Education vs. Experience Is thirty thousand dollars of debt, the reality of a low unemployment rate, and the uncertainty of finding the right career path really worth the papers, tests, and endless late night cigarette breaks? In the current state tot our economy, these risks raise Important questions concerning the value of a college education. Will examine why finances, the current employment rate, and choice of career can effect whether or not the choice to pursue a college degree is essential.
President Benjamin Franklin knew how valuable a college degree is for a person to be financially successful. “If a an empties his purse into his head, no one can take it from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the highest return. ” According to the u. s. Department tot Education, Annual center for Education statistics, The median earnings for a young adult ages twenty five to thirty four with a bachelor’s degree was forty five thousand dollars.
This is fifty percent higher than the median earnings of a young adult with a high school diploma or equivalent I see this as evidence that choosing to go to college and get a degree is second to none in insuring a good financial future The opposing argument though, Is that getting a degree Is not tree. Reading the u. s. Department of Education, National center for Education statistic data, the average cost of d degree Is over fifteen thousand dollars a year. Getting a four year bachelor’s degree comes with a large amount of debt. There are many Jobs, one being trade work, which pay very well and don’t require a degree.
In my own experience as a Qualified Member of the Engineer Department, on small river cruise ships, was making an annual Income tot Tory eight thousand dollars. I was not required to have a college degree, I Just needed to have experience In the trade and pass a coast Guard certification test. Jobs Eke the one I had allow a person to have a good financial standing without having to pay almost one hundred thousand dollars in debt. I would take no debt and a good paying Job over college if that’s all there was to it but financial gain isn’t the only benefit to getting a college degree.
You have to get a job to make money, just having a college degree doesn’t put money in your pocket. Getting a job In your career choice requires a company to pick you out of multiple applicants. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, having a college degree cuts our unemployment rate in half, people with a high school diploma or equivalent have an unemployment rate of seven point three percent People with a bachelors degree have an unemployment rate of three point eight percent. This shows how having a college degree statistically gives you a better chance tot getting a Job.
A company that Is hiring looks at a college degree as proof that you are motivated and driven, It shows your ability to learn complex and difficult subject matters, it Is a more credible qualification than Just saying you have experience in the position. There are any Jobs that require degrees and without one will not even allow you to apply. Not being able to apply for a position kills any chance of getting a job To state the opposite, there are many jobs and career paths that don’t require a college degree.
There are many successful people In the world who don’t have a college education, take Tort example sees e 010 not complete Nils college coeducation Ana went on to be one of the wealthiest men in the world. Steve Jobs is another great example of someone taking his god given talents and gaining experience without a college degree and producing the technology giant we all recognize today, Apple. Both have shown that you can make a solid income and work in a career you like without having completed college.
There is a problem with not having a degree though, for example, would a hospital hire someone one who has practiced medical procedures over a long period of time but never got a PhD? If you need a registered professional engineer to approve plans for a building project, would you trust someone who had not finished a college degree and only had experience with building projects? Of course not, these questions present the point that certain careers leave no exception to having a degree. Choosing a career can present the same problem of experience or education.
You can roll the dice and hope you can find a Job in your career straight out of school with no on the Job experience or you can work your way up the ladder gaining experience along the way until you can finally land the Job you want. Why would someone choose a career that requires a college education? Some of the best paying Jobs in the world require a college degree. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, surgeons get paid an annual median income of one hundred and eighty seven thousand dollars a year. Architects and Engineers have a median annual income that starts at one hundred and twenty thousand dollars a year.
Becoming a doctor without a degree in medicine is impossible, building skyscrapers, cars, airplanes, and many amazing engineering structures cannot be attained if you only have experience and no degree. What about Jobs that don’t require a degree? Is there an opportunity to make a good amount of money in a career without getting a college degree? There is an argument for high paying careers that don’t require a college degree, if you want to become a transportation, storage, or distribution manager it pays an annual median income of eighty one thousand dollars a year, no allege degree is required for this Job.
You can become a First-line police officer or detective and you will get paid an annual median income of seventy eight thousand dollars a year, a college degree is also not required for this Job. In conclusion you can see that there are pros and cons for both arguments. A college degree can offer a lower unemployment rate and a statistically higher paying Job. A college degree also leaves a large amount of debt owed to the university that gave out the college degree, it also doesn’t give you any on the Job experience that could be essential in landing that first Job.
Choosing a career that doesn’t require a degree but instead requires experience can also pay you a very decent annual income, though the options for a high paying Job are limited. If you choose a Job that doesn’t require a degree you can start saving money from the start without having to pay off thousands of dollars of school debt. Being a self-made business man, with a comfortable financial standing, without a degree isn’t an impossible task. We have Bill Gates and Steve Jobs to thank for setting a great example of that. Both sides have their ups and downs, it is up to each person to decide which career path to take.
