Is College Worth It Research Paper

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Is College Worth It? Abraham Lincoln, Coco Chanel, Walt Disney and Bill Gates. These successful entrepreneurs are all examples of people whom opted out of college and chose to take the less conventional route to finding success. With the average college graduate owing around $25,000 in student loans and employment prospects being slim, it is a hard decision whether college is the right choice for you or not. If you choose to go to college, you are signing away years of your life and chunks of your bank account to being dedicated to education. If you choose not to go to college, you are risking a lifetime of struggle and potentially being stuck at a dead end job. This brings us to the ongoing debate that every person at one point has with themselves. Is college worth it or should you get a job straight from high school? In today’s age, most careers demand the piece of paper stating you graduated before they will even consider hiring you. It is that essential. It does not even matter if you graduated with a Journalism degree and are wanting a job in a different field such as Sales or Marketing. As long as they see that you graduated college they are willing to at least proceed to the next step with you and hear why you are interested. According to a study done at The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, around 63% of jobs will require some college education or a degree in 2018 (College Education). When you look at things that way, it would be quite the risk to not go to college. By going to college you are in fact paying for an education. …show more content…
However, that is not all you are paying for. You are paying for that piece of paper that employers demand, the opportunity to better yourself and the potential to learn various traits. You are also paying for the resources you will receive to further yourself in a career and a lot of self awareness. While in college you will be pushed to reach your fullest potential, be put in an environment with others which strive for the same goal of successfully graduating and surround yourself with peers from various walks of life that will help you to evolve. Most of all, you will have an educated professional helping to guide you along your path. According to a new nationally representative Pew Research Center survey of 2,002 adults supplemented by a Pew Research analysis of economic data from the U.S. Census Bureau, “college-educated Millennials are more likely to be employed full time than their less-educated counterparts (89% vs. 82%) and significantly less likely to be unemployed (3.8% vs. 12.2%)” (The Rising). This shows that although many people succeed without a college degree, it is not the common norm. There is a large chance of failure in the employment aspect if you fail to go to college. However, according to U.S. Census Bureau, 2012, if you do end up going to college. “median earnings of bachelor’s degree recipients with no advanced degree working full time in 2011 were $56,500, $21,100 more than median earnings of high school graduates. Individuals with some college but no degree earned 14% more than high school graduates working full time” (Education Pays). So you’re a senior in high school and it is decision time. You did not do well in school and you know that you would be miserable going to college. Maybe you already know exactly what you want to do with your life and it does not require a college degree. Another scenario could be that you don’t know what you want to do with your life and don’t want to waste time and money going to college until you are certain. These are all very common situations for the average high school senior. These students are often the ones to opt out of college. So is that a poor decision? Not necessarily. If you did not do well in high school then you more than likely will not be outstanding in college. Going to college is not for everyone, “college is a high-risk investment for kids who are middling in high school and are going to struggle to make it through college at a mid- or low-quality municipal or public university. If they do get through, a lot of

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