College Education: Should Students Become A College Necessary?

Today’s society makes students grow up with the expectation that they must succeed in school to get accepted to university, which is ultimately the gateway to the middle class and to becoming a successful person. But no other possibilities are given, leaving students to believe that the only path to success is a college degree as society continues to label those with degrees as “smart” and creates an opinion of what success really is. However, taking a look at college dropouts that have become rich and successful like Steve Jobs and people with college degrees that are left unemployed, sparks the question: Is a college degree necessary? Yet, there is no simple answer to this question. With this question in mind, students are left with the choice
Although after graduating from college a job is not guaranteed, the unemployment rate among college graduates ages 25 to 34 is just 2 percent, while the unemployment rate for people that don’t have a high school diploma is 13.8 percent and 8.4 percent with no college degree; therefore, more education pays in terms of getting a job (Leonhardt). Jaison Abel and Richard Deitz, co-authors of the Fed report argue that a benefit to attending college is that “College degrees are stepping stones for postgraduate degrees, which offer bigger payoffs” while also adding that college teaches “aptitudes, skills and other characteristics that make them different from those who do not go on to college” (Peralta). In other words saying that college allows one to branch out as its education provides a foundation of skills and abilities that students bring into the workforce upon graduation and makes them stand out to employers. According to a study that examined full- and part-time employment for 21- to 24-year-olds before and after the 2007-2009 recession released by Pew Charitable Trusts, after the recession “the downward trend in employment stabilized more quickly for the four-year college graduates”, showing that those that went to college were able to recover faster (Adams). In terms of lifetime earnings, according to a series of more recent studies, college graduates earn more than high school graduates. In another study done in Pew Research Centre, they found that college graduates aged 25 to 32 working full time earn about $17,500 more annually than those who only have a high school diploma ("Higher Education: Is College"). In College Board research, median earnings during 40-year full-time working