A College Degree As A Need In Order To Be Successful

Is a college degree needed in order to be successful? To Americans, a college degree is a necessity in order to be seen as successful. In Blue Collar Brilliance, Mike Rose discusses how intelligence should not be based on someone schooling, however, based on multiple resources and past experiences that can be applied now and being successful now. Sabrio and Burchfield discuss how, “many people in the traditional academic settings have tended to define in certain ways…]” however, there are multiple intelligences that may not necessarily require a college degree. The Economist article analyzes multiple perspectives evaluating if college is even worth it. A college degree does not guarantee one to be successful nor does not obtain a college degree guarantee success.

A college degree has always been glamorized in society as being the gateway to future success however, it is not necessarily a requirement in achieving future success. Unknowingly, to society, college is not just about obtaining a degree in under four years and when one graduate there is an automatic job lined up and boom success. Unfortunately, if that was a case I am pretty sure a lot more people would be here. The college has a variety of different majors, and choosing a major field of study can be extremely hard especially for fairly new adults, asking an 18 year where do you see yourself in 10 years? Or What would you like to pursue in the near future? Is not necessarily the topic of discussion when they don’t even know what they want to wear in the morning.

First-year students like myself, are trying to an adaptation to our new environment, learning how to balance classes with school work, studying, eating, tutoring, sleeping. In the midst of that, there are students who were forced to attend to college, others in the near future will change their majors multiple times before deciding what they would like to pursue, some entertain majors that do not necessarily fit their desire, and some are going to drop out due to financial reasons, college not being for them, joining the workforce, are not academically prepared for college. Many students find themselves overwhelmed, and view college as a form of gaining intelligence, a way to show the world I am just as smart as anyone who has there bachelor's degree. Society brainwashes this generation into thinking they are not intelligent if they do not do things a certain way, for example, going straight into college right after high school gaining a college degree to be seen as successful in the eye of the world. Intelligence “should be defined more broadly” because one tends to perceive it as people who are doctors, lawyers, accountants the upper class. Society needs to, “acknowledge that people have different cognitive strengths and contrasting cognitive”.

College is not for everyone, however, there are a variety of alternatives other than college such as trade schools. Vocational schools should be advertised more often in the public eye, Barack Obama expressed how, “folks can make a lot more money” by learning a trade “than they might with an art history degree” which is surprising hearing from a former president, but what if what he saying is in fact true. There are student wasting thousands of dollars, tending a university of their parents' liking, to achieve their parent's dream but it is not necessarily what the student desires, when the student could have easily gone to a vocation school obtained a trade and joined the workforce in what they desired allowing for their destined success. America places a high value on white collar jobs and considers blue collar jobs as the low class and unintelligent which I disagree with. Blue collar jobs, “define the world of adults, a place where competence is synonymous with physical work”. For example, “a waitress is the kind of work that demands both body and brain acquiring knowledge and intuition about the ways and rhythms of the restaurant business. A job such as a waitress is not taken into consideration how much work ethic is involved. College is not for everyone and that’s okay, there are a variety of jobs that do not necessarily require a college degree that also does not mean one is unintelligent. Obtaining a college degree does not ensure job security when one graduates, “Styles graduated from Kennesaw State University in 2006 with a Spanish degree as well as $35,000 of student debt … and found herself working in a clothing shop… for no more than $11 an hour as a result many find themselves questioning the path of college. The high rise of college tuition also plays a huge role in why one may choose the workforce rather than the average student who goes to four colleges to obtain a degree in a field. The lack of understanding that there are different alternatives other than college affects students decision into allowing them to know what is best for them.

In conclusion, we learn that is not just about being intelligent and showing proof of a degree at hand to be seen or known as successful. It is about the ability to know yourself, knowing your strength and weaknesses and your capabilities. College is not for everyone and there is a variety of different option that students do not know because they are forced by teachers, parent, and schools, to go the average path college and obtain a degree that one does not necessarily how to use or what do with.