Is Higher Education Worth It

Worth It For Whom Higher education has become one of the hot topics in the United States as of late. There are individuals who assert that a college degree is not required to get a high earning job, because many people who are successful did not graduate from college. There are those who debate higher education is not worth due to its high price, and those who believe higher education is worth it and necessary for the reason that jobs demand a degree. Those who argue that college is not worth it expose that loans from college are too high and the job market is weak. Furthermore, these loans affect students by delaying them from buying a house, getting married, or saving for retirement. Opposite to this, many people argue that college …show more content…
On average, a college graduate with a bachelor’s degree earned $30,000 more per year than a high school graduate (“Is Starting College and Not Finishing Really That Bad?”). In fact, during the recession Dec. 2007-Jan. 2010, jobs requiring some college grew by 187,000, and jobs requiring a high school diploma or less fell by 5.6 million (“A Stronger Nation through Higher Education”). The reasoning does not end with the job aspect though. A higher education is beneficial from different viewpoints. Andrew Delbanco, from Columbia University said, “providing people with a college education is good for the economic health of the nation; and second, that going to college is good for the economic competitiveness of the individuals who constitute the nation” (“What Is College For?”). For every country, global competitiveness and economic success depend on create, consume, develop, and disseminate knowledge. In addition to the high financial value of higher education, this makes individuals much more intelligent. The more intelligent an individual is, the better life quality they are likely to have. Higher education provides individuals with life skills, which are essential to succeed in life. Students have the opportunity to interact with other students and faculty; they can join organizations, and clubs to take part in discussions and …show more content…
10% of students graduate with over $40,000 in debt, and about 1% have $100,000 in debt (“How the $1.2 Trillion College Debt Crisis Is Crippling Students, Parents and the Economy). The charges range from tuition and fees, housing and food, books and supplies, transportation and living costs. Many of these expenses are not part of attending to college, they are expenses that people have to pay whether they attend to school or not. Colleges are very expensive, and it is very hard for families to pay tuitions without loans. Sincerely, this is the reason why many people choose to be only part-time student. It gives them the opportunity to have an income while attending to school, and pay some of the basic cost, to avoid a high debt. But this is more likely not as convenient as people think. It will prolong their time in school, making people start their career later than expected, and may interfere their focus, in addition to time consuming. Besides, many graduated students affirm that college degrees do not guarantee learning or job preparation. In 2003, “Voice of the Graduate” stated that 30% of college graduate felt college did not prepared them well for their job, specially in the technical and quantitative skills. As individuals trying to build a better future for our country, we benefit from higher education in a variety of ways. The higher levels of education are associated with more benefits and better behaviors and