The Future of College: Is It Still a Good Choice?
College, is it worth it? It costs money and I see under-qualified people get better jobs than I have gotten in the past all the time. A good friend of mine was working for Amazon and he was almost done with his MBA. His managers told him that after his MBA is complete he would get promoted, which obviously would involve a raise. So he completed his MBA and nothing. He got no promotion and no raise, so he left and went to a different company that valued his education.
The reason I am telling you this story is because Amazon is a huge company that makes a lot of money. Many other large companies are just like them. They don’t value the education that people work tirelessly to receive. This is when I began to ask myself the question, “is college still worth it?”. So let’s dive into this question a little bit more and see what comes up.
Is college worth getting into debt for?
While education is never a waste, there are pros and cons to college and debt is a very large con. Let’s go a little bit deeper into this though. Dave Ramsey is a world-renowned financial consultant. He says this about the costs of going to college, “The average cost of just one year at college can range anywhere from $21,370 for a public, in-state university to a whopping $48,510 for a private university. Multiply that by four years, and the total is crazy! If you’re taking out student loans to pay for college, you’ll be tens of thousands of dollars in debt before you even graduate. No thanks.”
Of course this doesn’t mean that college isn’t worth it, you just need to determine if college is worth going into debt for you.
PROS of College
Dave Ramsey mentions a couple of things that shows that paying for college is worth it. Here said the following:
- College graduates tend to make more money
- Degrees are required by many jobs
- College classes help you to gain knowledge inside and outside of your educational pursuits
- You will have more opportunities when you get a college degree
CONS of college
On the other hand, he also mentions a few reasons why college is not worth paying for. Those reasons are as follows:
- not all jobs require a degree
- the degree you want may not give you a high-paying job
- a college experience may be one that you regret
- you might not graduate from college due to various reasons
I’d encourage you to refer to his blog here. It’s very insightful and will give you more information like the reasons why college is or isn’t worth paying for. Everybody’s situation is different so it is up to you to decide what’s best for you which leads me into our next topic. Also check out one of our earlier blogs Is My Student Loan Deductible?
Is college worth it?
If you aren’t sure college is the right path for you, it never hurts to make your own list.
| FOR | AGAINST |
| College graduates make more money | No guarantee of workplace benefits comes from getting a college degree |
| College degrees are increasingly required by jobs | Student loan debt forces college graduates to live with their parents and delay marriage, financial independence, and other adult milestones |
| College graduates have more and better employment opportunities | Many college graduates are employed in jobs that do not require a college degree |
| College graduates are more likely to have benefits with their jobs like health insurance and retirement plans | Many college graduates are unemployed or underemployed |
| Young adults learn great social skills in college | Many people get great, successful jobs without going to college or getting a degree |
| College graduates have are healthier and live longer as a result | Many students do not finish college so they waste their money and the government’s money |
| The poverty rate for college graduates is lower | Student debt gets extremely difficult in the senior year of college |
| College graduate’s children are normally healthier and better prepared for school | Learning a trade profession is a better option for a lot of young adults than college is |
| Graduates from college are normally more productive members of society | Learning or job preparation is not guaranteed by college degrees |
| Higher-paying employers are attracted by college graduates to their communities | Financial crisis can be caused by student debt and there is a lot of student debt with college |
| Education is always important | Colleges may be indoctrinating students instead of educating them |
| College students are exposed to divers people and ideas | A lot of stress and negative health problems can occur to college students and lead to negative consequences |
To get more please visit this website https://college-education.procon.org/.
Is College Right for You?
Everyone at some point or another is going to ask themselves this question. Maybe you have not started college yet or maybe you have already started college. Perhaps college education never crossed your mind. Or college was always part of the plan so you’ve never asked yourself this question. Dawn Rosenberg Mckay offers some insight to this question in his article “Should I Go to College?”. He mentions six reasons to go to college:
“the occupation you want to pursue requires a degree, a degree will help with career advancement, going to college will provide valuable skills, a degree will increase your earning potential, college provides the opportunity to begin building your professional network, and taking a variety of classes will expose you to other career options.”
Why college really is important for some professions
Imagine this: you have a procedure coming up and your doctor is just a great, stand-up guy or gal. Y’all really hit it off, but when you ask where he went to school he informs you that he never got a college degree. Whoa! My stomach just dropped and I’m suddenly sick inside hearing that newfound information. So, how would you feel if your doctor had never gotten a college degree? Scary! College degrees really are necessary for some professions out there! And even if they’re not, I do agree that they truly help you to discover what it is that you want to do in life whether that means you finish your college degree or not.
Pursuing a college degree may not be the path you want to take if your career choice doesn’t require a college degree. Maybe you’re more interested in just having fun. My advice on that would be that you can still go to college and have fun, but that’s a different topic for a different day. Lastly, make sure you’re going to college because YOU think it is important and because YOU really want to go. You don’t want to base all your decisions off of your parents opinions. Yes, take their advice into account for sure, but ultimately it is your life and you don’t want to waste time just because you’re trying to please other people.
Who Should Go To College?
Some people grow up always knowing what they want to do one day! For those people, if what you want to do requires a degree then college is a good choice for you to make. On the other hand, college could also be a great choice for those who don’t know what they want to do because there are so many different classes that will show you other options for careers. Those who want to improve and advance in their career would also benefit from getting a college degree. My husband’s advisor when he was getting his bachelors advised him to get his MBA in the state that he wants to settle down in. This is because college gives you opportunities to build and grow a professional network!
College may not be a great fit for you if the career you are wanting does not require a college degree. Perhaps you’re just more interested in partying and the multiple homework assignments and exams just isn’t for you. Another reason why college may not be a good fit for you is because you simply just don’t want to go. We often feel pressured by our parents and our peers to do things so somethings we do things just to please them. College isn’t a place to attend just to please others. It is serious stuff and so it is important that you go to college for you and not for others.
Are There Benefits to Not Going to College?
Yes, believe it or not, there are benefits to not going to college! Listed below are 3 reasons why NOT going to college could be beneficial for you.
1.The number one reason is that you could save a lot of money and time. Instead of paying thousands of dollars to receive an education, you could just educate yourself by picking a career that will train as you go along. Sometimes businesses value a ‘fresh slate’ when training so they can teach you the way they want the job to be done.
2. Maybe you didn’t get a college degree, but you can still build a business or build a brand without a college degree and be very successful. My mom is actually the middle child of thirteen children and only one out of the thirteen children got a degree and his income has nothing to do with his college degree! Each brother and most of the wives husbands are all self-employed and they make a great living for themselves. So you have options!
3.College is VERY time consuming. To get your education faster you could choose to go to a vocational or trade school. This option does require money, but it’s more affordable and you could be done with your schooling in about one year (sometimes less, sometimes more depending on the school). My cousin attended a trade school for surgery tech and she has a full-time job that she absolutely loves! YOU HAVE OPTIONS!
Below are some great websites for you to do some research of your own. A wise man once told me, “Information brings inspiration.” Do your research and decide what path is right for you, then own that decision and make the best of it!
Courtney Lewis
Sources: https://studentloanhero.com/featured/should-i-go-to-college-what-consider/, https://www.thebalancecareers.com/should-you-go-to-college-525564, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/7-reasons-why-you-shouldn_1_b_5501111?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADOVlOJCTo0Eq1XUJ97KqjbeuZTvfJffnLOnZdKMQ6IkC1hEd68aJePtI-PcQpZ_9Pdw3yogPZlGfBfIyRQ9ksIVI3oB2a_CHD5pnRzBxEqpuewBCBlc0LULpx0oqwsaRxcZugi2VukcIsrlMFjyUjk7gTOJWgUHnU3LiewQFqpVhttps://college-education.procon.org/
