How Necessary Is College Education? Essay Example

Nowadays, most students understand that education is the key to success. Parents and mentors advise high school students that their future depends on their performance as they can secure good jobs with a college degree. Well, most people desire to make more money since money is a good thing. Research-based studies show that college graduates have more average salaries compared to those with a high school education only (Beard, 2015). Evidently, with more money is an additional benefit, and despite the fact that college education is expensive, most people feel that college education is cost reasonable as one can secure a better paying job. Though a college student debt tends to be crippling, when one gets a better paying job, he or she should be able to pay off the debt used to pay for college tuition. By paying off the debt, one can use the disposable income for their discretionary expenditures. Consequently, despite the high cost associated with college education, the merits of college education tend to outweigh the cost as per the discussion below.

Most jobs require the applicants to have a college degree. One can surely start in an organization, work their way up, and even attain the career they have always hoped for. Nevertheless, most high-end jobs need at least a college degree. If one gets a promotion in a firm, most companies will be out of the reach those with a college degree (Baum & Payea, 2005). Additionally, depending on the job description and responsibilities, an organization may require the employees to have a degree irrespective of the experience. Moreover, some jobs tend to have a minimum requirement of a bachelor's degree for one to be promoted. Certainly, there are so many jobs that will require a degree certificate, but some job positions such as a nursing, teaching, and engineering need certain levels of formal training. Therefore, if a person wants to have a career in this kind of professional jobs, a college degree will be one of the requirement.

In addition, college education helps the students gain valuable skills that align with their chosen professions. Precisely, college education broadens the student's perspective as they learn and acquire knowledge concerning various subjects, which in turn allows them to discover and choose a career that suits them. On this note, having a college degree enables one to have career flexibility in cases whereby a student is uncertain on what to pursue. The college experience provides an individual with an opportunity to meet intelligent and knowledgeable students and professors, to acquire leadership skills and develop good problem-solving skills to navigate through life (Baum & Payea, 2005).

A college education does not only benefit the graduates but the society at large. For instance, college graduates and particularly graduates from public universities enrich the economic and civic lives of the society through volunteer work, humanitarian contributions, and leadership. From a sociological perspective, college graduates tend to outperform their high school peers nearly in all measures. For instance, in average graduates have high chances of securing a job as compared to the high school graduates. A community with more college-educated people is a united community as education results into a sense of togetherness and compatibility in the society. Research shows that for a society to grow, people ought to share common values and goals while promoting uniqueness and variance (Jackallenyehuda, 2016). Through college education, the graduates join the society in real life contexts and help to achieve the goals. Furthermore, governments collect the highest percentage of tax revenues from college graduates. As compared to high school graduates, college graduates have higher income hence, the marginal tax rate increases and contribute more tax revenue.

In the modern fast-paced information age, organizations and multinational firms in the global economy benefit from the college-educated individuals. As argued by scholars, most organizations do not just require employees with computing expertise, but also requires college-educated graduates with problem-solving skills. Actually, with the unprecedented advent of globalization, college education equips graduates with the appropriate skills and information to match the specific industry requirements. Hence, making the college level education a requirement to joining professional industries.

Most economists have also argued that college education has a direct relation to economic expansion and stability. Nations prosper when their educational systems prosper. Research also shows the need for educational reforms to strengthen a country's economic capability. College education improves the overall well-being and lifestyles (Baum & Payea, 2005). Therefore, we live a healthy, and happier life through the use of the skills and knowledge accumulated during the educational time. Additionally, some scholars associate improved emotional, mental, and physical health to education. Psychological reports also indicate that college-educated persons live full and more meaningful life, hence have a higher inspiration for living to fulfill their dreams and goals. On this note, the rates of suicide attempts are far much lower for learned persons as compared to uneducated or high school graduates.

Upon high school graduation, one important question a person should ask himself is why do you have to join college? The right answer to this question is due to the increased opportunity. Contrary to the past generations, high school graduates hardly secure high-paying jobs, which were once available. Most countries nowadays such as the United States have transformed from manufacturing-based economies to knowledge-based economies, which in turn have increased the importance of college education. This college education also provides students with an opportunity to gain valuable resources and knowledge throughout the college tenure (McGuire, 2011). During college education, students get connected and exposed to more options which help them during their job search. Once they secure a job in their line of work, college-educated individuals also have a higher chance of being promoted as compared to their high school graduated.

Although universities and colleges in the modern society seem to carry a large price tag, this ought not to discourage high school graduates from joining colleges as there are several financial aid options to help them pursue their college education.

On the other hand, despite the benefits got through college education, once an individual uses a lot of money to cater the tuition college fees and a potential loan debt, it is expected for one to start wondering if the college degree is really worth it (Wilezol, 2013). Concisely, it is challenging to give a concrete mathematical proof that the investment a person puts on college education will give returns in the form of real-dollar value, as there are other factors to consider. For example, some of the factors one should consider are the type of career a person wants to pursue, as well as the post-graduation period before getting an employment opportunity. In addition, a traditional college degree is not the best option for most students, particularly those who wish to work in construction or plumbing.

Most people think that a college degree is the only best way to secure a great job and be successful; however, it is still possible to get a good job without a college degree. Recent studies show that 14% of the employees working at Google do not have a college degree despite the fact that Google is one of the most challenging, innovative and successful technology firms in the world. This is because most computer engineers have spent several years outside the classroom honing their programming skills and languages such as Java, Ruby on Rails, Python, and C++ (Wilezol, 2013). Most of them started as amateurs in the middle school labs, their bedrooms, or their basements. With the several years of practice, they have developed adequate skills to the extent that they do not need some piece of paper to prove that they are capable of doing the job. Actually, they have proved in their competence in the applications and programs that they have created or can create. Hence, one of the most successful, prestigious and biggest technology firm globally pay them well even though they do not have a college degree.

Although most professional jobs require a college degree, some studies show that one out of ten jobs in the United States does not require a college degree. Therefore, high school graduates need to explore more options rather than just clinging to a four-year college degree. Nonetheless, all this does not imply that a college degree is not a good investment since the numbers indicate that college graduates have higher levels of employment and higher salaries. However, the same figure also shows that nearly 50% of individuals who start a bachelor's degree fail to finish.

This college education is costly and therefore, it is important to choose the course you want to study carefully. Additionally, a student has to consider the school to attend, and how much financial aid to borrow to make the college education a worthwhile investment. For many generations, most people have bought into the idea that each person and especially the young people should get a college degree (Wilezol, 2013). However, times seem to have changed and what matters now is the capability of having the appropriate skills to do the work and not just a piece of paper. Although a college degree can be a good investment, it is easy to get a good job and be successful without having to go to college.

Nowadays, if you work hard enough, you can have a good job, and still, make a reasonable amount of money, thus become successful without a college education. The main problem is that most people go to college with the mentality that they will make a lot of money upon graduation (Wilezol, 2013). Therefore, it is important to note that having a college education does not guarantee success or a good job for every person but guarantees a great deal of a loan debt. Surprisingly, approximately just 7% of the world's population has a college degree. Most of the influential and powerful people also have no college education. With a world that is ever-changing, a college degree does not necessarily guarantee a great future.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is clear that college education is necessary especially for individuals who want to secure jobs in the corporate world. It forms a stepping-stone from beginning one's career to becoming a successful professional. Additionally, college education helps an individual to gain valuable skills, which align with their chosen professions. It expands a person's perspective as they learn and acquire knowledge regarding numerous subjects, which in turn allows them to discover and select a career that suits them. A college degree also allows one to have career flexibility in case one is uncertain on what to pursue. As argued by some studies, the college experience provides a person with the opportunity to meet intellectuals and well-informed students and professors, acquire leadership skills and develop good problem-solving skills, which in turn help them to navigate through life. From an economic perspective, college education helps to improve the well-being of people and even to bring economic growth. A country with higher standards of college education faces a higher level of economic growth and stability.

On the other hand, despite the benefits that come with a college education, it is also not necessary to have a college degree or diploma for one to secure a good job and become successful. High school graduates c...