College is worth it Essay

Having a higher education has various benefits. A person’s chances of being employed are higher, they will earn more money than if they had a blue collar job, and most importantly it will teach them how to live. They will learn â€Å"how to be an informed and involved citizen, how to communicate effectively, how to understand other cultures and peoples, and how to think and reflect. For many students, college is a time of personal growth and social development-a chance to make friends, get to know people from different backgrounds, and explore new ideas and activities† (Graff, Birkenstein, Durst 177). Paying for college can be really stressing, both physically and emotionally. People will have to struggle with loans, financial aid, and possibly having multiple jobs. Despite the difficulties of attending college, it will be worth it and benefit you greatly in the end. In elementary school, most of you must have been asked what your dream job was. Your answer was most likely a fireman, a teacher, a superhero, or a singer, right? But as the years went by, you probably changed your mind, because you began to realize that people cannot fly, your voice was not the greatest or there was no way you can deal with annoying kids and not even get paid enough for it. By your senior year in high school you should have already had an idea of what you wanted to be, or what major you wanted to study at least. The majority of high school graduates will attend college, and if they don’t they will go straight into the workforce, either because their parents cannot afford college, or they simply do not like school, or join the Navy or the Army for that same reason of disliking school and they find it easy because recruiters make it sound that way. Some high school students start working and when they see the amount of money they are getting, they start to believe that maybe they don’t even have to go to college. They might just live well off of their blue-collar job earnings. What they do not realize is that their parents are most likely not going to want them living at home forever and if they move out to have their own place, all the money they earn will no longer go to just gas and food. They will now have bills to pay. They might be capable to cope with everything if they have a full-time good paying job or if they have two or more jobs. They might think that their friends going to college have a part-time job and are struggling trying to pay for tuition, books, and rent. What they don’t think of though, is the future. They do not realize that a few years from now, their friends will be college graduates, either with an Associate’s degree or a Bachelor’s degree. Even though it might take them a while to find a job, when they do, they will be earning twice as much money than the person who chose not to go to school. Many high school graduates are naive enough to believe that the military or whatever they get into is going to help them out with college when they get back home. It is disturbing to know that many young people go out to fight for their country and when they come back they are disappointed to find out that everything they did was not even worth it. They come back as changed people, and not always for the better. Some who actually get to see combat, come back mentally ill or even missing body parts. Their lives might never be the same after everything they have seen and been through. On top of that, they try coming back to college, and ask about the â€Å"help† they were going to receive, and they end up getting no aid. Afterwards there they are struggling to get their veteran benefits, trying to be someone bigger and better in life. In today’s economy, lack of a college education greatly limits opportunities. Basically the longer people stay in school, the more likely they are to have a job. College graduates are not only more likely to have a job but have a much better paying job. The unemployment rate for individuals who hold a Bachelor’s degree has always been about half the unemployment rate of individuals who hold a simple high-school diploma. â€Å"During a fourty-year full-time working life, the median earnings of bachelor’s degree recipients without an advanced degree are 65% higher than the median earnings of high school graduates† (Baum, Ma, Payea). Wilson claims that â€Å"a student who graduates with $20,000 in debt should be able to make at least that amount in extra earnings in one to two years’ time, she calculates, simply by having earned a college diploma† (260). People with a higher education also seem to be more satisfied in their jobs than people who only have a high school diploma. â€Å"The percentage of workers ages thirty to forty-five who report being very satisfied with their work ranges from 42% of those with less than a high-school diploma and 51% of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher† (Baum, Ma, Payea). You can gain self-confidence after having obtained a higher education. You will realize that you really are capable of learning at a high level. â€Å"Having the higher education will have prepared you to contribute to the industry you have chosen to get into. If you have higher education in a field that you are interested in, you will have a better chance of getting a job that best suits you and your abilities. This can be a very rewarding thing because you will be able to more easily find work which involves you doing something that is interesting for you, and something that you enjoy doing† (Benefits of Getting a Higher Education). Without the higher education, you will have to limit yourself to what you are qualified for. Not only does having a higher education improve your self-confidence, but your health as well. College graduates tend to have better health. â€Å"A 2006 study published by the Carnegie Mellon University Psychology department found that college degree holders have lower levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, compared to people with less education† (Hardy). They are also less likely to be out of shape, end up living on the streets, in jail, be smokers, or rely on government programs. â€Å"In 2012, only 8% of individuals with at least a bachelor’s degree smoked, compared to 25% of high school graduates and of those without a high school diploma† (Baum, Ma, Payea). The poverty rate for an individual with a bachelor’s degree is about one-third of the poverty rate for an individual with a high school diploma. â€Å"Nearly 70% of college grads had employer-provided health insurance, while only 50% of high school graduates had that benefit according to a 2008 report by the College Board†(Hardy). Works Cited â€Å"Benefits of Getting a Higher Education† . N. p.. Web. 23 Oct 2013. . Hardy, M.. N. p.. Web. 23 Oct 2013. . Graff, Gerald, Birkenstein, Cathy, Durst, Russel. They Say, I Say (with readings). New York. London. W. W. Norton & Company Inc. 2006. Print Baum, Sandy, Ma, Jennifer, Payea, Kathleen. Education Pays 2013. 2013. The College Board. Wilson, Robin. â€Å"A Lifetime of Student Debt? Not likely. † They Say, I Say (with readings). Graff, Gerald, Birkenstein, Cathy, Durst, Russel. New York. London. W. W. Norton & Company Inc. 2006. Pages 256-273.