Pursuing A College Degree

Improved Essays
Students are faced with many decisions on their road to success; such as, what degree and career should they pursue, what college would be best for them, and is a four-year degree the only way of investing in themselves to obtain that successful and lucrative future? Some students aren’t sure if college is even for them. But something all students can agree on is that college is expensive, and time consuming; therefore, before any of these decisions are made by a student some research would be the best road to take. Although some degree holders excel financially due to their obtainment of a college degree, not everyone should go to college because there are other career opportunities available that pay a decent salary for employees without …show more content…
in most cases, earning money for attending the program. The average price for a trade school degree is 33 thousand dollars, in comparison to the average price of a college bachelor’s degree being 127 thousand dollars, the cost difference is immense and pursuing these institutions could save students a lot of money. Another advantage these institutions have over colleges are the experience each student gains from the on the job training, which succeeds, in comparison to the infield work, experience gained from a college degree. For apprenticeships, trade and vocational schools, most programs require the student to complete the classes as well as two thousand hours of on-the-job training with a licensed professional. The curriculum for these programs approach education by being more focused on developing a skill set, rather than general knowledge like college. Another advantage trade schools, vocational schools, and apprenticeship licenses or certificates have over college degrees are job security. The risk of jobs leaving the country is usually …show more content…
The difference in salary between high school graduates and bachelor degree holders is a 15-thousand-dollar gap in salary, and the difference in salary between associate degree holders and a high school graduate’s salary is a six-thousand-dollar gap in salary. College degrees provide monetary and non-monetary benefits to people, by improving the knowledge of a person and increasing their overall wellbeing. College degrees also add value to a students marketability in the labor force after the completion of the degree program, and is an overall great investment for career monetary gain. “Looking at a lifetime earnings, the sum earnings over a career, the total premium is 570 thousand dollars for a bachelor’s degree and 170 thousand dollars for an associate’s degree” (Owen, Sawhill 211). The benefits of college outweigh the cost on average, the key word being on average. Attaining the most out of a college degree has many factors that play a role in the degrees actual worth, and the biggest factor is the degree, and career field the student decides to pursue. Every four-year college degree does not hold the same value; there are some majors produce a negative return on education. “The three schools with the highest 30-year return on investment on the 2012 PayScale list are Harvey Mudd, Caltech, and MIT. These schools specialize in the

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