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Tim Chao

English Composition II

Dr. Cassel

23 November 2019

To College or Not to College

College. It is a term/topic that has been pondered upon by student thought their academic

careers. Especially in the United States, starting from kindergarten through senior year of high

school, the academic curriculum is focused on setting students up for the pursuit of a higher edu-

cation, or simply, college. This brings up the question of, how does obtaining or not obtaining a

college degree affect one's employability, or measure one’s success? Often times success after

college is measured by whether a college degree is obtained, or not obtained. However, some re-

search suggests otherwise, and thus, there are other paths, outside of college, that can lead to suc-

cess and employment opportunities.

Through the sources selected, the common theme is that the obtainment of a college de-

gree is imperative for a multitude of reasons. One main reason is that with higher education,

comes higher affluence. As Charles Dorn states in his book, “Many students enrolled in colleges

and universities, not to acquire “useful knowledge” or even practical skills, but solely because of

“the possibilities for personal gains.” (Dorn, 178) Comparatively, in “How College Affects Stu-

dents,” the authors find the following, “recent evidence suggests that institutional quality contrib-

utes to greater degree completion.” (Mayhew et. al., 536) The correlation between the two

sources suggest that there is a disparity in degree quality based on the “reputation” of an institu-

tion. Because of this “reputation,” many prospective students are seemingly seeking out “pres-

tige” rather than the quality of education.

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Although a higher level of education is undoubtedly proven to be vital in setting oneself

up for future success, a college degree is not the only path to said success. In “The Value of Edu-

cational Degrees,” “Vocational-Technical degree holders followed a unique trajectory: pre-reces-

sion, they are mostly on par with associate’s and bachelor’s recipients, but they are hit particu-

larly hard by the recession and then rebound somewhat afterwards.” (Vuolo, 2017) This argu-

ment highlights a very interesting perspective that supports the middle ground answer to the

main question. In an ideally perfect world, individuals who hold a bachelor’s degree are afforded

the opportunities for higher paying “professional” jobs, while non-degree holders and vocational

degree holding individuals may find experience a more varied availability of jobs. This is further

made complicated in the instance of an economic recession or depression that may affect the job

availability pool. To further the discussion of the what value bachelor’s levels degrees, bring, in

the journal article “The Community College Effect Revisited,” there is an argument made on

whether associates levels degree detract from the higher degree value. “Community colleges are

controversial educational institutions, often said to simultaneously expand college opportunities

and diminish baccalaureate attainment.” (Brand et. al., 2015) While there is a visible expansion

and use for further education, associate’s programs are being rolled out to capture students in an

attempt to ensure students continue their academic careers past high school. Understandably, in a

society where college degree obtainment has been the center of discussions, is it not then, also

vitally important to weigh the benefits of a degree, even if it is just an associate degree?

On the topic of College degrees, there are many common misconceptions surrounding the

validity of degree obtainment. In an article published by the New York Times titled “Bill Gates,

College Dropout: Don’t Be Like Me,” speaks to prominent public figures who have achieved

“success” in life without a college degree, raising the misconception of, “If they didn’t need a
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college degree, the skeptics suggest, maybe you don’t need one, either.” (Leonhardt, “Bill

Gates”) As the article title reflects, Bill gates weighs in on why he believes that college degrees

are important, despite his own successes without one. Further, like inflation, if everyone is ob-

taining a college degree, at what point does a job market peak? In an article by ChangHwan Kim,

and fellow authors discovered the following, “As the proportion of population who complete a

college degree increases, an important research question is whether horizontal stratification in

education is becoming more substantial than vertical stratification in determining financial re-

wards in the labor market over the life course and, ultimately, life chances.” (Kim et. al., 2-15)

Simply, as more and more of the population obtain higher education degrees, the job market will

plateau, rendering future employment difficult, even for those with upper level education. This

helps to better understand the misconception that just because an individual holds a bachelor’s

degree, does not always mean there will be a job waiting at the end of their studies.

After spending some time on researching for this literature review, it can be concluded

that there are many questions that were raised while attempting to answer the initial question.

Further, there are many variables that need to be considered when attempting to prove whether

college degrees do or do not provide value and/or make future employment more obtainable.

While it is no secret that higher education brings value to students whom pursue it, it is also

worthwhile to note that a measure of success does not always solely befall on earning a degree

solely. Although, college degrees serve not only the purpose of employment opportunities, but it

is also a way to instill the values of hard work and dedication in the time that is required to

achieve such endeavors. Thusly, whether one pursues higher education or simply take to the

working force. The measure of one’s success is not only measure in a college degree, but also

measured in the efforts one puts forth in how one pursues one’s ultimate success.
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Works Cited

Dorn, Charles. For the Common Good a New History of Higher Education in America. 1st ed.,

Cornell University Press, 2017.

Kim, Changhwan, et al. “Field of Study in College and Lifetime Earnings in the Unite-

States.” Sociology of Education, vol. 88, no. 4, Apr. 2015, pp. 320–339., doi:

10.1177/0038040715602132.

Leonhardt, David. “Bill Gates, College Dropout: Don’t Be Like Me.” The New York Times, 3

June 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/04/upshot/bill-gates-college-dropout-dont-

be-like-me.html.

Mayhew, Matthew J. How College Affects Students 21st Century Evidence That Higher Educa-

tion Works. Vol. 3, Jossey-Bass, 2016.

Vuolo, Mike, et al. “The Value of Educational Degrees in Turbulent Economic Times: Evidence

from the Youth Development Study.” Social Science Research, vol. 57, 2016, pp. 233–

252., doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2015.12.014.