Is College Education Worth It

Is College Education Worth It? Hailey Mulligan October 24, 2012 presidential term Communication MG320 Is College Education Worth It? Getting a safe barter is not straightforward as it used to be. In past generations, mortal in an entry-level position could sound their way up the ladder just through hard work and determination whether or not wizard had credentials or a sheepskin mattered very little. This is not the lawsuit today. Higher direction is without delay critical to begining a better bank line because the demand for clever labor is rising.For this reason, the comfort that a full point offers is in high spiritser(prenominal) than that of ones actual intelligence or merit. Further to a greater extent, workers without college degrees willing rapidly be outpaced in position and salary by degree holders. Earning a college degree is no longer simply an option for potential personal line of credit seekers, but a necessity for those wishing to advance in their c beers. With the toll of postsecondary education rising in leaps and bounds, potential students whitethorn wonder if the college education system is steady deserving investing in.Niall Ferguson (2012) states that at a specimen of public colleges, number tuition and fees for in-state residents become risen by 25 portion since 2008 for private schools, these tuition and fees rose by 13 percent (p. 20). Similarly, over half (56 percent) of students argon enrolled at four year schools with tuitions and fees of up to $9,000 a year with high-ranking institutions reporting costs upwards of $40,000 every year (Walker, 2010, p. 28). Although this cost has been offset for many students by the increase in political relation funding for education in the form of grants and entitlements, postsecondary expenses stack be daunting.Yet, liftings discussed later(prenominal) in this report reveal the vital importance of a college degree, not only in short-term employment hunts but as a long -term investment over ones life epoch. First, the demand for arch(prenominal) labor has risen in America. According to Bound and Turner (2010), collegiate attainment has not kept pace with increases in the demand for skilled workers in the United States (p. 7). Although there has been a significant increase in the number of college attendees, the number of students actually completing a college degree has not increased proportionately (p. 7).One possible argument for the rising demand of college graduates is the lessening of blue-collar frolics as this nation moves into a engineering and information-based economic grocery store (Carnevalle, 2006, p. 90). Bankston (2011) says this trend might be consistent with the argument that advances in technology kick in created a rising demand for advanced credentials (p. 337). former(a) authors cite examples of how a new technology may require that community have a degree to provide a product or service for which a degree was unnecessar y ten age past (Whitaker and Zenker, 2011, p. 21).Others argue, however, that demand for jobs that require a college degree is simply a self-perpetuating head of the increase in college graduates. In 1940, barely five percent of Americans held a college degree by 2008 that number had risen to 30 percent (Bankston, 2011, p. 326). One author credits the rise of degree requirements to the festering of government subsidies in the market place of postsecondary education (Bankston, 2011, p. 336). As the government gives more money in the form of Pell grants (which has now been deemed an entitlement), more students attend college and obtain degrees.Bankston reasons that one would expect that as credentials flood the market, they will leveraging fewer opportunities (p. 336). Over era this may mean that the value of a college degree may diminish and the gap in income and job opportunities in the midst of graduates and non-graduates will decrease. (p. 336). It may excessively mean th at having only a bachelors degree will not be enough to seize a comfortable career. Debra Stewart, president of the Council of Graduate Schools, claims that over the course of a lifetime, people with masters degrees earn 18 percent more than those with baccalaureate degrees (Loftus, 2012, p. 3). For now though, the rise of credentialed job seekers has led to the thought that higher education is an prediction for everyone.Because having a degree has become so common, employers now use it as a way to eliminate people who would not make good candidates for employment make up if a degree isnt a on the whole accurate determinant of ones talent or work skills. The mass availability of college education may actually debase its unalienable value (Bankston, p. 338). Although someone without a degree may have more natural intelligence and ability than their credentialed ounterpart, a degree is now worth more than actual capability in the job market. Bankston writes that the popular vehe mence set outd on higher education in a troupe in which higher education has become a broad foretaste has heightened the importance of credentials as an asset for obtaining a job at the expense of other assets, such as demonstrated ability or experience in a field (p. 337). A degree provides a form of merit that employers look for immediately because the degree marks the idiosyncratic as someone who can supposedly meet deadlines, fulfill obligations, and reckon critically.Margolis (2007) remarks how it was the common practice of my colleagues to immediately sift out the resumes that didnt have a degree and just throw them away (p. 42). Because many employers are searching through high volumes of resumes, they dont have time to thoroughly look at every single one they kick upstairs up the process by simply filtering out non-graduates. This point is exemplified further in the case of Marilee Jones. The former dean of admissions at the Massachusetts demonstrate of Technology (M . I. T. ) quickly resigned after it was discovered she did not actually have the credentials listed on her resume (Kinsley, 2007).Even though she started as a clerical worker and advanced in position over 28 years to become the dean at this prestigious school, her talent and loyalty meant slide fastener once her padded resume was revealed (Kinsley, 2007). She simply lacked the paper qualifications M. I. T. based itself upon. Although these qualifications are all artificial substitutes for received merit, sometimes the artificial substitute is required (p. 34). The substitutes are unavoidable when employers, like colleges, do not have the time or ability to gather all the information necessary to doctor who will be a successful employee.Even though Ms. Jones demonstrated real merit (p. 34), her paper meritor lack thereof as yettually determined her fate at M. I. T. A college degree stands in the place of ability when ability cannot be measured in a concrete way. Not only can the absence of a college degree cut back ones ability to obtain a job, it can also hinder ones likelihood of advancement in a career. A degree increases ones marketability and maneuverabilitywithout a degree, youre flying by the seat of your pants (Kinsley, 2007). Although one might find a job without a degree (based on connections, etc. , the degree provides a cushion. If this job were to be lost, a new job could promptly be found because of ones credentials. Furthermore, non-graduates cap out in their careers sooner than graduates. Kinsley notes that you hit that ceiling where a high school diploma only gets you so far in a salary vomit (p. 34). Bankston also documents the increasing gap since the 1950s in median mesh incomes of Americans with and without college degrees (p. 337). The wage premium of a college degree over a high school diplomas increased by 83% since 1979 (Carnevale, 2006, p. 90).Non-graduates have less negociate power in their positions because they are less va luable to their employer and may consequently be unable to take advantage of an increase in lettuce or benefits (Kinsley, 2007). So stringent have the qualifications for employment become willy-nilly or otherwisethat sometimes just having a diploma isnt even enough. For example, employers are still wary about the quality of online degrees. Lynn Gresham (2008) notes a survey conducted by Vault. com that revealed nearly two-thirds (63%) of employers still said that they would favor job candidates with degrees from traditional colleges (p. 4). One hiring manager said they didnt believe online degrees chew over a serious commitment to education (p. 24). Currently the perceived value of an online degree is less than that of degrees obtained from brick-and-mortar institutions. However, as more job candidates complete degrees online, employers views on their validity are slowing changing. For some, the completion of an online degree shows that the person is passing self-motivated to le arn new skills and acquire knowledge through rigorous self-study methods (p. 27). Today, the average American changes jobs eleven times during their adult life (U.S. Department of ram Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012). For this reason, a person without a college degree would be devastatingly ill-equipped to survive in todays job market because they lack the flexibility to move to new careers. In 2010, non-graduate workers experienced 10. 4 percent unemployment, while workers with at least a bachelors degree were only unemployed at 4. 7 percent (Whitaker and Zenker, 2011, p. 21-22). Employers still look to see if a job candidate has a degree, even if they exemplify significant intelligence.Doors of opportunity that remain open to degree holders will be closed for non-graduates and the ladder of advancement will only oscilloscope so high. Diplomas are a form of meritocracy necessary in America, even if only arbitrarily. While the intrinsic value of a college education may be disappe aring because of its mass production, its extrinsic value remains true. notwithstanding its high costs, college is still one of the best investments a person can make in todays highly competitive job market. Financially and opportunity-wise, obtaining a college education is still worth it.