Is College Worth It? What Is Better For You?

Most high school students wonder whether college is worth it or not, especially with its increasing cost. So, what’s the best decision for you?

To make a living more often than not you’ll need papers that show you’ve got some form of education, or at least that you’re literate and can do basic math.

Some career paths require a little more than basic reading and simple calculations. This is why there are higher levels of education for anyone interested in learning a specific skill like engineering.

This brings us to our topic today. Is college worth it? Should you go to college?

Is college is worth it? The Short Answer

The short answer is if the career path you want to pursue requires a college degree then yes, college is definitely worth it.

But if your goal from college is just to get a decent job to support yourself then NO. In this case, college isn’t worth it.

Nowadays, there are a lot of jobs or skills that don’t require a college degree and will make you a lot of money.

Now, let’s go into more details

It’s almost a given that as soon as you learn to go potty, most children will be sent to school to get an economically viable education.

From kindergarten through High School we’re taught that the end goal is to get a degree that would get us a well-paying job.

But some of the richest and most successful people of our time including Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Steve Jobs did not complete their college education.

So if you’re aspiring to be like one of these gentlemen it might make sense to skip college altogether and get straight to building your future.

Before you decide to not go to college let me tell you about why you should be going to college.

A new start in college

You get the chance to start on a clean slate without the baggage of friends from high school or your family hovering over you.

This is particularly so if you’ve traveled some distance from where you were raised. It’s an opportunity to completely rebrand yourself by adopting new habits and breaking old ones.

Especially if you feel that you had some less than savvy behaviors in high school. For example, if you are a master procrastinator you can resolve to master some self-discipline when your class starts.

If you were a bully you can rebrand yourself into a nice person. More often than not this clean slate includes new friends and acquaintances.

College is set in such a way that there are numerous faces for interaction among students including in classes, in the dormitory, in parties, sporting events, and during school plays.

In these spaces, you’ll meet a bunch of other people from literally all walks of life. You’ll enjoy the company of some and barely stand others. But at the end of your 4 years, you’ll have learned a lot about how to interact with different people.

If you’re lucky you’ll leave with friends, solid business contacts, and maybe even your worst enemy.

Since you spend so much time with them, the friends you make in college will likely stick with you for a very long time. One of them might become your best man or even your husband.

Build professional networks

Apart from providing the space for you to make friends, going to college also forms the basis for you to build your professional networks.

The people you’re sitting next to in your class will be in offices, working as interns in a few years. And after some decades they might have graduated to top management.

Being acquainted or even friendly to these classmates will help your career in the long run.

Your lecturers and other members of your faculty are also a source of mentorship and guidance since they’ve been in the field a little longer than you have.

A higher-income

Research also shows that college graduates have a higher earning potential than those who haven’t been to college.

In 2019 for instance, the unemployment rate for those with a college degree in the United States varies between 3.7% and 3.9%. On the other hand, those who had a high school diploma had a 4.4% chance of not getting employed.

Therefore, if you want to increase your chances of landing a job you should increase your level of education.

It’s also important to know that the income that’s earned by an individual is heavily dependent on their level of education.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, those who have a basic education earned significantly less every week compared to those who went beyond.

In 2019, those with less than a high-school diploma earned between $494 and $644; While those who graduated took home between $633 and $844.

In contrast, those with bachelor’s degrees earned between $1,001 and $1,442; While those with a graduate or doctoral degree earned between $1,365 and $1,878.

So if you want to be as rich as you can be in your industry with no interest in starting and running a successful business, earn a few more degrees.

You’ll learn other skills

As you can see, college is good for both your social life and your career. But that’s not all the benefits though.

You can expect to go home with soft skills such as a good ability to communicate orally and in writing, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills; as well as better time management, and interpersonal skills.

These skills are a side effect of you being to college rather than something you intentionally go to learn in class.

Why you shouldn’t go to College

As shown by the likes of Zuckerberg and Gates, college is not for everyone. Some people do well in class while some not so much.

If you’re not academically adept or if your career doesn’t require you to sit in a classroom for 4 years, you don’t need to spend the thousands of dollars that college is surely going to cost you.

Not everyone can become a ten-year professor in microbiology. In fact, not a lot of people are interested in such a path.

So ask yourself, is college your thing? Are you willing to do four years of intense academics?

If your intention for pursuing a university education is so that you and your high school friends can hang, or so that you can turn up every day, I’m here to tell you not to bother

In Hollywood, college is sometimes portrayed as an endless frat party but there’s hard work to be done as well. And if all you want to do in college is just get wasted and party all the time do yourself the favor and stay at home.

Speaking of money, do you have any idea how much it’s going to cost you to get your bachelor’s?

On average you’re going to spend between $25,000 and $50,000 to pay for a degree depending on whether your college is in the state or outside, public or private. And also depending on the major that you’re pursuing.

Of course community college is cheaper but even that could cost you up to $10,000 annually.

Since most students can’t afford to pay out of pocket, most of them resort to get a student loan.

Student loans are good as they help you pay for your tuition as well as get you the resources you need for class. However, you will be saddled with it as you start your career and a good chunk of your income will be dedicated to settling this debt.

If you’re unsure about the value that college will give you economically enough to counter the cost of getting the degree then stay away.

Don’t go to college if you don’t want to

Finally and quite importantly, don’t go to college if you don’t want to. Most high school students are pressured by their parents or by their society’s expectations with regard to college.

If your motivation for pursuing higher education is so that mommy and daddy don’t get angry at you please don’t do it. Your parents might have the best interest in their hearts for you but only you can figure out what’s best for you.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, college is great. Other than the outrageous cost there are so many benefits to getting the right college education.

If the career path you want to pursue requires a college degree then yes, college is definitely worth it.

But if your goal from college is just to get a decent job to support yourself then NO. In this case, college isn’t worth it.

Thanks for your time

This was my approach to whether college is worth it or not. I hope you liked it and if you did then I recommend you to join my newsletter I post about money management, how to make money online, and how to improve your productivity and mindset.

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