Plan B: Skip College by Jacques Steinberg is the essay that I choose to read for this journal entry. Steinberg brings attention to an issue of inadequate alternatives to college for the person that is not likely to succeed in college, who does not wish to attend college, or would benefit from skill-training to enter directly into the workforce. As a matter of fact, Steinberg brings attention to the issues that plague many students that have earned a college degree which is a lack of return on their investment by referencing input from economist and educators. In America, it's a common misconception that a college degree equates to success and the economic stability in which we all seek, accordingly, these are the reasons that some economists and educators advocate for alternatives.…
Education is seen to improve things like health, marriage, and social interactions. Similarly they recognize that personal preferences have an influence on people’s careers, not just money. Acknowledging how these realities will effect college cost-benefit calculations, they push forward. Owen and Sawhill sate “the gap in annual earnings between young high school graduates and bachelor’s degree holders working full time is $15,000”.…
In Freeman Hrabowski’s article, Colleges Prepare People for Life, he writes about the argument of whether or not college is the right option. He begins the article by stating that many opposing articles criticize colleges for being too expensive and causing students to take on debt. Colleges are also criticized for not preparing students well enough for the workforce. Hrabowski then writes about the contrasted view of many educators and economists. Many educators and economists display evidence that a college degree is the only way to get some of the high paying jobs.…
According to Yeager, Nelson, Potter, Weidman & Zullo (2001) in many ways higher education should be seen as a business as it “produces and sells educational services to customer” (as cited by Winston, 1999, p.13). However, at the same time, while education is indeed a business in some retrospect, it should not be regarded as only a business either. Over the last several decades, many economists have attempted to solve the array of issues surrounding the idea that education should be seen as a way to strengthen society and its ability to maintain a stabilized economy that is ever growing. However, throughout history, an idea that originated by Adam Smith, the founding father of economics, is that education should be used counter the negative side-effects of economic development (Gilead, 2015, p. 625).…
Essayist David Leonhardt uses statistics to show us that a college degree couldn't be more valuable. The wage gap between college graduates and everyone else seems to keep rising.…
From the day we start school, it is drilled into our brain that college is the only way to have a good future, but that may not be the case at all. Just ask Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg. Although it helps to have a revolutionary idea like these men, it is not necessary. Ordinary people can also achieve success without a college degree. At least, that’s what Charles Murray in his article “Are Too Many People Going to College?”…
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.”…
Be Deliberate in Your Choice The short essay Should everyone go to college? by Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill discusses the different aspects and potential preferences and risks of the college graduation compared to the high school education. The authors imply economic methods of analysis to draw a comparison between costs and benefits of college education and take into consideration several non-economic factors. Owen and Sawhill argue that while it has been proven that a “higher education is one of the best investments we can make”, the efficiency of the additional education may fluctuate according to the differences in the fields of study, post-graduation occupation and several other factors (Sawhill and Owen).…
Menand believes that today, we are incentivized to only learn that which leads to direct success, and that college “exposes future citizens to material that enlightens and empowers them, whatever careers they end up choosing”(2). He believes that college gives students a wide breadth of information that will help them in ways beyond advancing their career. There exists one final theory that explains why college is beneficial. This theory revolves around the idea that, in our current economy, colleges exist to provide a specific skill set necessary for a select few jobs. Last, but not least, Menand discusses “Professor X”, an author and professor, who believes that students come into college not prepared or particularly engaged in learning.…
The issue of whether college is truly worth the risk remains controversial due to society’s insight on the topic. Today, students all around the world are conditioned to believe that college is a necessity for success in the future, for an individual without a college education would be viewed as a failure. This stereotype remains intact ever since the rise of modern society. Some argue that a college education is a way to unlock a more profitable future with more opportunities, and without university, one simply will not be able to acquire a rewarding job. On the other hand, the opposite end of the spectrum believes that college is not essential for everyone to become a successful person, and that all one needs to do is to put his or her assets…
We view “college as a job” that gives substantial earnings returns to a college degree, irrespective of occupation, whether an individual is an insurance agent or a rocket scientist. This is not true because there are people with high degrees, like a PhD or a computer programmer, who have lost their jobs to layoffs. So having a college degree does not guarantee “substantial returns,” as Richard Vedder summarizes in his article, “For Many, College Isn’t Worth It." Vedder thinks the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) are fairly accurate and that college is not worth it for everyone because we are all created differently. An impartial understanding of the information is that school is justified, despite all the trouble, for some huge number of youngsters, but is a significantly more financially dangerous…
By the time you finish reading this you will wonder why you ever doubted if college is worth it. Not only will college open up a range of occupational and personal opportunities for an entire life time, but you can earn roughly double for the same jobs. According to The New York Times “For common careers not requiring higher education, those with higher education still tend to earn more in the exact same roles. The median salary…
In “Should Everyone Go to College,” Owen and Sawhill states that college allows students who graduate to earn a higher rate of income; however, various factors should be considered before choosing a degree. Moreover, the authors clarify that while the value of college outweighs the costs associated with earning a degree, just any college degree is not the best investment one could make to ensure the completion and success of their education. The authors also explain that the value of college can outweigh the costs associated with completing a degree. Owen and Sawhill emphasized that college improves certain values, such as job satisfaction and overall well-being, while also improving equally-as-important more monetary values such as graduates’…
As wages decrease, people are starting to side morewith the opinion that college is just not worth the high expense. The wages for new collegegraduates, comparing female and male, increased dramatically from 1979 to 2000 by at leastthree dollars, but then from the year 2000 to 2010 it decreased by at least a dollar. Having a four-year college degree, known as a bachelor’s, is not as helpful for a successful future as it wasbefore. Now many people can still achieve a good-quality of living without ever having to attenda four-year college and waste money they never had in the first place. Along with the decrease ofwages, there is a pay gap between female and males.…
The unemployment rate more than doubled, from less than 5 percent to 10 percent” (Weinberg, 2013). Furthermore, although lower paid majors such as education, arts, and psychology have an inferior redundancy rate, recent studies have shown that it takes longer for those college major graduates to achieve their prime earning potential. In some cases, “According to Census’s calculations, the lifetime earnings of an education or arts major working in the service sector are actually lower than the average lifetime earnings of a high school graduate” (Owen and Sawhill 216). This is just another factor future students should consider. By determining future salary opportunities, it is simpler for…