At the very moment that I got fired from my last job my mind went into overdrive. I was thinking about all the what if's when it occurred to me, what if I went to college? I made the decision to further my educational needs because I was tired of always being the low man on the pole, and only being able to get some kind of physical labor job. A college education is becoming a necessity instead of an option. Once someone has graduated from college or a type of higher learning facility, their options greatly expand. Not only could they qualify for the physical work, but as well as, working in larger companies, or even corporate operations. The quality of their lives will change by having the opportunity to start higher on the company roster rather than the bottom. They will be able to make more money in their career choice, and they will be able to save more money in return as well. The more money they make the nicer things they can buy if they are materialistic. They will be able to send their children to better schools, and possible the college of their own choosing, and not have to worry about finances. Mostly, they will be able to look for a career rather than a job to just get by. That is what everyone should strive to accomplish.
Having a career doesn't necessarily mean more money, it just means that they have the opportunity to get well versed in their career choice and use their college education for the rest of their working life. When people know that they have job security, they have less stress in their life. They know that they will be able to get up and go to work the same as they did the day before. People need to think about job security and think about if their job/career will still be there tomorrow or the next day, instead of worrying about if they will get their monthly raise. They need to stop worrying about buying the newest thing just to show it off to their also money hungry friends. What would they do if there was a sudden downsizing of their company, and they were left out in the cold? They could probably sell all the "must haves" that they thought they needed to survive for a little while. They will realize that they should have been stashing their money instead of spending it. Where as, they one with the college education will have no problems finding more work because of their educational background. This comes back to more options being available.
According to Bok, "During the 1960's, freshman entering college we chiefly interested in developing values and a meaningful philosophy of life. Out of those freshmen, only 40 percent felt that making "a lot of money" was an important goal. By the mid 1970's, their priorities reversed. Making "a lot of money" was now very important to 75 percent of entering students." People are getting greedy. It seems as if they are putting their own lives on the back burner. They no longer care about happiness in their work place as long as they can buy the newest toys as soon as they come out. Quality of life should be more important that financial gain. If they are not happy going to work, motivation factors diminish quickly. Where as if they are happy in their field of choice they enjoy going to work, and they look forward to it. Money is a great perk of course, but happiness is the key that they should strive for. Without happiness are only going to your job for the money. Yes, they will be able to pay their bills, but may hate the reflection in the mirror every morning thinking that they sold out. The moment that they sell out, they know it will not be a happy job/career. They thought about the decision before it was presented to them, and now that its in front of them, money became the biggest issue. When, according to Kevin Carey, "wages of college-educated workers rose dramatically relative to those of less educated American" "In the mid-1970's, graduates earned about 40 percent more than people with high school diplomas. "The gap has relentlessly widened since then and stands near 100 percent today. "In Fact. college graduates are the only category of workers whose real pay has increased since 1979." So now what is there not to be happy about? It is not always the fact that the more money you make, the happier you would be, although this tends to be the case in this day and age. So this study just proves that having a degree from college will produce more money.
Being able to start higher in a company is a great accomplishment for anyone. Starting at the bottom like most non-college graduates do the money will not be great, and chances are that they will not like the position they are in, and will want to quit their job before given the chance to advance. Starting higher up in the company will give them a greater sense of self achievement, which in return will make them want to come to work and enjoy it. People that have power always seem to be happier. Also, according to Carey, " There is strong evidence America needs more people to earn college degrees, not fewer. "The Georgetown university Center on Education and the Workforce has projected that if current trends continue, the nation will produce three million fewer college graduates by 2018 than the labor market will require." This means that there will be three million more jobs/careers available and will not be able to be filled because of their lack of education. So again, having a college degree vastly opens doors that would normally be shut with only a high school diploma. More choices, more advancement, more money, and more happiness. There is nothing left behind when people get their education. Granted, people may spend money to go to college, but it would be well worth it in the end. Having more opportunities just seems like a logical choice.
When people have a career, they have stability in their lives. They will know what to expect in their day to day routines (depending on the profession they choose). it would become somewhat repetitious, which is where the happiness comes into play. Enjoying what they do makes the repetition seem worth it. Where as only having a job where they are working to just get by, doing repetitious things seem overwhelming and tedious making them seem worthless in that aspect. They will more than likely have more call offs from work because they hate working in the mail room or whatever position they accepted.
Caroline bird also says that "If money is the only goal, college is the dumbest investments you can make" This just confirms that happiness needs to be a big aspect in their career choice. Getting a college education may be a stressful, tedious task, and may not be for everyone, but for those that choose to complete this task, greater opportunities become available.
Bok, Derek. "College and the Well-Lived Life." Chronicle Of Higher Education 56.21 (2010): A36-A37. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Bird, Caroline. 'College is a waste of Time and Money". Norton Reader. 13th ed. Marilyn Moller. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc, 2012. Pgs 372-380. Print.
CAREY, KEVIN. "College For All?." Wilson Quarterly 35.4 (2011): 48-51. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
