Census Do you feel college is necessary?

Poll by blubeast1237.

 

It depends on what you want to do.

 

An absolute necessity? No.
As necessary as most think? Probably also no.

 

In order to have a much higher chance of getting a job you want, then Yes.

 

In a word, yes.

 

Personally no and I wish it wasn't but realistically YES.

 

I have to say it depends.

If you wanna move up Yes

but if you're content where you are, then probably not.

 

Yes, if life in poverty or near poverty doesn't feel like the right thing for you.

 

I think we're at the point where it is. Actually, I think we're getting to the point where grad school is becoming the new college - it seems like soon people are going to need extra degrees to get a good job. As it is, a lot of student do multiple majors or minors to have what they need to seem appealing.

 

Technically, it depends... but its so lopsided towards "yes" that I voted yes. So it doesn't have to be necessary, but the vast majority of times it is.

 

Yes, absolutely.

 

Like alot of the others said, depending on what you want to do then a yes, but then maybe not-depending on what you want to do.

Some better questions would be when to go-right after high school or do the "real world" thing for a year or so first. A marketable degree helps as well. And lastly the economy of course plays a roll on the timing issue as illustrated HERE.

In my case I wished I had gone when I was much younger. I had no idea then just how much chemistry, physics and biology would play a roll in the career I chose.

 

This.

I still voted "Depends" though; mostly because I know quite a few people in my career choice who did not attend university/college or dropped out of it because they could get their training through other means or already had the right connections established.

 

Honestly you can still do alot of things without college, think about if you took those 4 years and worked at another craft. The only thing is, if you don't have another craft probably started at or before highschool... Then you have nothing and by default you need college. But the only reason it's necessary for so many people (like myself) is that we're trained to expect it, and don't work on anything else.

So, basically, the longer you go without a marketable skill, the more necessary it becomes.

 

Depends. If you're taking a PhD in divinity, it's interesting, but not necessary.

If you want to be a doctor, and aren't Frank Abagnale, Jr., yes.

 

yeah i agree with all. it depends on what you want to do. back in the day, well it was recommended to go to college. however it is not for everyone. there is so much information online, one can learn so much without college. but it all depends on what you want to do

gl

 

Ditto Yak. I have a friend who does AC repair, and probably makes more than all of us. He never went to college, was making 75K a year, and now owns his own company. Think of all the computer repair people, construction company owners, mechanics, most don't go to college. Now you're thinking, well they don't make much money, well most of them make over 75K a year, with potential to work more. As an economist, I had to go to college, in fact, going back for a PhD. But, as an economist, I fully recognize the lack of trade schools, and the waste college is for some. Why should people go in debt for 4 years of college, averaging 45k of debt, to do a job they could have been trained for without going to college, been making a salary all 4 of those years, and not having debt. A welder I, basically a person who has 1 week of welding training, on average makes more than a teacher. Food for thought!

Just wanted to simulate a calculation real fast to further my point. Lets take said welder, and says he goes through the stages of welding, starting at 35K at 18, and increasing to a craftsman status in 5 years, making 55K a year. Just an average welder. Now, lets take average student, 4 years of college debt, each year costing 12K. To have the same wealth by the age of 60, the college student would have to come out making $50,580. This is assuming the college student finishes in 4 years. According to WSJ and other sources, the average salary of a 2010 student is 46K, and that's of the ones who could find a job, which is down. In 2007, the year where students found a job post college moreso than any year in the 21st century, average salary was around 41k. Lets assume a 3% increase for life, which is about par for the course unless you're a rockstar, a person who starts with 50k, will make about 112k by the time they retire, pretty good right? Well, they have the same present value net worth as a person who was a welder, using a 5% rate of return. Long story short, the pay off of college isn't great, unless you're really really smart, and can land a job making over 50K, and will retire making 6 figures. Most college students won't ever attain this. So, is college necessary, economically speaking... Depends.

 

It's possible to be succesful without college/uni. However not everyone wants to be a welder/plumber/etc. So depending on what you intend to do with your life, it might be necessary. For example, as an engineer it's pretty necessary.

 

I say it depends. As others have stated, there are those who did not go to college, yet were able
to do something amazing and became financially successful. Shoot, even though you go to college, it isn't guaranteed that you will find your "dream job"...or in this economy any job.

 

All I'm saying, is an open minded answer is: it depends. Clearly you can't be a real economist without at least a masters, and arguably a PhD.

 

But you can be a real American!

 

Hmmm I'm going to say Yes it is necessary. Finding a worthwhile well paying job is next to impossible without a college degree or some post-secondary schooling. Now some may say "Hey there are plenty of self-trained successes or what not" but I think we can agree that they are the exception to the rule. And I feel the mental benefits of college really make it necessary because it really trains you how to be a fully fledged adult.

It's uncessarily expensive though

 

I am 100% confident the entire system of college is setup to perpetuate immaturity.

 

I think it depends. There are still plenty of jobs that can be done without a college degree and some of those jobs you can move up and end up probably making more than I ever will with a college degree. My job has a very limited opportunity to move up.

But there are a large portion of jobs that do require a degree or even graduate school. The thing people really need to look at is will that college major get you the job you want. My first major (that I was 16 hours from getting a B.S. in) really has a very limited job outlook but you wouldn't hear them telling you that when I decided on it.

 

It depends.

I think that a college degree that doesn't give you skills you need for a career is absolutely useless. I mean, yes, study what you're interested in for the sake of personal development and all that, but we're talking 3+ years and many thousands of dollars in tuition costs for a degree. If it's not going to get you more earning power or job satisfaction, you'dve been better off not doing it.