The Benefit of a College Education to an Individual's Success

Why does society continue to debate whether or not college education is the best investment an individual could ever take? When if it was not for a college education, 80% of the general population would be living in poverty right now, it is believe that earning a college education not only increase the possibility of one earning more income, but it also equips a student with the necessary skill to handle adversity and the next greatest thing about earning a college degree is that it is a down payment on a student future. What better way than to create your future by investing in college education for yourself. It is believe that one should agree that a college education is the best investment for an individual both short and long term and if one should disagree, it would be like saying; the color red is not red. A college education increases one opportunity to earn more income, equip themselves with the necessary skills to handle any adversity that may arise in the future and to secure an individual future with a down payment.

If an individual had the chance to earn more income would they not take it? Well with a college education one can definitely increase their chances of earning a much higher income.  Studies have shown that students with higher education earn more than others with lower education. According to Stephanie Owen and Isabel V. Sawhill Report: “Should Everyone Go To College?” they pointed out that,

Study after study reminds us that higher education is one of the best investments we can make, and President Obama has called it “an economic imperative.” We all know that, on average, college graduates make significantly more money over their lifetimes than those with only a high school education. (para 1)

With that said majority of employers focus on the education level instead of what an individual may know, so having a college education is guaranteed to increase salary.  Having college education demonstrate that one would be able to handle the challenges that could arise in the future. Nevertheless one should agree that college education is the best investment they can take to increase their salary. An increase in salary could definitely change a situation through acquiring college education because families of graduates are most likely better off economically and socially from the result of investment in a college education. This investment is considered the down payment on the future of an individual.

A college education does not only increase an individual financial earnings but one should also agree that when completing a college degree it transfers a few tools that equip an individual to handle adversity that may be presented ahead, this is so because assignments and learning something new every day is a challenge put in place to test the mentality of individuals to see who will push through and who will pause for a moment. Everything in the college system is used equip students with the necessary tools to face adversity head-on.  A college education requires students to prepare themselves and push through the adversity which prepares them for the workspace and many challenges life present. Employers seek professional skills and two of the most obvious skills are time management and organization, which teaches students to manage their responsibilities. According to Becton Loveless the author of; “Benefits of Earning a College Degree” states that,

Time management and organization, for example, are just two examples of the skills that you’re likely to pick up during your time in college. Both are needed to successfully navigate the many courses you’ll be taken while also successfully tackling the tasks before you. Test, quiz, and homework dates can all become confusing when you’re dealing with multiple classes. Good organization can help you manage all of your responsibilities, and it’s a skill that will be useful once you have your degree. Not only is it useful in the workplace, but it can help you manage your personal responsibilities at home. (para 26)

One should agree that a college education develops a student to be mentally and physically ready for any adversity life have to offer along the road to success.

 It is obvious that a college degree can increase the chances of opportunities that are available to an individual as he or she move up the ladder in college. This investment not only develop the mentality of a student but it also secure a student’s future because as a college graduate one is more likely to get a job which means one is able to lock down their own success. This locking down of the future increases the chance of college graduate’s own children are likely to attend college because of the long term down payment. With that said these same college graduates are able the change the future of their generation. Based on statistics college graduate are less likely to be laid off than someone without college level education. According to “Benefits of Earning a College Degree” by Becton Loveless, he argues that,

When push comes to shove it will be much easier to replace you with someone else who only completed high school. In fact, an educated staff is so important to some companies that they will even pay for employees’ tuition. This is how valuable a college degree can be. It is seen as an investment that will bring substantial rewards, not only to the employee, but to the company as well. There are no guarantees, but if you have a college degree you will be less likely to suffer long-term unemployment. (para 18)

It shows that there is a higher values place on individual who accumulates a college degree but one should not forget there are some individuals who became successful without a college education and even though college education fees are sometimes considered too expensive, it is a guaranteed down payment on their future to overcome poverty.

College education is the best investment to an individual success but one should not deny the fact that some people believe is a waste of time and getting a college does not guarantee, instead they are struggling to pay for college education. According to “7 Major Misperceptions about the Liberal Arts” by Ungar, Sanford J. It states that, “Many families are indeed struggling, in the depths of the recession, to pay for their children’s college education.” (para 3). Yes even though education is best invest for a student success, one cannot deny the fact that some individual without education receive a higher income than those with a college education, the author Charles Murray states in the article “Are Too Many People Going To College?” that, “The income for the top people in a wide variety of occupations that do not require a college degree is higher than the average income for many occupations that require a B.A.” (para 13). With that said one should not ignore these problems however it is clear that investing in a college education far do the disadvantages of not investing in one.

 One can agree that it is safe to say that college education is the best investment one can invest their quality time in because it is a sure way to make a living. Earning a college degree is the best investment one can take in life because it allows an individual to do so, along with getting a job, buying houses and cars and raising a family. College education opens up the opportunity door for persons in life, preparing the intellectual and social attitude to help one achieve their career goals and dreams. This investment is definitely the way to go about the success of an individual because one it increases the chance of earning a lot more income than before, two college education equip students with the necessary skill to handle and overcome adversities and last but least, college education is a down payment on the future of an individual and their kids future.

Work cited

• Loveless, Becton. “Benefits of Earning a College Degree”. Educationcorner.Com, 2019, https://www.educationcorner.com/benefit-of-earning-a-college-degree.html. Accessed June 21, 2019
• Sawhill, Stephanie. “Should Everyone Go To College?” Brookings, 2019,  https://www.brookings.edu/research/should-everyone-go-to-college/. Accessed June 21, 2019
• Murray, Charles. “Are Too Many People Going To College?” AEI, 2008, http://www.aei.org/publication/are-too-many-people-going-to-college/. Accessed June 21, 2019
• Ungar, Sanford J. “7 Major Misperceptions about The Liberal Arts”. The Chronicle Of Higher Education, 2019, https://www.chronicle.com/article/7-Major-Misperceptions-About/64363. Accessed June 21, 2019