Herman Amevor
FIQWS 10103 and 10003
Professor St John and Nieves
November 4, 2019
Education has been and continues to be a heavily debated topic that’s prevalent in society. In general, education tends to be valued by people, seen as a tool that allows individuals to be successful. Many high paying careers require many forms of education to be completed. Other people criticize education and feel as if it’s not useful for people to be successful in later years. People seem to criticize college since it doesn’t guarantee success. However, both arguments of college being useful and college not being useful are often central to the topic of the value of a college education. The purpose of this essay is to introduce the many arguments to the topic of the importance of a college education. I assert the view that college education is valuable and important to college students because they need a college degree to be successful, meaning earning an abundance of wealth and attaining a developing a career. Opponents of this argument may say that earning a college degree/education may cause people to take on debt.
The impact of a college education and degree has been a debate that has created discussion amongst people. Many studies compare the rates of people who earned a college degree and people who didn’t earn a college. These statistics are shown in the BLS( Bureau of Labor Statistics). The BLS compares employment and unemployment of people based on many factors. For instance, 2017 studies from the BLS show that individuals who received a bachelor’s degree are likely to have median weekly earnings of 1,125 dollars, while a person with a high school diploma or no college degree likely has median weekly earnings of only 600 dollars. This is vital for people to know because many people only receive a high school diploma or no certification and some individuals actually go to college and receive high certifications like a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree. There is a huge gap between the people who finish high school at maximum and the people who finish college. From the BLS, the gap was at least 400 dollars, which is realistic and very much concerning the public view. This may be convincing to people who are conflicted about finishing college or not. Similarly, Southern New Hampshire University researched the correlation between students going to college and their success rates after graduating. The institution researched the many ways that earning a college degree could be a huge gain for students. Susan Bogle, who is Associate Vice President of Product Marketing for Southern New Hampshire University, used various statistics to back up this claim. Sarah Bogle explains that “just 2.2% of workers with a bachelor’s degree are facing unemployment, compared to 4.1% of workers with only a high school diploma.” This statistic is informative of the idea that unemployment is higher amongst people with only an intermediate certification like a high school diploma. Although there is unemployment also in the number of people who receive college degrees, unemployment is almost double the rate for people with only high school diplomas. Receiving a college degree promises you a better chance of receiving high earnings instead of a life where you may face financial instability in the future. Arts Institutes is also an institution that has examined a fair amount of statistics and reasonings to prove the idea of the value of a college education. Besides the reasoning of unemployment and wages, a college education is important to students because students who continue with a college degree are likely to be equipped with skills that will help them be successful in the world. From the Arts Institutes, it is known that “ Even if the job doesn’t require a degree, your education—along with the quality of your work—may help you stand out among applicants.” With a college degree, opportunities are easily accessible because students can take in skills that may resourceful to them. Earning a college education and degree will be the foundation in earning the skills that are accessible for people to be successful with. Aside from the multiple skills and earnings that people gain from earning a college education, there are also a wide range of fields that people can choose from once they complete a college education. People who don’t finish college or the ones who don’t experience one at all either don’t have a chance to explore career fields that they may be interested in or have a much harder time doing so. Mark A. Heckler addresses this about college when he refers to it in the daily newspaper, The Chicago Tribune. He talked about the importance of a college degree and education in regards to a technology company. There are skills that only a college degree could provide people with and the people using these skills being hired into the company, will ultimately make the company successful. In the Chicago Tribune, Mark A. Heckler informed the reader that, “Tech companies will be calling for highly skilled employees trained in STEM-related fields, of course, but these same companies will need employees with communications, business and humanities backgrounds who can market their products, recruit potential investors and interact with clients and media.” Just like technology companies, many companies will hire anyone who possess the talents and skills that will be valuable for the company.
In opposition to the claim that college is a necessity for students because it can help students become successful, other people tend to believe that college is not needed for people to become successful. There have been stories of people who have experienced major success without earning a college degree. More importantly, there have been studies about people who had experience of being in debt as a result of their expensive college education. There are a significant amount of people around the world that are in debt because they had to pay for a college education that was a high price. Even after believing that they could obtain a promising future after college, students tend to owe an abundance in money and even their careers that they had after college couldn’t help them pay off what they owe. That may be very shocking to people because various studies have shown that people who earn college degrees are among the people who have the highest earnings rather than people with high school diplomas. They gain more valuable skills than people with only college degrees. Statistics about the negative influence of college on students were gained from the Business Insider source. It is revealed that “In 2017, student-loan debt hit a record high of $17,126 per graduate who took out loans, Business Insider reported. In 2018, the national total of student-loan debt was $1.5 trillion.” The reality is that while college could have a beneficial influence on the lives of students, college could also have an unfavorable effect on the lives of students. A large number of people may question if college is worth it based on the debt that many students accumulate during and after college. Additionally, when people finish college they expect to immediately have prosperous careers in which they may be able to pay off the debt burden. It’s very shocking for people to know that college debt is increasingly high, as it is currently 1.5 trillion. College debt is the biggest concern among people thinking about completing a college education. There has been an increasing amount of research done on college debt. Harvard University did a study on college debt as a result of a college education. This university provides the reader with various statistics that show the reader the college debt is a result of needing a college education . In the case by Harvard University, the study shows “79 percent say its a problem, four percent say it is not a problem. In total, 70 percent of our sample reported that financial circumstances played an important (41% very, 29% somewhat) role in their decision whether or not to pursue a college education.” When the study refers to the “problem”, they are talking about the problem of college debt and how it has an influence on the amount of people who want to go to college. College debt is a factor that would restrict the amount of people who want to go to college because it is ironic for people to go to college and expect to be successful when there are actually people who go to college, but owe a large sum of debt after they graduate..
As I am currently in my first year of college, I feel like I am obligated to finish with a college education because there is an exceptional amount of opportunities for people who do so. If I were to do drop out of college then I would most likely not be skilled enough for a professional job. I am invested in gaining my degrees such as my bachelor’s and master’s degree especially because I could attain high earnings with those degrees. I would actually have a great lifestyle because there may be practical benefits to come with me if I complete a higher education.Vista College also did a study on the value of a higher education. There are numerous practical benefits like “better communication”, “greater sense of discipline”, and “sense of accomplishment” that make earning a college degree/ education an advantage. For example, in regards to “greater sense of discipline”, Vista College informs the reader that “By learning to follow complex instructions and meet strict deadlines, you will be better prepared for the rigors of the marketplace.” This appeals to me to a great extent because I am approaching the time in which I will have a career in the professional world, and I would like to instill discipline into my life as I obtain a college degree. In addition, I could acquire many career benefits and perks if I acquire a professional job. The University of South Florida did a study on the career benefits and the valuable perks that people would receive if they had a developing career. It seems that professional careers lead to great benefits like“health insurance, eyecare insurance, vacation and other paid time off.” It is very clever to progress with a college education so that plentiful opportunities will be accessible to people. Although people do not like the idea of college since people tend to accumulate debt afterwards, the college experience is actually worth it because it would help individuals prepare for the real world by training them for skills and prosperous opportunities that can be positioned for.
All in all, there are multiple arguments for the debate on why a college education is important for individuals to complete. There are opponents who are critical of this argument and there are proponents, who actually support the argument. Regardless, people will have their opinions on their way of being successful. However, it’s also important to look at the statistics when thinking about whether college is a good idea or not. It is favorable for people to aim for a college degree simply because people with college degrees and an experience with a higher education are more likely to achieve fortune in relation to earnings and the opportunities afterwards. College debt is very controversial in society and its one of the many aspects of college that repels people from going after a college education. It is important to do extensive research on the aspects of college, as people must see for themselves if college is the way to go and route that they should take in order to be successful. Checking the facts will ensure that a person understands if the college education is really worth it for many of the individuals that may or not considering.
Annotated Bibliography
Bugle, Sarah. “Top 10 Reasons Why College Is Important.” Southern New Hampshire University, 2019, https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/2017/08/why-is-college-important.
The reader could tell that this source is definitely reliable because it was created by a university and it includes various statistics relating to the many ways that college is an institution that can pave the way for individuals to be successful. This source lists many ways that college is vital in a person’s life as higher education opens up individuals to gain opportunities in the future. In terms of opportunities, the source displays information about college graduates earning an abundant income and job satisfaction in their careers. In general, any person reading that source and the studies involved in the source will recognize the value of a college education interpret it as a tool of stability in the lives of people later on.
“The Top 5 Reasons Why a College Education Is Important.” The Top 5 Reasons Why a College Education Is Important, 2019, https://www.artinstitutes.edu/about/blog/the-top-5-reasons-why-a-college-education-is-important
The Art Institutes asserts many ways that having a college education will impact the future of students. The source by Art Institute is credible because it also initiates the many statistics that are involved with students who complete a college education. From the source, the data collected, in order to make the source resourceful, was derived from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS shares statistics and information surrounding employment and unemployment among the U.S population. The Art Institutes shares points from the BLS to explain that people who earn a college degree are likely to earn more in wealth than a person who only earned a high school diploma.
Torpey, Elka. “Measuring the Value of Education : Career Outlook.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018, www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2018/data-on-display/education-pays.htm.
This source emphasizes the value of a college education and refers to many reasons why having a college education is beneficial to one’s future. This source is credible enough to be used to support the claim that college is the key to the lives of students because it also references compelling reasoning to back up the source. One of the reasons that the source has that connects to the claim of college being key is that many professional jobs require a completion of a college education. There are also high earnings that are reflective of people who completed a college education.The reader of the source could definitely assert the significance that someone going to college will attain an abundant success status.
Heckler, Mark A. “The Importance of a College Education.” Chicagotribune.com, Chicago Tribune, 12 Dec. 2018, www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/opinion/ct-ptb-heckler-guest-column-st-0912-story.html.
The source describes how there are many career fields that are available for people who receive a college education. This source is valuable and reliable to the reader because it uses great rhetoric that may urge people to think about going to college so that they could gain career opportunities in different fields. The author Mark Heckler provides examples of skills and talents needed to make a Technology company successful. People obtain these skills from teachings from college.
Hoffower, Hillary. “Nearly Half of Indebted Millennials Say College Wasn’t Worth It, and the Reason Why Is Obvious.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 11 Apr. 2019, www.businessinsider.com/millennials-college-not-worth-student-loan-debt-2019-4.
This source is informative of the way that it talks about why students think that college should be avoided. It is due to the fact that college debt has arisen and increased in which people don’t have enough money to pay for debt. People often expect to be directly successful right after finishing with their college endeavors. However, college debt continue to be prevalent for lives of individuals after college. This source can be seen as something reliable because provides statistics on how college debt has arisen because individuals need to take out additional loans to pay college tuition.
“Student Debt Viewed as Major Problem; Financial Considerations Important Factor for Most Millennials When Considering Whether to Pursue College.” The Institute of Politics at Harvard University, 2018, iop.harvard.edu/student-debt-viewed-major-problem-financial-considerations-important-factor-most-millennials-when.
This source has information that is conducted by Harvard University regarding why and how debt has people questioning whether or not college is important. This source is definitely reliable because its done by a University that has experience with people who pay tuition and take out loans for college.There is very much relevant information that people could consider when referring to college.
“The Importance of Higher Education in the 21st Century.” Vista College, Vista College, 26 Nov. 2019, www.vistacollege.edu/blog/resources/higher-education-in-the-21st-century/.
Vista College did a study on the personal benefits that can come with a person if they have a college degree. College can prepare individuals for their success in their future careers. With a college degree people may be able to gain discipline for their careers in the future. They will be able to behave in a manner that is appropriate for their career.
Huss, Michael James. “Why A College Education Is Important.” Why A College Education Is Important | USF Admissions, 2018, admissions.usf.edu/blog/why-a-college-education-is-important.
University of South Florida introduced the reader to the many benefits that are included if an individual has a professional career that he or she is looking to have. Many benefits like “eye insurance”, “travel insurance”, and “dental insurance” are included with all careers. This source is definitely reliable due to the fact that this university did comparisons of study based on their university. This is similar to the fact that Harvard University did a study on college debt across different institutions.
Titus, Kelvin. “Reasons Why College Education Is Important.” Lifehack, Lifehack, 1 Feb. 2017, www.lifehack.org/530639/reasons-why-college-education-important.
This source emphasizes the value of a college education and refers to many reasons why having a college education is beneficial to one’s future. This source is credible enough to be used to support the claim that college is the key to the lives of students because it also references compelling reasoning to back up the source. One of the reasons that the source has that connects to the claim of college being key is that many professional jobs require a completion of a college education. The reader of the source could definitely assert the significance that someone going to college will attain an abundant success status.
Link, James. “Thinking of Skipping College? Here Are 6 Stats to Change Your Mind.” Cornerstone University, 2019, www.cornerstone.edu/blogs/lifelong-learning-matters/post/thinking-of-skipping-college-here-are-6-stats-to-change-your-mind.
The author of this source asserted the many ways in which neglecting a college education will negatively affect someone in the future. This source is reliable due to the fact that it comments on trends of people who completed a college education versus the people who didn’t complete a college education. One of the trends that is shown in the source is the detail that students who graduate college are expected to accumulate more wealth than a student who didn’t complete a college education. Anyone who might be thinking of not completing a college education would probably regret it after reading that source.
