Why go into debt for a piece of paper anyway? A college education can start at $10,000 and go up from there. In fact, a public institution Bachelor’s degree has been recently estimated at more than $45,000. Is it really worth it? I can tell you from first hand experience that it is absolutely worth the time and expense. There are several reasons why a college education is not only a good idea; but, a necessity in the job market of tomorrow. I will get to those in a minute. First things first…. 

A college education is most definitely an investment: paying upfront for larger, future returns. Sometimes all we can see is the money going out to student loans, fees, and credit card debt. What we don’t see about an education are the benefits that those payments and all that hard work can secure. 

The Payoff

1.    The Job: employers are increasingly making a college degree a requirement for employment, particularly for high-income producing careers such as engineering, sales, marketing, management, and Information Technology. Not surprisingly, these are some of the fastest growing jobs on the market.

2.    The Security: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that individuals holding a Bachelor’s degree are nearly 50% less likely to be unemployed than those holding a high-school diploma.

3.    The Income: according to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2003 a male high school graduate earned a median income of $35,412 while a male holding a Bachelor’s degree earned $56, 502. This difference of over $21,000 could go a long way toward paying off student loans!

4.    The Promotion: it is also no secret that a person holding a Bachelor’s or a Master’s degree moves through the executive ranks more expeditiously than those who do not have a degree. These, of course, are broad generalizations; but, the fact remains that many people get passed over for the executive suite because their education was incomplete.  

Continual learning is essential for career and personal development. Some people might say “It is just a piece of paper.” Well, for many employers it what that piece of paper stands for that really matters: commitment and perseverance to a challenge. And, ultimately that is what makes it valuable to the graduate.  

The financial aspect of a college degree can be discouraging. Fortunately, we live in a nation where educational resources are plentiful. There are no-cost, low-cost, and deferred alternatives that make earning a degree accessible to just about anyone with the intestinal fortitude to pursue it.    

Helen Keller graduated from Radcliffe Magna cum Laude and spoke five languages. When it comes to education, the expense is not tuition. The real expense of not getting a degree are: missed opportunity; lower wages; and higher unemployment.