As a high school teacher with multiple degrees, including a Masters of Education, I'm clearly biased in favor of higher education, but only because I have both personally enjoyed the many benefits that can come from it as well as seen them in many other people—family, friends, former students and even strangers.
College isn't for everyone, but the fact is that for most people and most disciplines it will increase a person's employability, earning power and general life satisfaction as a result of their education.
There are many reasons why everyone should seriously consider the merits of a college education:
For example, a 2013 study based on Labor Department statistics showed that Americans holding a four-year college degree made 98% more per hour on average than those without a degree. - (CNN Money)
More recently, according to 2015 data compiled by the Economic Policy Institute, "college graduates, on average, earned 56% more" than those who only have a high-school diploma (USA Today).
Some will respond by pointing out the millionaire they know that never went to college or the barista with a PhD working at Starbucks. Those exceptions certainly exist, but only prove the point. College isn't for everyone, and anyone considering it should carefully choose their subject matter. A degree in medieval art history is not going to get anyone the kind of job offers that an MBA or an engineering degree will provide.
Also, the critical and diverse thinking skills that higher education provides is worth much that cannot easily be evaluated in monetary terms.
Learning to think critically and independently is invaluable in and of itself. The fact that cults (such as Jehovah's Witnesses) actively discourage higher education is evidence that they realize educated people are not so easily mislead or indoctrinated. So there's that!
While we are at it, let's take some time to consider that finding a career or vocation is more than just work, but is
actually meaningful and rewarding in more ways than just monetary:
- 7 lessons about finding the work you were meant to do - Kate Torgovnick May discusses Dave Isay’s new book, Callings: The Purpose and Passion of Work
See also:
- College Graduation: Weighing the Cost … and the Payoff - The issue of costs and rising student debt have have touched off a national debate about the cost and value of a college education. Surveys by the Pew Research Center present a portrait of the views of the general public and college graduates.
- Can We Learn from How Other Countries Empower Their Educators?
- Education Next: Chester E. Finn, Jr., President Emeritus at the
Thomas B. Fordham Institute, discusses five key lessons that US
educators should learn from high-performing educational systems shape
teaching quality around the world.
