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Every high school senior is bombarded with a multitude of questions regarding their plans for the following year. Most of their plans consist of applying to a two or four-year school. The increasingly large number of students attending college begs the question: What is the purpose of college? Are these students attending in hopes to live a life filled with parties and missing their “8 arms”? Are these students attending in hopes to find themselves and fill their minds with wisdom? Or are all the students attending in hopes that one day they will be financially stable, thanks to their college degree? I will argue that the ultimate purpose of college is not for a certain type of intellectual or personal growth or to further democracy, but to learn the necessary information for career preparation, so one can earn a financially stable career.
College prepares students for their careers by giving them the necessary knowledge.
One of the main reasons why people attend college is to prepare for the workforce.
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Our society often pressures students to pick a career that gives easy access to a suitable job. In Mark Edmundson's article, “Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here? A Word to the Incoming Class,” he discusses the faultiness in higher institutes of education. One of the mistakes he believes is that society puts too much pressure on students to attend college solely for a beneficial job. Edmundson states, “To almost everyone, university education is a means to an end. For students, that end is a good job” (Edmundson 407).
This quote helps support that most students believe the purpose of college is earning a degree that gives access to a good job. This then pushes students to take classes only of their desired field of work. College often forces students on a direct pathway to a degree with little to no room to explore. In the article, “What is College For?” prominent people in education reveal what they feel is the purpose of higher schooling. Phyllis M. Wise, chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign believes, “We must provide students with the tools and skills necessary for gainful employment” (“What is College For?”). This further supports the idea that college is focused on providing knowledge for career prep. Ultimately, students learn what they need to succeed in their careers and the workforce that follows.
Additionally, a college education allows students to participate in the skilled labor force, granting them a suitable amount of money necessary for life. It is often too difficult to live off a job that does not require a college education. Almost always, the careers that require some type of college degree or certification pay more in comparison to jobs with no requirements. In Andrew Delbanco’s book, he discusses the three reasons why students attend an institution. He elaborates on the financial gain a college degree grants, “One authority claims that those who hold a BA degree earn roughly 60 percent more, on average, over their lifetime than those who do not” (Delbanco 25). Although it varies per state, living off the minimum wage salary is often too hard and not nearly possible. College students choose to go to college to avoid this struggle and live comfortably. In addition, Delbanco believes another reason is for economic competitiveness, “A college degree long ago supplanted the high school diploma as the minimum qualification for entry into the skilled labor market” (Delbanco 25). In our society today, we are brought up knowing that a college degree is a main and minimum requirement for a suitable job in the workforce, as Delbanco states. Students pursue higher education not because they have a want or passion, but because it is what society forces them to do. If they neglect to further their education then they run the risk of living a life working a minimum wage job that stunts them for a financially suitable life.
Delbanco also refers to this idea in his essay, quoting Harry Lewis, the former dean of Harvard who claims, “students attend college in the hopes of becoming financially successful, but … offer students neither a coherent view of the point of a college education nor any guidance on how they might discover themselves some larger purpose in life”(Delbanco 24). Lewis protest that higher institutes of education are forgetting to teach the true fundamentals of education and because of that, the college has a new reputation of being a necessary step to becoming financially successful. Lewis agrees that one of the main purposes of college is to gain the common base level requirement for the jobs in the skilled workforce. If a degree is not obtained then it leaves students working a minimum wage job for a multitude of hours for less pay, which is surely not a financial success. Essentially as time has evolved, a college degree has become the minimum necessity for access into a financially successful career path.
As stated previously, students attend college for the main purpose of obtaining a degree for a financially successful career path. This point is often supported by political figures because they want a society filled with a large skilled workforce. Not only does this look good in comparison to other countries, but it also helps the country stay ahead. Delbanco refers to Richard Riley, former secretary of education under President Clinton who claims, “We are currently preparing students for the jobs that don’t yet exist using technologies that haven’t been invented to solve problems that we don’t even know are problems yet”(Delbanco 25). In other words, Riley talks about how our students are being prepared for labor that is not currently present, but when the time comes, we will have the people ready to be employed. Politicians support colleges that are pushing career prep because “more people with a college education is good for the economic health of the nation”(Delbanco 25). The benefit of a country with a large skilled workforce is a more productive economy, which is very important to politicians. Along with the societal pressures of earning a financially supportable degree, some politicians are pushing employees for careers that are yet to be created.
All in all, the purpose of college is to obtain a degree that gives easy access to a suitable career. Many different renowned writers and politicians support this theory. The college focuses on preparing students with skills pertaining only to their desired career path. Also, society forces students to feel as if college is the only choice after high school to avoid living a life working a minimum wage job. Politicians agree with the purpose of college being related to career paths because a large skilled workforce helps improve the economy. Ultimately, a student who is preparing for their first year of college should expect a lot of information to be directed towards their career. Our society makes it very well known that college is an essential stepping stone in life to a financially comfortable lifestyle. With all being said, the purpose of college is to obtain a degree as quickly as possible and start making money.
A Stepping Stone to Financial Success. (2022, Feb 22). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/a-stepping-stone-to-financial-success-essay
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