Okay so i know college is good and all but it’s not 100% sure you will get a job and pay off your student loans. It also takes up so much time and money so like please serious question give me some rebuttals of my argument like I know if you get a certain degree in college and how you can achieve a furthermore education which will help you when you work and for your job but is it really worth it? If I am not wealthy and go in debt, what’s the point in going to college to waste money and time and working hard to pay off debts. It’s not proven that it will get you a job or that you’ll earn money etc. just give me some good reasons please haha
College graduates overall earn more than those who don’t go to college over their lifetimes. If you are low income and don’t have high enough grades to get into the small number of colleges that will meet your financial need, consider attending community college first, or a 4 year public college you can commute to.
People with college degrees are often higher paid but their better salaries do not compensate for the price they had to pay to get into college so? Idk also it doesn’t guarantee a higher paying/advanced job it also leads to a butt load of student loan once you are done with school and with a person with low income it is hard?
oh I just read your comment
You can only borrow $5,500 yourself freshman year, and slightly more each year after. If you are low income you may also qualify for Pell grants that don’t have to be paid back. Stay away from for profit schools. A lifetime of higher earnings offsets the cost of college. That said, you probably should major in something that had good job prospects. If you pick a low paying profession, it doesn’t pay off as well.
The cost of university can vary enormously depending upon where you go. In our experience looking at and applying to schools there was almost no correlation between how much a university would cost and how highly ranked it was.
How likely you are to get a job after graduation will depend upon what you major in and how well you do at university and other factors. There are of course many jobs that don’t require university at all, and the majority of Americans never get a 4 year university degree (Bachelor’s or equivalent).
However, as @intparent said on average university graduates do earn more over their lifetime.
As such I don’t think that there is any simple answer to the point that @OgallalaAquifers has raised. University makes a lot of sense for many students, including many low income students. However, university does not make sense for everyone. I certainly would be very cautious about taking on significant debt to go to university.
It was good for me. It might be good for you. Or it might not be.
Thank you
My advice would be to pursue some type of career preparation after high school. Going away to a 4-year college or university is not your only option. You could enroll at a community college in your area that you can commute to (therefore no room and board fees). You could attend a trade school, or earn certification in a specific skill. Perhaps you live near one of the few colleges that are tuition free? Google “tuition free colleges.” Have you considered an accredited on-line college program?
Depends on the field and if you are male or female unfortunately.
Loans are bad if you are using them to pay for Starbucks coffee, or never finish college because you pick a college freshman year with no way to afford a way to finish. If you use them because that is the only way to go to college the ROI (if you finish) puts you ahead in the long run for lifetime earnings.
https://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_chart_001.htm
More education = higher wages and lower unemployment rate according to the BLS chart. A family member tried to insist that one of the best employers in our area doesn’t require new hires to have a college education. So I asked which jobs. Each job she named actually did require education/certificates/degrees that could be obtained at our local technical College: phlebotomist, lab tech, maintenance technician, LPN
My grandparents did ok with their 8th grade education, but their classmates who finished high school did much better.
My parents’ generation did ok with their high school diplomas, but those with college degrees did much better.
My generation has done ok with a college degree. The folks that didn’t have one were pretty devastated by the great recession.
Sure, there are probably people employed in great jobs that you could do and would like to have with only a high school diploma. But, they probably also have lots of work experience to make up for that. How does a new hs grad build that experience in today’s economy? Usually through some form of College - technical, community or four year
First, what are your stats? If you are lower income and have good stats, there are colleges with special scholarships. If you have average stats, your best bet is to try and find the most affordable university, checking the graduation rate.
There’s a tool on each college website that calculates how much your family would have to pay if you got into that college; they look at your parents’ income, your assets, and sometimes your test scores. The result is thus different for every college and every student, so it is CRUCIAL to run that NPC on every college. You will be able to get $5,500 in federal, partially subsidized loans. Any college that expects you to take on more isn’t worth it.
In short, the choice isn’t either get into life crushing debt or don’t go to college: the real choice is between affordable colleges that admitted you. The real, hard work is finding these colleges, so if you give us your stats, if you"re interested in any major, and what state you live in, we can help you.
Second, do you like learning? Do you wish to attend college?
You shouldn’t go to college just to kill time after goofing off in high school. But if you’re serious about learning, going to college means you grow intellectually, you learn stuff that you don’t even know exists and you can do things you didn’t know you were capable of, and in so doing, you become “mentally flexible” in ways that make you more employable than just a HS diploma.
Finally, the reality of the 21st century is that most stable jobs require a degree. It can be a short-term certificate from the community college, an AS or AA, or a 4-year degree. Most HS-diploma-only are jobs where you cannot make ends meet, that won’t let you earn enough to ever own a house or save for retirement, where your wages and hours can be cut, where career prospects are low or nonexistent. Can you imagine working the fries for Arby’s for 50 years, every day they allow you to work? Going to college gives you a chance to find something else, either something you’ll love doing, or at least something that pays better and is more stable. In addition, a 4-year degree opens the door to even more advancement and even more jobs, since having a 4-year degree is the first step toward becoming an executive, a specialized nurse, a lawyer, a teacher…
For some careers, college is not necessary. However, that does not mean that no formal training or education is also not necessary. The best paying and most stable skilled labor careers require extensive apprenticeship programs, and a certain amount of “book learning” in order to pass licensing exams.
Depending on where you live and the demands of the local job market, apprenticeship programs and technical training can be free - or even draw a small salary. Even when tuition is charged, there usually are scholarships available. For example where I live, the local automobile dealers pay most of the cost of the automechanics program at our community college because they want a steady supply of well-prepared entry-level mechanics. The graduates walk straight into good-paying jobs after about one year of training. Students who decide they do want to go on to college, can complete an AA degree, and transfer to a 4 year university, but with a skill set that will help them pay for that further education. Some programs at our community college (certified nurses aid, certified apartment maintenance technician, pharmacy tech, etc.) are only a month or two long and lead to immediate employment. Of those a CNA job can mean that the hospital or care center where the person works will help pay to upgrade the training to an RN and eventually BSN.
You have gotten some great responses here. If you take time to read through @MYOS1634’s post and answer some of the questions, people on this forum can give you more specific suggestions.
If you have a trade or are really entrepreneurial, or have some kind of family business you could be involved with, perhaps college isn’t necessary. I have noticed, however, that one of the wonderful things about higher education is that it increases the likelihood that you will have more control over and autonomy in whatever career you pursue. That’s a pretty big deal.
I do believe that some people (many of my grad school friends fall into this group) spent a lot of $ and time on education that they do not use in a practical sense because they stay home with children and never really resume working. I think there are still significant benefits to being an informed citizen and being educated, but the ROI may not pencil out financially.
If you don’t think it is worth it, don’t go.
I have a number of young relatives in the trades. They had/have talents that wouldn’t be typical in a 4 yr degree. My nephews are very talented carpenters. They start an early day. They choose their hours and make a killing on their fees. Their cousins are electricians and plumbers who were journeyman. They are fair and like their work and make extremely good money without having to work weekends.
I thought you were interested in some sort of healthcare career. I think college is required for some of the positions you mentioned in your other thread.
Yeah I was just wondering if it wasn’t a good option
This is a great place to ask questions and get good information as you make plans for your future. It is important to realize that you have multiple options, ranging in costs, and several levels of healthcare jobs that range in their education requirements.
This actually is not true. The average college graduate earns almost $1 million more over her working lifetime than the average high school graduate. Even the most expensive universities don’t cost anywhere near $1 million.
Another way to put it is that average earnings for high school graduates is about $26,000, whereas average earnings for college graduates is about $45,000. That’s a huge quality of life difference.
BUT there are some trades that you can go into with post-high school training or an associate’s degree, especially in the medical field. Some of these pay pretty well, almost what you could expect to make as a bachelor’s degree grad.
Another thing to consider is how the work is performed and what that means for your older years.
Most good to great paying jobs with my company require a degree and is “thinking work”. The oldest person here is 70+ years old and is easily able to do the work since it is not physically difficult. He is valued for his experience.
I have a friend who does a physical job where degrees are not required. It has broken her body at only 45 years of age and she should have left this job years ago. The pay is good and she gets overtime but she now needs back and shoulder surgery because the work she does. There is no way she will be able to do this job until she is ready to retire, there are severely limited opportunities to move to non-physical work, and it is a problem for her.