You do Need a College Education: Here’s Why
March 14, 2009
If you have ever asked yourself whether it is worth it or not to pursue a college degree, you have probably first considered the economic aspects. It is clear from all available evidence that someone with a college degree will earn more in his or her lifetime than someone who does not have a degree. However there even more compelling reasons to continue your education beyond high school and I would like to present them to you.
A degree is a credential that will open many doors for you, but once you walk through those doors people will expect you to “deliver the goods” and perform well. Your performance depends on how well you can use your mind and that is what education is all about.
Memorization of facts is not what education is all about. If you are in college you will have to memorize much and to write meaningful answers but the particular facts and answers that you provide will one day become out dated, and you will also not be able to remember them even a few weeks after the exam.
Most likely, whoever is going to employ you will probably not be looking for someone who can merely recite memorized information, but will want someone with a “good head on his or her shoulders.” Should you continue your education and get a college degree, you will develop your thinking capacity and your creative capacity. This is the true value of higher education and is what would-be employers are really looking for.
There is something else that higher education can give you. It is a capacity to express your ideas clearly and convincingly. Even if you can think well and think creatively, you will need to explain your ideas to others and in many cases to convince them that your approach is the correct one. If you pursue a college education you will develop your writing skills and expressive capacity. These expressive skills will end up being much more important than memorization of information that will one day be either forgotten or no longer valid.
There is however one more thing that will get if you continue your education and get a college degree. You will develop a love of learning and the ability to learn even when you are not in school. Education does not stop after you attend your last class or get your degree. It can continue for the rest of your life. All you have to do is to feed your mind with the wealth of information that is available through books, the mass media, the Internet and whatever else is coming in the future.
Go ahead, get your college degree. You can do it with an online degree program or you can enroll on a traditional campus. However you do it, you will get something that is priceless.
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