These days, almost 65% of Americans graduate from college. Each year, over two million high school kids enroll in a college. Many jobs require at least a bachelor’s degree, and some higher end jobs even require a master’s degree. Because of the need for an advanced degree, most young people think that a bachelor’s degree is the only way to get a decent paying job; however, college is not necessary to make a living.
Countless jobs that pay adequately do not require a college degree. Most of these jobs are not exceptionally challenging, and can be accomplished with only a few years of studying and experiencing work life. Additionally, many of these jobs pay more than a lot of jobs that require college degrees that are available. Some popular jobs that do not require a degree are medical assistant, insurance sales agent, and MRI technologist. There are a lot of blue collar jobs available which do not require a college degree and have their own challenges. These jobs can be picked up after less than a year or two of training/studying, instead of going through several years of college. As a doctor starts his career, the policeman would have already been established, since he would have been making a steady income, while the college graduate would have been accruing debt. Thus a monetary analysis yields the result that between a high school graduate and a college graduate, the high school graduate often gets a leading role.
Applying and paying off college is tremendously expensive, considering all the costs that go into it. A few of the leading factors related to college affordability include the net tuition (how much you pay for number of years), the student loan debt, and the college major. For private schools, the net tuition is over $150,000 dollars for 4 years of studying, and public schools require well over $80,000. The student loan debt can also lead to thousands of dollars of debt that students need to pay off. During that time, high school graduates can earn money and outpace college graduates in salary and perks. This can take upwards of 10 years to clear. During this length of time, students with a job that do not need a degree can save up a huge amount of money. For example, policemen have six months of basic training and then can start earning money while a college student would have three and a half more years to stay in college.
Becoming a college graduate does not even guarantee a sufficient salary. Nowadays, numerous college degrees/majors pay very little money. For instance, a teacher could spend her entire life chasing a six figure salary while a fisherman could make that money in a single season. Although a handful of majors are lucrative, it can take up to 10 years to master these jobs, since after the four years of college, they must become an intern and/or residents to experience the field. Because of this extensive training, many young people do not strive for these jobs, and simply desire an easier kind of education. However, many of these kinds of jobs have a very low annual salary. What is equally discouraging is that the salary of someone in these fields will barely increase even after 15 years of continuous work in the profession. Some examples of the areas that remain static are child and family studies, social work, athletic training, and (surprisingly) music and art.
Going to college is not mandatory for all students who simply wish to make a living. In fact, many people who choose not to pursue a degree in higher education can outperform as their college graduate counterparts. The belief that all jobs with good salaries require college degrees is a myth, as these days, many high paying jobs do not require a college degree.
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