Local Educator

With summer fast approaching “back to school” season, it’s time to put some serious thought into whether or not you could benefit from starting a college degree program, or finally finishing a degree you’ve already started. There is no yes or no answer, since everybody’s situation is different, but there are some very compelling reasons to get your degree as soon as possible if your schedule allows.

The U.S. Census Bureau calculates that over an adult’s working life, high school graduates earn an average of $1.2 million; associate’s degree holders earn about $1.6 million; and bachelor’s degree holders earn about $2.1 million. The sooner you earn your degree, the sooner you can start cashing in on a higher salary, and better job satisfaction. If your highest level of education is a high school diploma, it might be time to get on with the next step of your education. The difference in lifetime earnings is .9 Million Dollars, and assuming you are 20 now, and plan on retiring at 65, that ends up averaging $20,000 per year that you are leaving on the table.

With the costs of many community colleges, trade school colleges, and online universities averaging around $6,000 per year, the case for getting a degree is pretty strong. Almost all economists agree, the individual rate of return on investment in higher education is sufficiently high to warrant the cost of tuition and opportunity costs of the time you give up to attend class.

Beyond the increased income you can expect, college graduates gain additional benefits of even higher value. Degree holders have better personal and professional mobility, increased levels of savings, higher quality of life for their children and families, and higher economic and job security. There is also a strong correlation between higher education and lifelong health, for both the degree holder and their entire families (probably due to the better benefit packages available with better paying jobs).

While the reasons for getting a degree are pretty strong, it’s all a matter of if an individual student is ready to take the plunge. Certainly personal obligations can delay the start of your educational path, but far too many students let their professional obligations dictate this decision. This is especially shortsighted when viewed against the fact that once a student has their degree, they can earn so much more than they did at their old job, even if they stay with the same employer.

My best advice is to sacrifice anything that won’t have lifelong repercussions (job, place you live, free time) to attend college as soon as possible, since the benefits you receive with a degree will last a lifetime.

Recently I was asked by a soon to be college student in my family what I thought about a certain online college which offered courses in AutoCAD drafting which she was interested in taking. Her dilemma was between taking a more traditional course of study in literature, philosophy, and other courses that she wasn’t particularly interested in, or taking online courses of a more technical and career specific nature.

I thought that the question was particularly pertinent, and it boils down to the difference between intellectual students, and career focused students. Rather than pursuing the course of study that best pleases whatever intellectual whim they may be interested in, career focused students make a calculated decision pairing their innate skills with what the economy will demand far into the future. I personally think this is the better choice.

Subordinating one’s intellectual interests for more specific job training is something to be admired, and indeed is a more classical and practical approach to education. No less a figure than Meriwether Lewis left his formal education at age 18 in order to instead learn how to manage his family farm. While his Latin may have suffered, he learned at an early age the management skills he would need to be a successful explorer.

Similarly, students of today can get ahead on their careers by studying technical and professional subjects that don’t have a lot to do with philosophy, but will provide skills which are in high demand in our technological economy. HVAC technology, aircraft maintenance, construction management, and CAD are some of the areas of study in which economists are predicting strong growth for the next twenty years.

Students who prepare themselves with formal education in high demand occupations will be insulated from the uncertainty that can come with shifts in the job market. Each student has to make this choice about what to study on their own. While a traditional liberal arts education may be right for some, it is a good bet that the more strategic approach towards career focused education will be a better choice in the long run.