The Importance Of College Education

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College education: something children are convinced they need from the moment they set foot in school, a requirement for countless jobs, a great source of debt, and a degree to prove years of schooling at private or public institutions. Higher education is the cause of much controversy especially in the realm of cost where college debt has been the cause of struggle and pain for so many lives and families. And beyond this there is the question of why with so many jobs requiring degrees, so many graduates are unemployed. This all raises a very important question- why has college become such a devastating issue in so many cases and furthermore, is it even necessary? People tend to have different views when it comes to the actual purpose of a college education. Oftentimes people seem to feel that …show more content…

Many people have different opinions on how useful college is and it’s importance. In truth there are a large number of jobs which still do not require any type of higher education. These can pay quite well and include jobs as a dental hygienist with an average salary of $68,000 or a medical secretary with an average salary of $31,000. Often these jobs have good income and employment growth, as well as being quite stable (“20 Great”, 2). Beyond the actual need for college degrees when it comes to knowledge and skill there are reasons to believe that college may not help in some ways. College graduates in the U.S. look bad compared to those in other countries in terms of how much they know and capabilities. In 2000, 15 year olds in the United States tested above the average in the nation for “knowledge and skill” but later at about 12 years older they scored below that average seemingly regardless of their college education. This is based on the Piaac test which is formulated to assess skills for “literacy, numeracy, and problem solving in technology-rich environments” (“PIAAC”, 1) (Carey,

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