All my life I was told that I had to go to college. Growing up as a first-generation Hispanic living in a minority-majority city, the idea of graduating from a university was equivalent to catching lightning in a bottle. It started early on with every authority figure in my life claiming this was the only route I could take to advance my family’s life and my own. My earliest memories go back to kindergarten, with every A on a test only bringing my family more hope. But of course, it didn’t stop there.
Once I reached middle school I took the opportunity to take an elective course known as AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination). I still remember the sun-lit classroom wall littered with college paraphernalia. Every few weeks there would be trips to local universities. The class solely focused on college preparation and the value of a degree.
I also found myself in the Duke Tip program, which required practice SATs every year starting in the 6th grade. With all of these resources, my teachers and family began to ask questions like “Where are you going to college?” and “What are you going to major in?” Of course, these questions only grew more frequent in high school when applying to colleges and scholarships was a requirement to graduate.
Whether it was through SAT prep, emphasis on taking high school courses for college credit, or even the GPA-centered curriculum, every conversation revolved around the all-consuming goal of college.
Now that I have made it to college…I don’t know if they were right. This is not to say that there is no value in a college education nor am I trying to imply that a college education is not a method to advancing one’s life. Yet rising tuition costs and employers’ prioritization of experience over education can make you feel like it may not be all that it is chalked up to be.
Over the last 50 years, college tuition at public universities increased by an average of 12% every decade. Since 1963, the effect of inflation on college tuition had a 747.8% increase. The average annual cost of in-state tuition and board in 1971 was $8,730 when adjusted for inflation. In comparison to the average in-state public school tuition and board in 2021 of $26,370 annually, the problem begins to emerge.
One of the major reasons people go to college is to ascend their position economically, yet it’s hard to understand how they can climb the ladder when it is just too expensive to do so?
This is the primary issue that has been posed to students today. While there is roughly a $20,000 dollar pay gap between those who have earned their bachelor’s and those who have not, the amount of student loan debt nullifies this effect.
As of this year, the average student loan debt per borrower is $37,338 for just a bachelor’s degree. According to Forbes, the average salary of someone with a bachelor’s is around $59,000. Some post-grad students take roughly 20 years to pay this off, and coupling this with the heart-wrenching interest rates, it almost seems like h the college route may not be worth it.
Money is not the only issue. According to a 2017 study from the Harvard Business School, job postings that require a bachelor’s degree rose 10% from 2007 to 2010. However, the same study also found that almost all of the postings that required the degree did not have any difference in responsibilities from those that did.
The main reason for this phenomenon was the shared belief that those with degrees were more “job-ready” Yet those same companies had the gall to admit that they do not believe those with degrees will be any better at the job.
The study also found that employers feel there is no difference in retention rates and productivity levels between those with or without a degree. Ultimately, this sentiment has led to a recent trend in doing away with the necessitation of a degree.
We can see this trend in companies like Apple, which has nearly half its US positions being filled with non-degree holders. Other tech companies have followed suit such as Tesla, IBM, and Google. This shows the growing shift in thinking, specifically the prioritization. This alone is not enough to question the value of a degree, when comparing the disparities between certain job fields.
It has the capability of shaking the very foundation of college to its greedy core.
The average salary of a general practitioner in Texas is $130,464 as of 2023. The average salary as of 2023 for a software developer is around $117,857. Jobs specifically in the tech field typically do not put major emphasis on a degree and tend to focus on whether or not the applicant can get the job done. Typically, it comes down to who has the most experience, with many jobs that tend to choose applicants who have experience in the field. As opposed to those fresh out of college, who are looking to break into the field.
If companies are going to pay you the same as a doctor who has 10-plus years of academic experience while not having a lick of schooling yourself, then why get a degree at all?
This is the question we are facing today.
I am not trying to knock the university system down per se or put no value in a degree. In fact, 83% of degree holders are employed as opposed to 69% for those with only a high school diploma. With this, degree holders typically earn more on average than non-degree holders. The issue I hope to shed light on is the entanglement of success with the status of having a degree. While having a bachelor’s degree still has value, I believe that it is also vitally important to consider other alternatives.
Trade schools are wonderful options that allow both advancement and high pay. Certain apprenticeship programs can also be a viable option when getting onto the job scene. This fanatic obsession with the Ivy League and the whole college experience in general is my issue. From a young age, I was told that going to college was my only option.
This shaped my worldview in many ways and put me in a box that I cannot get out of. You shouldn’t necessarily be dissuaded from seeking a degree rather be encouraged to stay mindful in the decision-making process.
The job world is diverse and there are so many career paths that offer advancement, are well-paid, and essential to our way of life. Not all of these require college and that is okay. When discovering what you want to do in life, don’t let yourself be boxed in by the mainstream narrative that you need a degree to be successful. You might just find your perfect job without having to go to college after all.
