Importance of a College Degree Essay Example

Have you been taken advantage of in your education? 40% of people say they are not using their degree at their day-to-day jobs (McDermott). Some colleges require students to take certain classes to the point of a degree, even if that class is insignificant to the actual degree the student is trying to achieve. Many people also say that their degree is just something that helped them get a job, but not something that helped them complete their work at said job.

In order to become a nurse, you have to become certified and licensed in the medical field you are pursuing. Should you choose to seek higher education in the medical field, you will have to obtain a degree because you will need to use that level of knowledge to function in your chosen work field. This is an example of a degree being a necessity. While most jobs require a degree, more than anything an employer is looking for experience. A person with a bachelor’s degree and minimal experience is less likely to get the job as opposed to someone who has years of experience and no degree. The percentage of employers that are willing to hire staff members this way is increasing throughout the years, thus emphasizing that a degree is not always worth the time and money. 

Another reason people are hesitant when getting a degree is that they are unsure if the work they will be doing will be enjoyable to them. A degree is not worth the time and money if the job is not enjoyable, and many people become more stressed out when trying to obtain a degree. It is common knowledge that school is stressful, but how much stress is too much? Many students obtain their degrees with no hindsight for what is coming. Job shadowing is something that a lot of students forget about, or they think it is a waste of time because they like what they are doing in class. Many graduating students pursue the career of their degree and end up having to go to training because their classes taught them how to think, and not how to implement those thoughts into their work. 

Have you ever met a college student that has changed their major more than once? If you ask them why they changed their career path, most will tell you it was because the work they were required to do did not give them the experience they needed to be successful in that field, or because they wouldn’t actually be using their degree at that job because, for example, you only type and make copies. My sister is a very good example of what happens when early onset burnout occurs. She has changed her major at least four times, and each time she has said that the excitement of the work, in the beginning, became the downfall in the end. She went so far into one of her majors that she became a certified EMS and was content for a while, and then the adrenaline wore off and she was drained all the time because of the high stress levels and experiences she had in that ambulance. My sister says her other majors just weren’t what she was looking for and the only reason she pursued a major in those fields was because of how they were presented to her.

Many colleges that come to speak to students focus on what their audience is interested in. The college representatives are also trained in marketing strategies to try to convince their audience to take their classes because they need the funding or the body count to help make their college eligible for awards. This is also another reason why people do not use their degree as much as they think they would, due to the fact that they are presented and very dressed up (Abel, Deitz). Too many college representatives make their classes out to be something life changing and approach recruitment like a business opportunity, instead of keeping the students' best interest in mind. A degree is not something that someone should tell a white lie to you about, because they are playing with your future.

Debt is also a big concern with the workforce. Is this degree I’m pursuing going to pay itself off with the money it will get me, or can I do this without a degree and leave with even less debt? This is a common question among college students, me included. Another common question is whether or not a field of degree is worth it, or if trade school would be better suited for the amount of money that would pay off the tuition fee. A college degree is becoming worth less and less every year because of the demand for trade workers. Many people don’t understand that a degree will not pay itself off within a year, but a certificate from a trade school, will.

Another aspect of the decision to get a degree is whether or not the degree will be worth withstanding the professor. Many college teachers only teach because it’s their job, and not to help their students learn. That is also another reason why students often change their major. The students do not have the correct alignment in the course due to the professor not caring if someone understands what they teach or not. Is the degree worth having to deal with a horrible teacher?

What does it take to get a degree? Countless hours of studying, crying, screaming, and failures. When it comes to the final decision, you need to decide whether or not the countless hours of emotional and physical turmoil will be worth it. All of the time you spend trying to further your education may be in vain if the career you are pursuing is not relevant to the degree, or if the degree simply is not applicable in the career you choose because the work in that career is not at all what you learned in college. It is up to the student to choose whether or not he or she needs a degree to be successful in their work once their schooling is over. 

Many graduates and current students are not given the full picture when it comes to the jobs they wish to pursue. As previously stated, many employers do not require a degree, but there are still instances where a degree is required. However, if you cannot pay your degree off within a reasonable amount of time, that degree will be your downfall financially, especially if the job you wish to obtain does not pay adequately.