College vs. the workforce
December 4, 2017
By MAI YIA LEE
The Mirror reporter
After high school, most students either chose to go to college, join the army, or jump right into the workforce. And although most students chose to further continue their education by going to two or four years colleges, is it necessarily the better choice?
More now than ever students are getting out of college with not only a degree but also a massive amount of student loan debt. According to Student Loan Hero there are 44.2 million Americans that have some kind of student loan debt that adds up to about 1.45 trillion dollars in total student loan debt.
College doesn’t guarantee students a job and many graduates go unemployed after college or wind up at a job where a college degree is not required. According to the United States Department of Labor, in January 2017 the unemployment rate was 3.8 percent for Americans who had some college or associate degree. And among workers age 25 and older who graduated high school but did not attend college, the unemployment rate was 5.3 percent.
Naturally, the unemployment rate for students who did not attend college would be more because going to college does increase students’ chances of employment and opportunities. College graduates also have a higher chance of making more money. According to Smartasset, Americans with a bachelor’s degree earn a weekly average of $1,137 while workers with a high school diploma earn only about $678 weekly. And according to Prepscholar, on average college graduates with a bachelor degree earn up to 56 percent more per year than those with a high school diploma.
With all that said, college isn’t for everyone and students can still succeed without a college degree. Some students may not chose to go to college because it means missing an opportunity to make money at a job. Joining the work force right after high school can also allow students to get more experience.
A college degree program can build critical skills, but few colleges and universities can fully prepare students for real world challenges, according to World Wide Learn. In some cases, students who don’t do well in high school can find real satisfaction in the workforce. Jumping right into the workforce is great for students who chose a career that doesn’t require a college degree.
In my personal opinion, I think that neither one is better or worse than the other. They both equally have their own advantages and disadvantages to consider. I think students should just be smart about their choices and chose what is best for themselves.
So is college necessarily the better choice? I’d say no. It really depends on the person and what their career choice may be. As long as students work hard on what they do, I think that anyone can be successful after high school.
Sydney Levesque • Dec 15, 2017 at 7:54 AM
This is a great topic that will appeal to many students and really let them know that they have several options after high school.
Nate Reinwand • Dec 14, 2017 at 12:16 PM
Was a great read that many can correlate into their own lives. It may have been opinion based but many students have this same point of view seeing as a majority of students at spash will be a part of the workforce.
Alayna Bruneau • Dec 14, 2017 at 12:09 PM
I agree with this completely! It is 100% up to that student and whether or not they would like to continue their education and possibly earn a higher income, or go straight into the workplace and possibly gain more experience. It is very circumstantial and I think it’s super cool that we all have that choice to make.
Roman • Dec 14, 2017 at 11:58 AM
If someone was to go right into the work force with now experience past high school they could get a decent job making $30 to $40 per hour. But this would depend on how hard you want to work how often you want to be home and or how many hours you are willing to work. The labor jobs are open all the time the U.S will never have enough laborers. People who go to college are needed to they have a important role in getting higher educated jobs to do things on computers and technology to build and create what the labors must do. So in the long run they all work in unison.