Stick With Plan A and Go To College!
Who would have thought we would see a day when a New York Times headline suggests skipping college, and not in jest. The Times reports on a campaign of sorts among some evidently influentual economists and college professors who say it’s just not worth it anymore. Yet despite the beauty of a budget minus a student loan, this college graduate disagrees, and from the perspective of someone whose job does not require a degree.
The folks who inspired the Times’ “Plan B: Skip College” article say it’s just throwing away money, as so many will enter fields that don’t require a degree or they’ll simply drop out before graduation.
To be fair, Times reporter Jacques Steinberg does note: “Perhaps no more than half of those who began a four-year bachelor’s degree program in the fall of 2006 will get that degree within six years, according to the latest projections from the Department of Education.”
Beyond that, only 7 of the 30 fastest-growing jobs require a college degree.
But here’s the thing. You never know where your career is going to take you, as you are growing and changing all the time. Maybe when you graduate high school you think you know what you want to do for the rest of your life, but that is rarely the case. Though right now I am in a field that does not require a degree, I needed that credential for three pivotal jobs that helped lead me here.
Plus, those with college degrees not only earn more than non-gradates, but they historically have better job security. And what about all the non-monetary benefits of going to college. Like learning! Yes, the reading, writing and rithmetic, but also the social side. In college you’re opened up to a whole new world as seen through the eyes of your professors and your peers.
Fortunately, the Times article does note these and other objections to “Plan B”:
“Peggy Williams, a counselor at a high school in suburban New York City with a student body that is mostly black or Hispanic, understands the argument for erring on the side of pushing more students toward college. ‘If we’re telling kids, ‘You can’t cut the mustard, you shouldn’t go to college or university,’ then we’re shortchanging them from experiencing an environment in which they might grow,’ she said.”
Let’s just hope in a world dominated by “micro” messages that would-be students and their parents read beyond the Times’ 20-character headline (a legitimate concern presenting all the more reason to push kids toward college, I say).
Similar Posts:
- The End of Subsidized Grad School Loans
- Del Mar College offers adjunct fair to build faculty pool
- Getting Your Student Loan Forgiven or Discharged
- School Counselor Cover Letter
- Post Health Care Legislation – How Student Loan Programs Will Change
