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For many college students, the biggest decision they have had to face was deciding
whether or not to attend college. In reality this decision is quite a turning point in
the career of a student, for choosing to attend a college can determine the career path
that one takes, the friends that one meets, and the experiences that one encounters
along the way. For many years, students have been encouraged by parents, friends, and
guidance counselors to pursue higher education, if not for the possibilities it opens
in the job market then merely for the intellectual enrichment that accompanies a college
degree. Recently, however, the theory that a college education is always better than no
college experience has been challenged. A thorough comparison of the two reveals some
thought-provoking insights into the world of job acquisitions.
Before World War II the vast majority of American high school graduates did not continue
on to a college or university. This was due largely to the fact that they could not
afford the tuition, which even in those days was often exorbitant. After World War II
the government provided funds to finance the education of soldiers, and millions of young
Americans enrolled in college courses. In the past few decades it has been reasoned that
the college degree is today the equivalent of a high school diploma in the first half of
the 20th century, in that it is obtained by a similar portion of society and allows for a
similarly broad range of employment.
In today’s fast-paced economy, however, there are thousands of cases where a college degree
remains completely unnecessary in helping a motivated worker achieve success. I read an
anecdote just the other day about a woman who was placed as a senior account executive of a
small Internet startup, with incentives that bumped her salary up to $150,000 per year. The
real shock came when it was revealed that she was only 29 years old and already had 10 years
of work experience behind her. She had completed two years of junior college without receiving
a degree, but her personality and terrific social skills had allowed her to rocket up the
employment ladder. Her lack of degree seemed to be no impedance to her at all, as her years
in the workplace had given her all the informal education she needed. For some, achieving
success in the workplace is merely a matter of applying the “people skills” they inherently
possess or have come to learn during their brief working experience. For them, a college degree
is unnecessary and can even be harmful, as it usually reduces their work experience by (at least)
four years.
To be fair, some people are blessed with charisma and business sense, and it is these people
who succeed without the benefit of a college education. But for the vast majority of us who are
not so lucky, college remains the best avenue to a successful career. Any student of economics
will tell you that the costs of going to college include not only the explicit cost of tuition,
room and board, and books, but also the implicit costs of wages not earned during the period one
was at school. The total cost is rather high, but a study in the Wall Street Journal (9/26/94)
indicates that recent college graduates earn an incredible 75 percent more than comparable high
school graduates. Although the increase in the premium paid by employers for a college degree has
doubled in recent years, much of the change can be traced to a large decline in the wages for
those without a college degree. The wages of college graduates increased, but by small amounts.
This is still incentive to attend college, though, as those choosing the alternative are making
less than they were in previous years. Empirical evidence of the increased importance of college
is found in the fact that the number of high school students going on to college has increased in
recent years. In reality, the importance of college has never been so strong—this is reflected
in many recruiters’ unwillingness to even consider applications from workers who haven’t received
a college degree. Indeed many fields, such as law, medicine, dentistry, and some types of
engineering require an advanced degree in addition to a typical undergraduate education.
While it is true that some just aren’t cut out for the experiences and rigors of college, it
would behoove those that are to at least attempt college. With today’s system of government
financial aid and the aid available from many universities, the college experience is available
to a broader range of the population than ever before. We must take advantage of all the
opportunities college affords, because even if we absorb nothing from our classes, we will not
soon forget the sleepless nights of studying, the impromptu trips to far destinations, and
the ridiculous pranks pulled on that unsuspecting kid down the hall. Truly, THAT is what
college is all about.
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