of lower unemployment rates, which leads to significantly higher salaries. High school graduates have an unemployment rate of 7.5%, which can be lowered to 5.4% with an associate’s degree, or even 3.7% with a bachelor’s degree (Employment Status of the Civilian Noninstitutional Population 25 Years and over by Educational Attainment, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity). While having low wages is tolerable, unemployment is not, which shows how useful a degree can be, especially in this economy. Since college tuitions are high, the low unemployment rates helps pay off debt and secure a future.
Besides higher employment rates, attending college can grant a higher salary. By just getting an associate’s degree, someone can earn more than 100 dollars weekly than with a high school diploma, or having a bachelor’s degree can more than double the weekly wages of a high school graduate (Earnings and Unemployment Rates by Educational Attainment). This shows the significant amount of luxury one can get with a degree, even from minimal college education. The potential for higher wages also allows students to pay off debts a start a living, while most only holding a high school diploma live much more conservatively. Not only does a college degree grant higher wages and unemployment, but also discovery and access to careers.
One of the main objectives of college is to give job and lifelong experience, as well as allowing new careers, which only a college degree can grant. Graduating college gives experiences that lead into future careers and skills, with over 80% of college graduates that had an internship experience and 86% of Americans who felt college was a worthy investment (Career Development: Internship Experiences of IUB Psychology Majors – 50+ Examples, “Is College Worth It?”) These valuable experiences can prepare college students to enter the job market and give direction to a career, which makes college so important.
Overall, the college experience is worthwhile for Americans and provides skills that people with just a high school diploma cannot access. Job projections for 2018 show an available 101 million jobs only obtainable with postsecondary education, while only 61 million jobs are available to people who had high school as their highest education(“Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018”). This shows that achieving a college education unlocks 40 more million jobs, vastly increasing openings in jobs and creating a large variety in careers.
The immense amount of jobs opened with a postsecondary degree allows a much more diverse future, and college graduates are needed to fulfill these jobs so more jobs are created for future graduates. Although there are valid reasons to where college is not worth the time and investment, college’s pros still outweigh its cons.
Every decision has its own drawbacks, for college, the rising tuitions and debts. For four year institutions, the approximate annual tuition in 2002 was $13,639, and in 2012, the annual tuition was $23066(Tuition Costs of Colleges and Universities). This shows an approximate increase of $1,000 each year, but there are solutions to this rising tuition. Foremost, there is an approximate 50 billion in scholarships from the Department of Education and other organizations, and 77% of students at four year colleges were scholarship recipients in 2008(Barr, “Which College Scholarships Are Easy to Get? We Have the Data”). Although many will still have debt, this shows that there are many opportunities to save to be able to get through college’s high tuitions. The debt many students have after college also has a solution.
An average student leaves a four year college with $26,000 in debt, which may seem large, but an average adult has earned $20,000 more than those without a degree, which makes up for the debt college gives(Denhart). Overall, while college has drawbacks, the opportunity and careers college can give outweigh the disadvantages.
Attaining a college education gives substantial potential for higher earnings, opportunities, and many other advantages. The greater earnings of having a degree are definitely worth it even with rising tuitions and debts. Additionally, the careers college unravels continually outweigh the pros. All things considered, college has high potential, but this potential is not guaranteed because of the drawbacks of college. Anyone who is able to succeed and acquire a successful career should attend college because of the pros listed. Overall, the greater salaries, employment rates, and career choices college gives certainly makes college quite worth it.
