What is College Worth
Content
Stark1 Elizah Stark Professor McPherson Eng 102 February 9, 2009
Catch-22
What does a college education mean today? Sifting through all the information you will find many varying ideas and a few good points on both sides of the subject. Though many will argue that a college degree is over rated the bottom line is that a college education may not be as prestigious as it once was, but the very fact that there are more people with degrees today than at any other time should be a testament to the fact that they are more of a necessity today than at anytime. Not only do you get the opportunity to make more money when you get a college education, but there are a plethora of other rewards, such as networking and learning how to communicate in a more diverse social situation than most suburban school systems can offer.
With tuition and other costs of going to college getting higher than Michael Phelps many just don’t see the return on investment being sufficient enough to give four years of their life and tens of thousands of dollars to go to college. They claim it is a better idea to get a start on their careers. This may be a good idea if you know that you have wealthy parents who will not begrudge you your eccentricities, or you have a certain skill such as working on cars or building homes. But even these and most other decent paying jobs will take some sort of accreditation and formal training or apprenticeship, so
Stark2 there is still a learning period, but they may not have to pay for it, or at least much less than college. What these eager beavers don’t realize is that even though you may have to pay up front and you don’t get a quick return the monetary and non material advantages immensely outweigh the cost. First of all the idea that a person with a college degree will earn a million dollars over their life than a high school graduate is a bit antiquated. The truth is that when you take cost and inflation the return is generally believed to be in the 300,000 dollar range. Not a million, but still nothing to scoff at. Along with making more money you should take into account the fact that you will spend nearly two thirds of your adult life working, so you better like it. And most jobs available for people without degrees are menial tasks such as garbage collectors or flipping burgers. Now these are honest jobs, but who grew up saying “I want to work at Wendy’s when I grow up,” more than likely no one. So college gives you the chance to study a field of your choice and then apply that knowledge for the rest of your life, allowing you to do something you love. Another big plus of going to college is the social and nonmaterial benefits. People with college degrees are less likely to be unemployed than those without, half the unemployment rate actually. Most professional jobs come with health insurance, keeping you and your family healthy. College graduates are less likely to commit violent crimes as are their children. Perhaps the most valuable object gained is the people you will meet at college. Steve Ballmer became CEO of Microsoft in 2000 when Bill Gates stepped down. The two had met in college, networking is nice.
Stark3 Speaking of Bill Gates, a favorite rallying cry of those who think college is a waste of time is that many of the richest people in the world didn’t go or had dropped out. Of the richest 1,125 people at least 73 didn’t go to college. Some notable names on the list are of course Bill Gates, Sheldon Adelson, Michael Dell, and jet setter Richard Branson. The problem with this thinking is that these people are mathematical anomalies. The fates smiled on them and they were in the right place at the right time, or were born into money. Not a one of them would tell a single high school senior who was on the fence that college is a waste of time. For the average person college is still the best chance to better them selves. A question many people bring up is when is the best time to go to college? Common wisdom would say that right out of high school is best. In this case common wisdom is right. The percentage of people that make it into college dramatically drops as their age increase. Common reasons people don’t go back include lack of money and time. Another is they feel ashamed or embarrassed to be going back at an age they feel is too old. The last reason is simply absurd, to think a person hits an age were they should no longer try to better themselves because of embarrassment is sad. What they should be embarrassed by is that they have the ability to do more, but choose not to. As for lack of time and money they need to make the time and find the money. With today’s community college support the chance of an education is in the reach of any one who has the ambition to reach out and snatch it. With online, weekend, and night classes being offered and financial aid and scholarships available the excuse of not enough time or money for the older student is just that, an excuse.
Stark4 Perhaps the most persuasive case against a college education, because it uses a logical argument, is that it is a commodity in decline. The argument could be put in the following language; thinking in terms of supply and demand the supply of people with college degrees is going up. Now if the job market doesn’t grow at the same rates as degrees are given then the supply will out way the demand, thus making a college degree a commodity that is worth less. Now the argument makes a turn for the asinine, as it argues that since a degree is worth less than it was in the past there is no reason to get one. That argument would be akin to saying that since gold is worth less today than yesterday you should just throw it away, or stop growing wheat to feed the people because the price it trades at has dropped. These may be draconian examples, but so is the idea that a commodity such as a degree is down therefore its useless and not worthy of putting the effort into getting. It should be noted that yes a college degree today doesn’t mean a step ahead of the pack as it once did. Instead it merely gets you in the race of professional America. Even so, being in the game is better than sitting on the bench. Even if a degree is less prestigious it is that much more important because now it is almost a necessity instead of an elite achievement. Remember that if you choose not to pay the price to go into college and you’re not born with a silver spoon you should expect to work harder for less money also going into college at any age is a good idea. A two year associate’s degree is a slam dunk as a small investment turns into a massive payback of 116,000 dollars over your life on average. College is just an all around good idea because with all its detractors and hardships a college education means the chance to live a fuller and more comfortable life. Word count is 1,263 I’ll trim some fat before Monday.
Stark5
Catch-22
What does a college education mean today? Sifting through all the information you will find many varying ideas and a few good points on both sides of the subject. Though many will argue that a college degree is over rated the bottom line is that a college education may not be as prestigious as it once was, but the very fact that there are more people with degrees today than at any other time should be a testament to the fact that they are more of a necessity today than at anytime. Not only do you get the opportunity to make more money when you get a college education, but there are a plethora of other rewards, such as networking and learning how to communicate in a more diverse social situation than most suburban school systems can offer.
With tuition and other costs of going to college getting higher than Michael Phelps many just don’t see the return on investment being sufficient enough to give four years of their life and tens of thousands of dollars to go to college. They claim it is a better idea to get a start on their careers. This may be a good idea if you know that you have wealthy parents who will not begrudge you your eccentricities, or you have a certain skill such as working on cars or building homes. But even these and most other decent paying jobs will take some sort of accreditation and formal training or apprenticeship, so
Stark2 there is still a learning period, but they may not have to pay for it, or at least much less than college. What these eager beavers don’t realize is that even though you may have to pay up front and you don’t get a quick return the monetary and non material advantages immensely outweigh the cost. First of all the idea that a person with a college degree will earn a million dollars over their life than a high school graduate is a bit antiquated. The truth is that when you take cost and inflation the return is generally believed to be in the 300,000 dollar range. Not a million, but still nothing to scoff at. Along with making more money you should take into account the fact that you will spend nearly two thirds of your adult life working, so you better like it. And most jobs available for people without degrees are menial tasks such as garbage collectors or flipping burgers. Now these are honest jobs, but who grew up saying “I want to work at Wendy’s when I grow up,” more than likely no one. So college gives you the chance to study a field of your choice and then apply that knowledge for the rest of your life, allowing you to do something you love. Another big plus of going to college is the social and nonmaterial benefits. People with college degrees are less likely to be unemployed than those without, half the unemployment rate actually. Most professional jobs come with health insurance, keeping you and your family healthy. College graduates are less likely to commit violent crimes as are their children. Perhaps the most valuable object gained is the people you will meet at college. Steve Ballmer became CEO of Microsoft in 2000 when Bill Gates stepped down. The two had met in college, networking is nice.
Stark3 Speaking of Bill Gates, a favorite rallying cry of those who think college is a waste of time is that many of the richest people in the world didn’t go or had dropped out. Of the richest 1,125 people at least 73 didn’t go to college. Some notable names on the list are of course Bill Gates, Sheldon Adelson, Michael Dell, and jet setter Richard Branson. The problem with this thinking is that these people are mathematical anomalies. The fates smiled on them and they were in the right place at the right time, or were born into money. Not a one of them would tell a single high school senior who was on the fence that college is a waste of time. For the average person college is still the best chance to better them selves. A question many people bring up is when is the best time to go to college? Common wisdom would say that right out of high school is best. In this case common wisdom is right. The percentage of people that make it into college dramatically drops as their age increase. Common reasons people don’t go back include lack of money and time. Another is they feel ashamed or embarrassed to be going back at an age they feel is too old. The last reason is simply absurd, to think a person hits an age were they should no longer try to better themselves because of embarrassment is sad. What they should be embarrassed by is that they have the ability to do more, but choose not to. As for lack of time and money they need to make the time and find the money. With today’s community college support the chance of an education is in the reach of any one who has the ambition to reach out and snatch it. With online, weekend, and night classes being offered and financial aid and scholarships available the excuse of not enough time or money for the older student is just that, an excuse.
Stark4 Perhaps the most persuasive case against a college education, because it uses a logical argument, is that it is a commodity in decline. The argument could be put in the following language; thinking in terms of supply and demand the supply of people with college degrees is going up. Now if the job market doesn’t grow at the same rates as degrees are given then the supply will out way the demand, thus making a college degree a commodity that is worth less. Now the argument makes a turn for the asinine, as it argues that since a degree is worth less than it was in the past there is no reason to get one. That argument would be akin to saying that since gold is worth less today than yesterday you should just throw it away, or stop growing wheat to feed the people because the price it trades at has dropped. These may be draconian examples, but so is the idea that a commodity such as a degree is down therefore its useless and not worthy of putting the effort into getting. It should be noted that yes a college degree today doesn’t mean a step ahead of the pack as it once did. Instead it merely gets you in the race of professional America. Even so, being in the game is better than sitting on the bench. Even if a degree is less prestigious it is that much more important because now it is almost a necessity instead of an elite achievement. Remember that if you choose not to pay the price to go into college and you’re not born with a silver spoon you should expect to work harder for less money also going into college at any age is a good idea. A two year associate’s degree is a slam dunk as a small investment turns into a massive payback of 116,000 dollars over your life on average. College is just an all around good idea because with all its detractors and hardships a college education means the chance to live a fuller and more comfortable life. Word count is 1,263 I’ll trim some fat before Monday.
Stark5
