Is a University Degree Necessary to Success? Essay Example

In the past decade or so, the United States has been transformed from a manufactured based economy to knowledge and technology based world. Today a college education is just as important as a high school education was fifty years ago. A college degree is the foundation of a stable future. There are many reasons why a college degree is so important and necessary today. People who obtain a college education have a higher lifetime wages earned than people who do not have a college degree. This fact alone ensures a better quality of life for the college graduate. In today’s world, most employers prefer to hire persons who have a college degree or some type of technical certification. People without college educations are limited to the manufacturing and construction industries because these two industries are still based upon “working your way to the top”.  It is very possible that a person with only a high school diploma may obtain a job that pays well and provides great benefits; it is more likely that a college graduate will. A college degree is difficult to obtain for most, but it is well worth the difficulty in the long run.

A college degree provides one with the essential tools to compete in the world market for employment. The most important part of obtaining a college degree is the fact that one has a diploma that certifies that he/she is qualified to perform a certain job. When employers are in the process of hiring a new employee, they go through many resumes. Most employees are looking at the education section of the resumes to help them narrow their search. Most resumes without a college degree added will be discarded. Employers are looking for potential candidates that will be an asset to the company, but will require minimum investment of company money and training.

A college degree is beneficial because college students gain a wealth of experience and they have an opportunity to network with professors and fellow students. College professors often relay their personal experiences and failures with their students. Networking is so important. The old cliché, “It’s not what you know, but who you know”, is still true today. Often college students make lasting friendship through sororities and fraternities, campus organizations, work study appointments, and various other connections. College students have the opportunity to attend job fairs, research programs, and mentorships. These connections can be used later to secure jobs. In some cases, college students have a job secured before they even graduate. For example:

College also helps to discipline students. People who are lazy or procrastinators usually don’t make good employees. Likewise, these types of people don’t usually make good students. Most students who cannot manage their time and prioritize never obtain a college degree. So, the fact that a potential employee has received a college degree tells employers that the person has a drive to complete tasks. The college world is structured; students who are success are able to adapt to this world and meet deadlines and stay on task with various things going on around them. So, when a student has obtained a college degree it demonstrates that he/she has the ability to meet deadlines, work under pressure, and produce quality work. These are three skills that a many employers are looking for.

In recent years, members of minority groups have expressed that a college degree is especially important to them. A survey conducted concluded that Asian, Latinos, and African Americans believe that a four year college degree is necessary for them to be successful in life. Some minorities even said that they believe they value a college degree more than non-minorities because they feel that they have to be twice as good to be chosen over non-minority candidates. Likewise, about 70 percent of Latinos agreed with the statement, while only about 47 percent of whites agreed that a college degree was necessary to their success ( Bower & Wolverton, 2009). One African American woman interviewed stated that she saw how hard her mother worked to take care of them, so she knew that she would have to find a better route. She knew that obtaining a college degree was imperative. Many of minorities agreed that they are treated differently when they interview for a job. They don’t feel that they are expected to be intelligent and are usually hired for only entry level jobs. Bower & Wolverton (2009) discuss how African American women view success and leadership. The book focuses on women who have reached great heights in their careers and how they credit a college degree with making their successful life possible. They discuss how difficult it is to be accepted as successful in a male oriented arena. For them, the measure of success is when they are able to acquire jobs that are usually dominated by men. For example, one woman interviewed said, “If it were not for my college degree, I know I would be doomed to a mediocre job that would not pay enough for me to provide for my family in a respectable way” (Bower & Wolverton, 2009 ).

Being a first generation college graduate is very important to students who have parents who did not have the opportunity to attend college. Minorities can especially relate to this because for African American, being able to read and write was punishable by death. As a result, parents and grandparents of African Americans stress the important of their children obtaining a college degree. Even within the African American communities, gaining a college degree is very important. When one has been a part of a community that was denied access to education, it becomes a community effort.  As the overall college graduation rates of minorities increase, groups that are typically underrepresented have a realistic goal to aspire to. So, when minorities receive college degrees, they are inspiring other minorities to do likewise. Cox (2009) discusses the fear that many college students have of failing because their communities and family members have invested so much in their success. Cox interviewed various students from universities and colleges across the United States that were enrolled in English courses. He noted that many of the students that he interviewed would be considered failures by society because they did not obtain a college degree or enrolled and dropped-out for various reasons. He discussed some of the self-undermining behaviors that college students have that hinders them from completing college. “I would never be able to graduate anyway, so I might as well drop out now”, ( Cox, 2009) is a common excuse that students tell themselves.  Many of them cannot commit to goals or miss too many class meetings. He feels they do this in order to down play how challenged they feel to complete college and obtain a degree. As a result, if they do fail they will be able to say that they just didn’t apply themselves. He also examined the views of people who about community colleges. He argues that colleges should address the fear factor that students face.

Although a college degree is necessary to success, there are some barriers that hinder or prolong the time needed to obtain a degree.  For example, poor high school academic success can become a major road block to students who want to obtain a college degree after graduation. Students who have not maintained a good grade point average may find that they have to attend a local community college before be accepted into a four year institution. This allows the student to work hard and strengthen their grade point averages. Nonetheless, this often wastes valuable time for the student because he/she is only taking basic courses in preparation for the four year college. So, it is wise if any student who intends to attend college maintain a solid grade point average in high school. On the other hand, some students are academically prepared for college, but are just financially unable. These students find themselves with a great dilemma. Many of them just decide to borrow the money; other students decide to work part-time and attend college. Some students may even work full-time and attend night classes. However, all of these produce other dilemmas. Some students find it difficult to manage their time between work and school. As a result, academics often go lacking. Some eventually give up and begin working full time and never finish obtaining a college degree. Also, there is the myth that some degrees are more apt for success than others. Dietz(2009) discusses the debate over whether or not certain major guarantees the success of a particular student. With the costs of college degrees gradually increasing nearly every year, parents, students, and counselors are trying to make sure that college graduates degrees are worthwhile in the future. Consequently, researchers are trying to determine if the choice of college major has any bearings on the success of the student or if any one major is more likely to be more successful than another. Finally, Dietz stated, Success truly depends upon the person, but having a college degree definitely decreases the odds of failure”( Dietz, 2009 ).

Non-traditional students face even more barriers when trying to obtain a college degree. Non-traditional students are those that don’t fit the ideal of what a college student is. These students are typically older and are carrying many family and personal responsibilities that ideal college students are not. However, it has been documented that non-traditional students have success just as traditional students. For example, “Nationally, non-traditional students have lower completion rates than traditional students. However, a longitudinal study proved that , five years after enrolling, only 26.7% of non-traditional students had achieved their objective of an associate degree compared with 53.4% of traditional students” (Dietz, 2009) Barrow & Rouse(2012), examine how financial incentives can motivate students to work more diligently in class. They noted that females tend to be more enticed by financial benefits; however, male students were less motivated by financial benefits. The authors insist that this rule is true for adult life and success too. They believe that students who equated money with success were more apt to do well if the reward was monetary. While for most males, success is equated with self-efficacy and personal satisfaction. Likewise, some students drop-out of school when they begin working because they feel the money they are making will be efficient for what they want at the time.

A college degree is the ultimate foundation for one’s future. A proper education helps one to reach goals and become an effective member of society. With a great education comes more choices and opportunities to live a successful and happy life. Earning adequate money to provide for one’s family is the number one reason why so many people choose to obtain a college degree. For minorities, obtaining a degree is very important because they have lived firsthand the barriers caused by being uneducated. Consequently, minority communities’ support and influence young people to obtain college degrees. People without college degrees are limited to the types of jobs and incomes they can obtain. While those with college degrees have many choices and earn much more money than those without college degrees. There are so many advantages to obtaining a college degree. College graduates have a better income and access to healthcare services, which ensure a healthier, more productive life. The 21^st century is called the knowledge economy. Jobs that pay great wages, especially those in the manufacturing field, require manual labor, long hours, and often dangerous circumstances. The jobs that people worked 50 years ago are constantly being phased out through the development of new technology. A college degree does not guarantee success, but it definitely makes success more possible. Consequently, anyone who can obtain a college degree should. It requires hard work, diligent study habits, time, and devotion, but it is worth all of that. Education ensures a great future is possible.