Most expect that by attending college and graduating they will be able to find a good paying career with benefits in a field that will interest them. It seems that from high school it is drilled into our heads that we must attend college to be successful in life and contribute to our society. However, college graduates often find themselves working in a field that is unrelated to their degree. This could be due to how many people are also trying to apply for jobs in that specific field, or it could be that that job does not provide them with enough money to live off. The most important thing that students really need to ask themselves before they attend college is, “is a college degree really enough in today’s world to get a good career and a well-paying job?”
The last thing that a college graduate expects is to be working at McDonalds and living with their parents. However, this seems to be happening more often in America. Employers are looking for reasons to not hire people straight out of college. Many studies have shown that employers find that college graduates have a hard time with critical thinking, creativity, problem solving and that they cannot write well (White, M.C. Nov 2013). Most of these skill should obviously be learned in high school and in college, so it would seem that the education that an individual or their parents spent so much money on is really worthless. America as a whole, is not teaching the up and coming generations the skills required to find a good job. Employers have also found that when hiring a college student they more than likely do not have the skills to communicate effectively with authority figures, that they cannot prioritize or organize their work load, manage projects and that they do no...
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... Times. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-college-grads-20130920,0,4465594.story#axzz2tX6CeGNC
Zupek, R. (2011). Top 10 reasons employers want to hire you. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/worklife/11/02/cb.hire.reasons.job/
White, M.C. (November, 2013). The real reason new college grads can’t get a job. Time: Business & Money. Retrieved from http://business.time.com/2013/11/10/the-real-reason-new-college-grads-cant-get-hired/
Doyle, A. (August 2013). The number of job applications per opening. About.com: Job Searching. Retrieved from http://jobsearch.about.com/b/2013/08/18/the-number-of-job-applications-per-opening.htm
McCarthy, K. (January 2014). 10 fun facts about the student debt crisis. Huffington Post: College. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kyle-mccarthy/10-fun-facts-about-student-loan-debt_b_4639044.html
...truth. today’s job market is fiercely competitive. With unemployment at an all time high, it is near impossible for one to find a job with or without a college degree. Hundreds of layoffs and fewer openings can really make it hard on those who have just graduated and are trying to find a career. Just because you have a college education does not guarantee a job, or job security. It just makes you a better candidate.
The real problem, according to Bruni, is that a college education is now far less likely to result in gainful employment. While statistics suggest that the rate of unemployment for college graduates is far better than for those with only a high school education, Bruni argues that these statistics
As David Leonhardt states in his article, It College Worth It? Clearly, New Data Say, “ When experts and journalists spend so much time talking about the limitations of education, they almost certainly are discouraging some teenagers from going to college...”. In spite this argument, I believe the purpose of college is to prepare me for a good, well- paying job when I graduate. Since I came from a family background in which girls are always on the bottom and can’t get out of the tradition in boys zone.
In addition, the writer of “The Benefits of a College Degree” wrote that”One of the most important and obvious reasons to earn a college degree is to increase your earning potential”(“The Benefits”). While it is true that college is indubitably expensive, the years of learning a particular trade or skill for the future of career of these students is important and worth the cost. Also, students can apply for a variety of scholarships for different amounts of money to help pay for college and lower the amount of debt caused by schooling. Furthermore, multiple students believe that a college education is not needed for their future and that they can get good paying jobs without it. This philosophy does not apply to any good paying careers with the exception of the military and some construction jobs. The good paying jobs require at least a bachelor’s degree in many cases, except for a few that require an
As the economy evolves and the job market continues to get more competitive, it’s becoming harder to have a successful career without some kind of college degree. This creates a belief in many young students that college actually is a commodity, something they must have in order to have a good life. There’s many different factors that influence this mindset, high schools must push the importance of the student’s willingness and drive to further their education. College isn’t just a gateway to jobs, but it is an opportunity to increase knowledge and stretch and challenge the student which in return makes them a more rounded adult and provides them with skills they might lack prior to
Vance, J.D. "The college trap: our higher-education system hurts the poor." National Review 27 Jan. 2014. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
... quickly discovering that maybe college isn’t the way. The American dream isn’t so dreamy. Student loan debts aren’t worth it when they could be better off without a college degree. The loans are destroying Americans hopes and ruining their lives. The government needs to remove it’s self from this and let the banks take over and compete with each other. It’s the only way to lower the tuition and costs of everything. The college degree is even losing its face value and hyperinflation is right around the corner. It’s time to wake up. College could be a good thing. Our government is too greedy to see it the way it needs to be handled an it is high time that anyone seeking a college degree look at College Degrees to determine if it really is worth the time and money and stop being indentured slaves paying on worthless degrees and a lifetime of paying on student loans.
College is not so much a promise of success as it is a chance at success. Young adults should not feel like college is the best and only option for them. Robert Reich emphasizes this idea in his writing, stating “Last year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 46 percent of recent college graduates were in jobs that don’t even require a college degree.” For a lot of people, college can be a really bad investment, and although more and more jobs do require a degree there are many jobs that don’t. Even after getting a degree many people find that they are working in a job that has nothing to do with their field of study. Also, Collge is not something that is for everyone, but working is Len Penzo stated “There are plenty of relatively well-paying jobs available that don’t require a college degree. According to US Labor Department projections, 63% of all new jobs that will be created between now and 2020 won’t require a college degree.” For the last few decades, college degrees have served as a guarantee for easy access to a middle-class life. But the middle class is on the decline. Although the necessity of having a college degree continues to rise in our society, there are also many new and innovative ways for people to find a way to make a living without a college degree. Those who have been putting their trust in the old system are finding themselves with nowhere to climb. Finally, college just simply is not something everyone can handle Penzo also stated that “Not everybody is college material. If they were, 54% of all Americans who enroll in college wouldn’t eventually become dropouts. Look, college is hard enough for those who are motivated; for people attending who don’t really want to be there, it’s almost impossible.” The idea that every young person needs to go college is wrong. College can be a pathway to success, but it can also be a waste of time and
In David Brook’s essay, “It’s Not About You,” Brooks mentions and describes the challenges college graduates face when looking for a job. He goes on and describes how this generation is different than any other generation. He explains how college graduates don’t go on and get married, buy houses, and have kids like previous generations. He also states how college prepares you with a set of skills that are much different to the ones you encounter when you graduate. Those skills you have to learn on your own.
One question that comes to mind when graduating high school is, “should I attend college?” For many graduates this question have a very obvious answer. A high school graduate may state that, “college is the best option if one is trying to get a higher level of education, and will help one compete for a higher paying job.” However, in my opinion most graduates do not consider the fact that going to college is a very big decision to make and that the schoolwork will not be easy. Going to college is not the best choice for every high school graduate because many students cannot handle college, colleges’ lower standards, and not all jobs require a college degree.
Rauf, Don. "The Real Cost Of College." Careers & Colleges 28.2 (2008): 6-10. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
In “Should Everyone Go to College?” Isabel Sawhill and Stephanie Owen make a strong valid point on whether or not college is for everyone. For many students ready to leave high school, wondering whether they should attend college is an issue that may lay heavy on one teenagers mind. There are a few factors that could be a difficult decision depending on a person’s goal they are working towards. Some students jump right into the workforce after high school. Others may sign up for the military after graduation. While these are different options, research says higher education is very important. Higher education provides opportunity for students that attend college are giving a good shot of a better career later in life. Approaching graduation, a student might find themselves asking, “Why is it important to go to college?” The answer is that education is the most important growing factor in the growth of our country. Obtaining a college degree is a
Smith, J. (2013, april 23). The Best and Worst Jobs for 2013. Retrieved october 23, 2013, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/04/23/the-best-and-worst-jobs-for-2013/2/
Most people can find a job in their field, but the amount of people who can not find a job in their field is increasing. “Unequal outcomes from college have always been a fact of life, but there is evidence that the dispersion of outcomes has increased” (Haltom). If a person ha a lower income job, it is not always because they did not have a college education. “1 percent of taxi drivers and roughly 3 percent of bank tellers had a college degree” (Haltom). This shows that even though some people have a college education, they could not find jobs in their field and had to take jobs that they less likely wanted. Haltom also says, “as many as 120,000 of the nations 1.7 million 2012 graduates who wanted to work elsewhere took jobs as waiters, salespeople, cashiers, and the like” (Haltom). More and more people with a college education can not find jobs in their field.
College graduates have more jobs to choose from. The more years of education one has completed, the more opportunities he or she will have as a potential hire. Some employers would not even consider interviewing a job seeker who has no college education, and many employer...