College Graduates: Is It Worth It?

Once again the question stands, is college worth it? There have been many successful individuals that did not attend college, or that did not receive a college degree. Ted Turner, Ralph Lauren, Mark Zuckerberg, and Michael Dell are all examples of people who did not receive a college degree, but are worth billions. Among many others, Steve Jobs is one of my favorites to research and talk about. He did not have it easy in any way, yet he overcame many obstacles and became a very successful and well-known individual.

This week for PLN I read "Is College Worth It? Clearly, New Data Say" by David Leonhardt is about how college is worth it even with its cost. In the article, it describes how important a degree is. It said in the article that 98% of people with a degree made more money than people without a degree. There is nothing inevitable about this trend. If there were more college graduates the pay gap would shrink. The true cost of a degree is negative $500,000. The unemployment rate for 25 and 34 years old is 3%. That is from having a degree. The average hourly wage for a college graduates has risen 1% to 32.60.

As it is heavily believed and statistically proved by Document A, Earnings and Unemployment Rates Based on Educational Attainments (2015), the higher the degree earned, the more money attained, similarly the higher the degree earned, the lower the unemployment rate. This proves the worth of college by giving numerical comparisons of those who invested in it verses those who didn’t. The median weekly earnings of $1,730 from someone with a professional degree put up against the $678 from someone who only graduated from high school shows a very obvious difference. This information greatly supports the decision of going to college by displaying the “in the long run” advantage of college through the amount of money you can make in the future with the degree you earn

College graduates tend to make more money than high school graduates. According to the Economic Policy Institute, “College graduates, on average, earned 56% more than high school grads in 2015” (Pay Gap Between…). Although, this stat might not be for everyone it is for the majority of people. Jobs tend to pay higher if the person has a college degree than if one did not. To be successful people might have to spend money to make money. If someone spends thousands for college for 4 plus years, but in return they are making 56% more money than a high school graduate in the long run it will be worth it. They will have a lot of debt and student loans to pay, but once they pay it off they will start catching up to high school graduate in profit quickly. Many jobs would rather have someone with a college degree than one with just a high school diploma. The stats prove that people tend to make more later on than someone who goes straight into the workforce.

Is College Worth it? “There is no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs.” -Unknown. This quote represents a bigger picture of success and hard work.

earned about $415 more a week than workers whose highest level of education is a high school diploma. And the rate of unemployment for workers with a bachelor’s degree was about half of those with no education beyond high school.” We can say from this that you are less likely to be unemployed and more likely to get a higher salary if you go to college. College doesn’t only effect you either, going to college also helps your children. In the video “College Board’s Five Ways Ed Pays” it says “(parents with college education are) 66% more likely to read to their kids.” this may not seem like a big deal but it will increase your child’s education giving them a better chance to succeed. In president Obama’s speech “ America's School Children”, he stated “ No matter what you do with your life, I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do

About a generation ago getting a college education was born out of the pursuit of knowledge, but now it has become a competition for students to get into the most accredited University right after they are handed their high school diploma. College tuition has become so expensive in the last ten years that people are now debating whether or not college it is worth pursuing right out of high school. A college education is what the student makes out of it, and if they 're only going to get a degree it is important to know that a college education does not guarantee a job and stable future. The majority of young adults at the end of high school don 't even know what career they want to pursue because of the restricting high school curriculum, so to remedy this people should consider community college or taking a gap year. Whether or not to get a college education depends on what the person wants to do. Four year college should not be the default after finishing high school in America.

Having a college degree is not only a something anyone can frame, it can have value, along with other benefits as well. According to the Get Rich Slowly website, it states that “on average, those who have a college degree earn almost twice as much as those who do not” (Roth, 2008). Employees with have a higher lifetime earnings with a degree, making roughly a million dollars in their lifetime (Roth, 2008).

Individuals who say it is not worth going to college would argue that college is a waste of time but can agree that college graduates make more money than non-college graduates. College graduates with a four year degree make more money than a high school graduate. For example, these statistics from an online source explains that “On average, a college graduate with a bachelor’s degree earned $30,000 more per year than a high school graduate, or about $500,000 more over a lifetime, as of Apr. 2013. The bachelor’s degree makes a huge difference than a high school diploma. The majority of high school graduates want to work when they graduate high

The author of the article “Should Everyone Go to College?” proved this point in her article by a college graduate with a bachelor’s degree earned $30,000 more per year than a high school graduate or about $570,000 more over a lifetime. Also, the median income for families headed by a bachelor's degree holder was $102,000, more than a double family headed by a high school graduate (Owen and Sawhill 214). This means, every higher degree, like from high school diploma to bachelor’s degree, there is a different salary and a higher education will lead to higher paychecks. In addition to the income raises, job requirements changed over the years too.

A person who is educated with a college degree is less likely to be unemployed. Within most economic community's employment opportunities are available, it’s up to you to grasp them. This is easier to accomplish for a person with a college degree. As stated in source D “college graduates, though hardly immune from the downturn, are also far less likely to be unemployed than

As the evidence substantiates, college is worth the time and money. In this situation, worth means of high value. College has been proven to yield people a better financial future. In this time period, where jobs are hard to acquire, attempting to obtain a quality, well-paying job is nearly impossible. As displayed by the Hill, the average high school graduates salary is $35,615 per year. Meanwhile, the average college graduates yearly income is $65,482; this evidence was taken from a US Congress census; again from the The Hill. This exhibits the fact that college graduates, on average, make 48% more than high school graduates. Having a little advantage in pay is beneficiary in this time period. By going to college people are not only thinking about themselves, but for the better of their family. In the case of someone coming from a menial background, going to college can change their monetary needs. In the same way, only 260,000 people with college diplomas are working in minimum wage jobs. Around 72,000,000 or 33% of the adults in America have gone to college, proven by another US Congress Census. That means that 1 in every 277 people who attend college have a job paying minimum wage. Furthermore, a Georgetown University study has shown that 99% of the post 2008 recession jobs, have gone to college graduates. After reviewing this piece of evidence, going to college is a major bonus in the job market. A college degree of any sort can help in most leagues of study. Many employers noticed the college degree, and almost immediately hire that person. According to evidence number 15, the unemployment rate for someone who went to college is 3.8%. On the contrary, the unemployment rate for someone who only attended high school is 12.2%.

Going to college is worth it because of better job opportunities. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor, 2015 stated that individuals who have earned a doctoral degree have a 1.7% of unemployment. Going to college and earning a degree decreases the chance of unemployment. The United States Department of Labor’s graph also showed individuals with no high school diploma have a 8.0% of unemployment. This document shows not graduating severely increases the chance of unemployment. Another statistic The United States Department of Labor stated was there is a $1130 difference in pay between an individual with a doctorate and someone who did not graduate high school. This document chows that earning a high degree will pay off in life afterwards.

Additionally, a college degree allows a person to obtain more money with a stable income. White points out data from the New York Fed, “college graduates earn 80 percent more than their peers who didn’t attend, or didn’t finish, undergrad—and they’re also less likely to wind up unemployed than those who didn't go to college.” (White). Those with a college education are normally the ones that get offered promotions, while those without a college degree. For the most part, a college education often helps a graduate to stand out among other job seeking individuals that are applying for the same position. Despite how expensive it is to get a degree, the amount of

Higher education guarantees higher pay checks. Education encourages individuals, placing qualified people in demanding career. Qualified people are assured of having jobs which pay them well. According to Rodney K. Smith, “here’s the average weekly income for those who have jobs: $444 for those with less than a high school