Deciding to go to college and further your education is probably one of the biggest decisions of your life. There are many factors the determine whether you do or not. Like the finances, where you live, your family, etc. But the main factor is yourself. You should do what you want to and not what others want you to. Your parents may "force" you to go to a certain school or get a certain degree, but in the end it's all about you.
Everyone knows that having a college degree will get you a better, higher paying job. Studies show that people with a bachelor's degree or higher make $17,500 more than high school graduates and $15,500 more than people with a two-year degree (Pew Research Center pp. 452).
There are pros and cons to getting a college degree. The pros include a better job, more career options, more money, and many more. With a degree, you basically have endless job choices because most employers just look to see if you have a degree. The cons of having a degree are student debt, living with parents because of debt, many students can't find a job directly after graduation, etc. Many students exit college in debt, which means the whole time they work they have to pay off their debt. Because of this many students also go back home to live with their parents because they can't afford a house/apartment. Some students can't find jobs after they graduate because they don't have experience. A lot of work places want employees with experience, that is why it's good to have an internship before you graduate so you have your "foot in the door."
Alan S. Blinder, a professor at Princeton University, states that for a quarter-century, demand for labor has shifted towards college graduates and away from high school graduates and drop-outs. He says that this is the main reason for rising income inequality (pp. 441). Which means that the workplace has turned away from low skilled and uneducated people. Not that you can't get a job without a degree; you just have a better chance at getting a job if you have one.
Having a college degree can impact the economy and workforce. It will get you a higher pay, which means you will be in higher social classes. During downfalls in the economy, many people lose their jobs so they go back to school to have something to do. That leaves more middle and lower class people because they don't have jobs, which means little money. Once they get back into the workforce, they are stuck in the middle and lower classes from paying off student loans.
The education required for certain jobs is ridiculous. At universities, you are required to take prerequisite courses to the classes that actually deal with your major, which costs extra money. Most of the classes, like electives, have nothing to do with your major, yet you are still required to take them. Technical colleges are a little better. You take the basic classes like psychology and math, and then you start to take classes that pertain to your major. At most technical colleges, you get to do "hands on" activities in your program of study, which is really good for job opportunities.
Works Cited
Blinder, Alan S. "Will Your Job be Exported?" Eds. Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen. Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, 13th ed., Pearson, Boston, 2016. pp 441.
Pew Research Center. "Rising Earnings Disparity Between Young Adults with and Without a College Degree." Eds. Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen. Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, 13th ed., Pearson, Boston, 2016. pp. 452.
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