People constantly talk about the rising costs of a college education. Despite the high costs of a college degree and the burden that student loans have on college graduates, the argument that it’s better to not go to school is silly for the majority of individuals.
I also believe it’s best to not take time off and instead go right after high school. Taking time off can create problems later on (including not having the motivation to go back to school).
Here are the reasons why it’s almost always better to go to college vs. not go, and to go sooner rather than later:
- College degrees are required for most jobs
Even if you are looking for a job that can technically be done without a degree, you may end up competing with people who have at least an undergraduate degrees. Unless the GED holder has a fascinating story of what they did with their time instead of going to college, the degree-holder will be viewed as being more committed, having more initiative, and generally being more reliable than the GED holder.The flip side is that you can become overqualified for a job. In my opinion, it’s better to be overqualified than under qualified.
- It can be disappointing realizing your limited options later on
The number of high-paying jobs that do not require a college degree are limited. If someone wanted a job at my office, I would be at a loss to think of any job besides janitor, security, or food service that they would be qualified for. Whatever reason someone may give for not going to school, there is a very real chance that they will be disappointed later on because they will not be making as much money as those who went to school, and their options for fulfilling work will be limited.During college I worked at a company that installed cubicles and some of the weekend work consisted of unloading semis. The semi-driver must have said ten to twenty times “I wish I had gone to college” because of his limited career options. I felt bad for him because he was almost certainly going to continue to drive semis until he retired.
- It’s a lot harder to go after taking time off
The more time someone takes off after high school, the harder it is to go back. While some young adults laugh at that statement, it really is true. Let’s say you take a three years off and finally enroll in college. You are going to have friends who are graduating in a year (if they haven’t already). You likely won’t graduate until your twenty-four, and you could end up getting married before you even graduate. It’s also easier to be in a class with your peers rather than students who can’t legally drink for two or three more years.It’s much easier to go to college and get it over with as soon as you can so that you don’t have to spend late nights in the library long after your friends have forgotten the concept of “homework.”
A common excuse for not going is “I don’t know what I want to do with my life.” If you wait to go to school until you know exactly what you want to do with your life, you won’t end up going. Preferences always change. I always knew I generally wanted to get a business degree (finance in particular) and study political science. Up until the last year or so I was still not sure if I was headed to graduate school for political science or if I would end up working in finance.
The moral of the story is, your opinions are going to change somewhat. Not knowing exactly what you want to do is not a great excuse to not go. The first two years can be almost entirely generals, anyway, so even if you have no idea it’s better to knock out these classes while you explore different careers you may want to pursue.
College education shouldn’t be the end of the road when it comes to gaining skills. I see it more as a starting point. In today’s economy, it’s important to have any edge you can when competing for jobs. Does it mean you should get a pile of student debt with no plans on leveraging your degree? No, but if you are smart about leveraging your degree and figuring out what kinds of job or work people are willing to pay you to do, your degree should definitely pay off.
In what cases do you think it is better to NOT get a degree?
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Photo by Vincent Li.
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It’s funny, DC. I just read another blogger talking the other side of this argument (take a year off if you can). I can easily see both sides of this story. I’m 44 years old and it seems like yesterday I was 18. Life goes fast: get college moving and out of the way so you can build your future quickly. On the other side, studies have shown that older people get better grades and graduate more quickly because they know why the hell they’re in school and are focused on the end goal. Wait? Go early? I don’t know. My best advice: be mature enough when you go to know why you’re there.
@AverageJoeMoney I hear you, it really could go either way for a lot of people. It’s more an individual choice, but in this case I’m talking about the average person. It just makes sense to go and get it done with.
My husband didn’t go to college and it was probably the best choice for him. He already knew what he wanted to do as a career, be a martial arts instructor. And at 18, he had already been training at the same school for 6 years. They gave him a job at 18 and now he’s 30 and still there as the head instructor. Eventually, taking some business classes will be good if he chooses to open his own school but a whole degree wouldn’t be required.
But I do agree that for most people college is a must. I also think that if you don’t know what you want to do you should go to a community college for the first 2 years and take courses that will transfer over.
@Em23 That definitely makes sense for your husband not to go. Also totally agree about the community college option. You can really save money by going that route, and you aren’t stuck with boatloads of debt if you decide to do something that doesn’t require a degree.
When I was going to community college taking statistics courses, we had several older ladies in our class who were maybe in their 50’s. They came back to school for various reasons but each and every one of them mentioned how much harder it was to remember things and focus on studying when you’re older. For that reason alone I’m glad I went when I did.
@VeronicaHill79 I had the same experience. I only took one class at a community college, but the older women in the economics class seemed to have a harder time keeping up. It was honestly the easiest college class I ever took because of how the points were awarded, yet they took notes on everything the prof said. You could argue they learned more, but all the younger people realized the class 1) wasn’t challenging and 2) the point system made it easy to get an A. Unfortunately the older folks didn’t catch on.
It’s a lot easier to go when you don’t have kids, too! I was still young and had no problem getting good grades, but I did have a few days that I didn’t want to go because of sick kiddos at home.
-M
@seedebtrun That’s a big one! You must be good at prioritizing if you had kids and went to school, I’m always impressed when people can make that work.
I’m with you. Sure it will cost a lot to go to college, but I think to not consider it is setting yourself up for failure. I work with plenty of smart people who could be making a lot more money if they had only went and got their degree.