Value Of A College Degree Essay

The value of a college degree is a dispute that is commonly contemplated, yet rarely answered. I will attempt to express my attitude towards college education, personally defined as an Associate’s Degree for returning adult students. In an effort to explain the greater benefits of a college degree despite the common rhetoric that it is not financially worthwhile, I have considered the positive and negative effects of doing so. I have examined the following articles, “Learning by Degrees and Live Chat With the Author,” “The Major and the Job Market, the dream and the reality,” and “In the Basement of the Ivory Tower,” to support my stance. When one maintains a desire to progress academically and an open-mindedness to educational demands in the work force the benefits of critical thinking, self-discipline, improved intellect, and a slight raise in expected wages per week as a result of achieving such a degree, far outweighs the argument. When one is attempting to understand the value of a college education it is essential for the individual to consider one of the many contributing factors in its value: Job market demands and the degrees that relate. In the article, “The Major and the Job Market, the Dream and the Reality,” author Mark Bauerlein notes his perplexed reaction to one student in particular’s initial decision of turning down a scholarship to a public university located in New York, to follow an attractive film directing program at Ithaca College. He does so in order to emphasize on the importance of carefully choosing a major, and therefore avoiding building student debt, and being stuck with a degree in an irrelevant field. Bauerlein responds, “…One can’t help but wonder about the lack of forethought, the unreality, of his prior decisions (Mark Bauerlein 857 Par. 3).” By taking into consideration the current job market instead of blindly pursuing a degree based solely on what you are most passionate about, one can avoid such negative responses to their chosen academic path. Thus, improving the overall value of the college degree while also improving the likelihood of landing a career after college. There is another contributing factor in determining the value of a college degree that deviates from the commonly debated point of its economic value. …show more content…
According to Rebecca Mead, author of “Learning by Degrees and Live Chat with the Author,” When one broadens their perspectives and expectations of a college degree, they may realize that by attending college they have learned invaluable skills necessary in the pursuit of becoming a successful and economically advanced adult. Mead states that, “Unaddressed” In the calculation of college value “Is any question of what else an education might be for: to nurture critical thought; to expose individuals to the signal accomplishments of humankind; to develop in them an ability not just to listen actively but to respond intelligently” (Rebecca Mead Par. 7). This pursuit of adult betterment holds the potential to accelerate an individual into economic stability, but also the potential to inspire a way of thinking that will benefit one in ways that far transcend potential financial outcomes in life whether or not one chooses a degree based off of its projected financial return. Generally, by choosing to pursue a college education, an individual is contributing to the intellectual improvement of society as a whole. A third factor equally crucial in determining the overall value of a college education is the expected financial return of pursuing