Discussion on College Graduates
A parent taking a child to school is compared to an eagle flying high in the sky with its chicks and releasing them into the air. The objective of the eagle is for the chicks to learn flying. Similarly, parents take their kids to school to explore the world. Several individuals criticize the importance of college certificates terming it irrelevant due to fewer opportunities. Skills and experience attained in the level are said to be inadequate in the modern world. Besides, critics see college graduates as unsatisfactory due to low paying limited opportunities. However, a college certificate is a very crucial and life-changing title that each individual should attain. Moreover, it opens doors to many opportunities such as a wide range of well-paying careers as compared to high school graduates. This paper argues on the notion that college title is essential in offering better job opportunities, more monetary returns, and all-round life.
First, everyone should aspire to be a college graduate because it comes with a future promise of well-paying careers in the job market. The promise of well-paying careers is evident in the statistics in the salary gaps seen between high school graduates and their bachelor’s degree counterparts.
Statistically, the “gap in annual earnings between high school graduates and bachelor degree holders working full time is $15,000” (Sawhill and Owen 210). Currently, the fastest-growing and demanding job opportunities require a college degree (Hrabowski 260). Therefore, college graduates are likely to be employed and earn high salaries compared to high school graduates (Hrabowski 260).
Critics argue that the cost of attending college rules out its benefit stating that individuals pay tuition large amounts of fees for college, as compared to their latter net profit of achieving the title (Sawhill and Owen 210). The holders of this argument suggest college and high school graduates are the same as the apparent higher pay that holders of bachelor’s degrees receive equalize the cost that the degree holders incurred to acquire their bachelor’s degrees (Hrabowski 260). According to Hamilton’s project, the average earning of 18 to 21-year-olds who have only graduated from high school presents “an opportunity cost of $54,000” against those going for a four-year degree (Sawhill and Owen 210).
According to Hamilton’s project, holders of bachelor’s degrees and associate’s degrees earn totals of $570,000 and $170,000 respectively in their entire careers (Sawhill and Owen 211). The cost of acquiring their degrees, together with the opportunity cost, is $102,000 (Sawhill and Owen 211). Furthermore, the difference, which is the returns of obtaining the degree, is $468,000 for holders of bachelor’s degrees and $68,000 for holders of associate’s degrees (Hrabowski 260). College graduates always remain winners in the competitive economy. Therefore, college graduates have a better promise of handsome returns throughout their career life than high school graduates.
Secondly, everyone should be a college graduate because of the numerous opportunities that they enjoy over high school graduates in the job market. Many job advertisements and job openings come with the requirement of holding a degree (Hrabowski 260). Thus, college edification prepares students for the competitive nature of the job market (Murray 240). Walter Sondheim’s life proves that a college degree offers a broader scope of opportunities and openings in the job market. His sound education in liberal arts helped him get a job and change Maryland because he got a chance to advise mayors and governors, led desegregation of schools, and was an active leader for several decades (Hrabowski 262).
Additionally, college graduates enjoy automatic consideration for jobs by having a B.A; employers place significant value on B.A because it automatically demonstrates academic ability and perseverance on the student (Murray 241). However, critics of this take argue that going to college does not necessarily translate to getting job opportunities and that there are graduates in some fields who are unemployed. According to the Georgetown Center of Education Workforce report on unemployment rates, per field, of both younger 20-26 years old and elderly 30-54 years old, people who majored in education or health have very low unemployment rate as compared to those graduates in the field of architecture (Sawhill and Owen 217). Arts major also does not do well as the average earnings for a high school graduate being $6,000 less than a college graduate (Sawhill and Owen 217).
Furthermore, the argument that going to college does not necessarily translate to job opportunities does not hold as Freeman A. Hrabowski states, “my colleagues spend countless hours advising prospective students” (Hrabowski 261). From the public and private sector, several initiatives are dedicated to the offering of course and career choice advice to aspiring college students. This dedication shows that specialists in career selection are aware of the different dynamics in the job market and offer their advice to prospective college students to ensure they go for the best areas to get numerous opportunities after graduating from college (Sawhill and Owen 220).
Most universities have now adopted the recommendation to provide information on pay scale rankings, giving potential students and their parents information to make better decisions (Sawhill and Owen 221). Furthermore, job insecurity is no longer a function of the business cycle because it is not confined to specific sectors; anyone in any sector can get a secure job with a college education (Graff and Cathy 262). Therefore, it comes out with clarity that college graduates, despite minimal unemployment instances, still have a range of opportunities before them compared to high school graduates.
Finally, college graduates have a better guarantee for a better life as compared to high school graduates. Research suggests that the more one attends school, the more they enjoy many non-monetary benefits of schooling which are harder to measure (Sawhill and Owen 222). Additional schooling has a positive effect on one’s social life as it affects aspects of their lives, for example, marriage lives, parenting, and job satisfaction (Sawhill and Owen 210). Higher learning exposes one to more people from different backgrounds and with different personalities. Over time, this exposition triggers one to adapt to personality diversity and develop better responses to different people in different situations, thus becoming educationally equipped and socially relatable (Murray 232). Moreover, higher learning equips individuals with knowledge on societies and relevant historical facts of places and communities. This knowledge boosts full participation in social interactions in various cultures (Murray 234).
Nonetheless, critics of this take argue that the ability to interact successfully with other people, regardless of their personalities, is not dependent on a college education. The holders of this argument present a waitress’s story by the name Rosie, who, in their opinion, shaped her adult identity as a waitress in coffee shops and family restaurants (Rose 272). She acquired knowledge and intuition on the trends of business in the hotel and restaurant field and was able to learn the skill of dealing with a challenging world (Rose 273).
Besides, she working smart and considering the emotional states of co-workers and even customers, devising memory strategies to memorize who ordered what and following up on late orders without waiting for customers to complain (Rose 275). All this she did while striking a balance of attention to her husband and son, who would sometimes wait for her to finish working so they could go home together (Rose 276). The kind of adaptation to the social and work environs that Rosie exhibits is remarkable. Without a college education, she can get her job done, study, and satisfy customers’ needs while considering their moods and emotions and those of her co-workers and giving attention to her family. Indeed, she seems to be a perfect fit in society, a street-smart individual.
Nevertheless, she does not exploit the full social capabilities that she would have, had she acquired a college education (Murray 234). Street-smart people are also intellectuals; they need to see the “world of their interests through an academic eye, complimenting their street-smartness with some class units” (Graff 262). Higher learning, taking into account its social benefits, is to produce skillful and knowledgeable individuals who are all rounded, capable, and cultivated (Graff 264). In Rosie, there are successful social relations and a right balance with work output and knowledge acquisition, from experience and over time, of her operation field. Had she acquired higher learning, she would be equipped with a broader scope of knowledge in her field, other areas, and fields’ interactions, making her knowledgeable, skillful, and capable of performing her tasks more efficiently (Murray 236). Therefore, college graduates get an additional broader scope of knowledge in their respective fields that help shape their lives better than the high school graduates.
In conclusion, college graduates have the promise of monetary returns, vast job opportunities, and better and all-rounded life than high school graduates. It pays more to be a college graduate than a high school graduate. Even though critics argue that college education exposes one acquisition costs, it’s returns are tremendous as an entire career earns more than the opportunity and acquisition costs put together. College graduates also enjoy more job market opportunities than high school graduates as most job advertisements today requires one to possess a degree. Although specific fields lack employment opportunities, the few opportunities available in these fields are prioritized to college graduates. College students go through rigorous training sessions that enable them to know such concerns and advise on the best college courses and careers. Besides, college graduates have social benefits as it equips individuals with knowledge and exposure to real-life situations, making them all-rounded individuals and better fits in society.