Is investing in a college education a good idea?
Over a lifetime, the average bachelor's degree holder will contribute $278,000 more into their local economy than workers with only a high school diploma. They'll also contribute $44,000 more in state and local taxes, and $771 more in annual charitable donations.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the median income for a high school graduate is $30,000, while those with a bachelor's degree make around $45,000. As long as you graduate debt-free, that college diploma could help you build wealth a lot quicker than if you didn't go to college.
College is important for many reasons, including long-term financial gain, job stability, career satisfaction and success outside of the workplace. With more and more occupations requiring advanced education, a college degree can be critical to your success in today's workforce.
Benefit for individuals and the public
There is no doubt that investing in education produces a private benefit. Individuals who are more educated are healthier, more likely to get good jobs and pay higher taxes, less likely to participate in risky behaviours, and more civically and socially engaged.
Investing in education is not just the right move but it is also smart economies. Education lead path towards health, empowerment, and employment. Evidence shows that each additional year of education boosts a person's income by 10% and increases a country's GDP by 18%.
Even if a degree is not needed in the beginning, it may be required in order for you to move higher up within your company or field. That being said, you can certainly be successful without a college degree — your skills and talents can get you hired.
Twenty-nine percent of college-age Americans say college is both a waste of money, and that a college education isn't necessary to get a good job. According to admissions consultant Beata Williams, it's not surprising that potential students are seriously weighing the financial burdens of obtaining a college degree.
College-educated people not only tend to have higher earnings than people without degrees, they are also more likely to have health and retirement benefits with their jobs, and they are far less likely to be unemployed. And having a degree is not just about economic advantages.
The rationale is that a highly educated workforce keeps the country competitive. College degree-holders secure better jobs, earn more money, and pay higher taxes. In short, education equips students for engaged citizenship.
Regardless of how you personally define success, the stats show that a bachelor's degree can make having a successful career more achievable. Consider the following: Bachelor's degree holders earn an average of 66 percent more than high school graduates.
How essential is a college education pros and cons?
| College Education Pros | College Education Cons |
|---|---|
| College education can lead to higher salaries | College education is expensive |
| May lower your risk for unemployment | Many students need student loans |
| You can work in more interesting jobs | May no longer be necessary in the future |
Investing in education can take many forms including the establishment and management of schools as a business venture and/or the acquisition of any particular type of education by individuals to enhance their employment prospects and income earning capacity.
More career opportunities
You know that earning a college degree is a smart way to increase career success. Employment opportunities are narrowing for those who only hold high school diplomas. Conversely, college graduates have skills that qualify them for a wide range of careers with upward mobility.
Education opens your mind and more importantly, it increases your opportunities. People who are closed-minded and stick to what they know, will never change. And change is the forward driving force of life. By educating yourself, you might think about things you've never thought of before.
Education develops critical thinking. This is vital in teaching a person how to use logic when making decisions and interacting with people (e.g., boosting creativity, enhancing time management). Education helps an individual meet basic job qualifications and makes them more likely to secure better jobs.
Education lessens the challenges you will face in life. The more knowledge you gain the more opportunities will open up to allow individuals to achieve better possibilities in career and personal growth. Education has played an important role in the career world of the twenty-first century.
People who argue that college is not worth it contend that the debt from college loans is too high and delays graduates from saving for retirement, buying a house, or getting married. They say many successful people never graduated from college and that many jobs, especially trades jobs, do not require college degrees.
No, college is not a waste of time. Any time spent learning is never wasted. Learning doesn't have to be in the college environment, but there are many valuable lessons that you learn while attending college. These lessons happen in and out of the classroom.
But according to the results of our study, college degrees lead to greater net worth, despite the debt that often comes with them. We found that under-35 college graduates have a higher median net worth than high school graduates or those with some college education.
Students who earn a college degree stand to make over $500,000 more in their lifetime than those who only attain a high school diploma. Those that earn advanced degrees will make over a $1,000,0000 more in their lifetime than those who completed high school.
What is college education good for anyway?
Research shows that children of college-educated parents are healthier, perform better academically, and are more likely to attend college themselves than children of those with lower educational attainment.
College education means education at an institution that provides an educational program for which it awards a bachelor's or higher degree, or at an institution that provides not less than a two-year program which is acceptable for full credit toward such a degree. Sample 1.
It prepares you, both intellectually and socially, for your career and your adult life. The benefits of a college education include career opportunities like better paying and higher skilled jobs, but studies have shown that it also leads to overall happiness and stability.
Education opens your mind and more importantly, it increases your opportunities. People who are closed-minded and stick to what they know, will never change. And change is the forward driving force of life. By educating yourself, you might think about things you've never thought of before.
President Tierno affirms that, despite the rising cost of higher education and what many reports would have us believe, investing in a college education remains a solid, profitable investment.
To succeed in the race of life, a person needs to have a degree along with the skill. A degree without the skill would be as empty as the skill without the degree. Both need to go hand-in-hand in order to be the survival of the fittest.
Research has found that college graduates typically land a secure job and earn a higher salary than high school graduates. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “workers with a bachelor's degree had median weekly earnings of $1,305 in 2020, compared with $781 for workers with a high school diploma.”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), people with an undergraduate degree earn nearly twice as much as those with a high school diploma. High school graduates can make as much as $746 per week or $38,792 per year. The average salary of someone with a bachelor's degree was $1,248 per week or $64,896.
Evidence shows that, on average, each additional year of education boosts a person's income by 10 per cent and increases a country's GDP by 18 per cent. Some researchers estimate that if every child learned to read, around 170 million fewer people would live in poverty.
Education develops critical thinking. This is vital in teaching a person how to use logic when making decisions and interacting with people (e.g., boosting creativity, enhancing time management). Education helps an individual meet basic job qualifications and makes them more likely to secure better jobs.
Is college education a real asset?
Technically, education is not an asset because you can sell an asset. However, colloquially we call education an asset because it has value for increasing your cash flow. Technically, education enhances the value of your human capital. Your human capital is the net present value of your future income.
Increased Earning Potential for College Graduates
Studies show that those with a high school diploma or GED earn approximately $36,000 per year, and those with a bachelor's degree earn a median salary of approximately $60,000. That's almost double the yearly earnings!
The Importance of a College Degree to Success
Through 2020, there will be 55 million job openings in the U.S. Thirty-five percent of those will require a bachelor's degree. Even when a job does not require a bachelor's degree, 91 percent of jobs go to people who have one.
Better learning environment, experienced & efficient faculty, better classroom experience, great placement opportunities etc are some of the many benefits of going to a good college.
The rationale is that a highly educated workforce keeps the country competitive. College degree-holders secure better jobs, earn more money, and pay higher taxes. In short, education equips students for engaged citizenship.
