The debate of whether earning a college degree is worth it is one that has plagued the nation for decades. While both sides of the debate offer legitimate points, the whole fiasco can leave a teenager, who is already dealing with the stresses of high school and adolescence, extremely pressured, confused, and overwhelmed. Luckily, there are people willing to provide data and guidance to help students decide what they see fit for their future.
American journalist and columnist, David Leonhardt, works to persuade his audience that a college degree is a worthy investment in his article, “Is College Worth It? Clearly, New Data Say.” His first argument is that both the value of a bachelor’s degree and pay gap between college graduates and non-college …show more content…
This statistic alone could encourage a student to pursue a degree because the thought of making more money is very appealing. Leonhardt also notes that although the number of people returning to college has risen due to the Great Recession, there are still too few college graduates and too few people being prepared for college. Leonhardt goes on to denounce mainstream media for discouraging people from attending college. He acknowledges their explanation that a four-year degree does not guarantee success; however, he counters it by pointing out that nothing can guarantee success. He also points out the hypocrisy of the journalists and experts who publicly condemn college, but send their own children to college. Leonhardt then criticizes the people that listen to the media and opt out of attending college, calling their decision “the most economically irrational decisions anybody could make.” (Leonhardt). He cites this information from a paper published by American Economist, David Autor. The paper uses an equation to establish the true worth of a college degree, which is an estimated negative half a million dollars. To establish this, the price …show more content…
The first issue that Matthews presents is the fact that over the past four decades, the ordinary high school graduate along with the lowest twenty-five percent generally have similar salaries when working the same jobs. This fact could disappoint a teenager looking forward to pursuing a college degree in order to earn a higher salary and make them question their choices. However, the value of a college degree has increased for everyone, including the bottom twenty five percent of earners, as a result of the liquidation of “high-paying blue collar jobs.” (Matthews). This increase in value still does not take away the fact that someone with a degree does not make more money than someone without one. Matthews also declares the argument that someone would be better off in their career if they had decided to pursue a degree futile. We are generally unaware of what the lowest twenty-five percent of earners with a college education would have earned without their degree. This makes room to argue that up to one-fourth of college graduates should not have attended college. Most students planning to attend college, along with current college students would not take this suggestion seriously because everybody thinks that their degree will pay off in the end. Nobody wants to think that their investment of time and money
American journalist and columnist, David Leonhardt, works to persuade his audience that a college degree is a worthy investment in his article, “Is College Worth It? Clearly, New Data Say.” His first argument is that both the value of a bachelor’s degree and pay gap between college graduates and non-college …show more content…
This statistic alone could encourage a student to pursue a degree because the thought of making more money is very appealing. Leonhardt also notes that although the number of people returning to college has risen due to the Great Recession, there are still too few college graduates and too few people being prepared for college. Leonhardt goes on to denounce mainstream media for discouraging people from attending college. He acknowledges their explanation that a four-year degree does not guarantee success; however, he counters it by pointing out that nothing can guarantee success. He also points out the hypocrisy of the journalists and experts who publicly condemn college, but send their own children to college. Leonhardt then criticizes the people that listen to the media and opt out of attending college, calling their decision “the most economically irrational decisions anybody could make.” (Leonhardt). He cites this information from a paper published by American Economist, David Autor. The paper uses an equation to establish the true worth of a college degree, which is an estimated negative half a million dollars. To establish this, the price …show more content…
The first issue that Matthews presents is the fact that over the past four decades, the ordinary high school graduate along with the lowest twenty-five percent generally have similar salaries when working the same jobs. This fact could disappoint a teenager looking forward to pursuing a college degree in order to earn a higher salary and make them question their choices. However, the value of a college degree has increased for everyone, including the bottom twenty five percent of earners, as a result of the liquidation of “high-paying blue collar jobs.” (Matthews). This increase in value still does not take away the fact that someone with a degree does not make more money than someone without one. Matthews also declares the argument that someone would be better off in their career if they had decided to pursue a degree futile. We are generally unaware of what the lowest twenty-five percent of earners with a college education would have earned without their degree. This makes room to argue that up to one-fourth of college graduates should not have attended college. Most students planning to attend college, along with current college students would not take this suggestion seriously because everybody thinks that their degree will pay off in the end. Nobody wants to think that their investment of time and money