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What Is The Purpose Of A College Education?

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Education is an essential part of a society. All of humanity would collapse without the process of sharing knowledge. A college education provides an opportunity to obtain a degree in which one can use their knowledge in a life-long career that provides financial stability and opens the door to self-discovery. Students will attend a college or university that offers programs related to their choice of major in which they will specialize and receive a degree. There is always a better chance for a larger income to those with a higher level of education rather than those who have not pursued a degree. “College is about preparing for life—all of life—worker, parent, community member, leader, in sum…. Preparing for a well- lived life.” (Morris 190) It is like a life preparation course that will ensure a prosperous future. As we pass down our knowledge and experiences to the younger generation, we are establishing a wiser and an improved society.

The act of discipline was fundamental through grades K-12 as it helped the students to stay on course and get good grades. It was important to obey the rules and to never fall out of line. There were consequences to one’s action if they were to violate a social norm of a school setting. Many students did not have confidence which is why they would all dress and behave the same as a way to “fit in”.

As students matured and attended college, they got freedom from the daily disciplined environment of school. There was no specific dress code for students in college. There was no specific time reserved for recess between classes. This type of freedom allows students to discover who they truly are as an individual. College is where one savors their time as an adolescent as they develop their own identity and embark upon adulthood. It is a lifetime experience that will help one to discover their own individuality and shape who they will become in the future.

As a student, everyone will also learn which subjects capture their attention and enhance their general knowledge. It is a place where one acquires education to live in the real world and discovers who they are. In “3 Reasons College Still Matters” an elderly alumnus summarizes his journey of self-discovery in college to Delbanco as ‘“Columbia,” he said, “taught me how to enjoy life.” What he meant was that college had opened his senses as well as his mind to experiences that would otherwise be foreclosed to him. Not only had it enriched his capacity to read demanding works of literature and to grasp fundamental political ideas, it had also heightened and deepened his alertness to color, and form, melody and harmony.

And now, in the late years of his life, he was grateful.’ (Delbanco 465) “For many individuals college serves as one of the most important ways of develop personal growth initiative and independence to begin creating a meaningful life.” (Stevic & Ward 525) College paves the way for an endless amount of opportunities which allows student to develop their own taste. New experiences help students to step out of their comfort zone and increase their degree of confidence. The common phrase that college is the best years of your life continues to ring true today.

The basis of a social and economic environment is the sense of duty or responsibility. College encourages responsibility as there is no supervision and one’s future is based onself-discipline. Prior to college, one was forced to study, had to take lecture notes, and attendance was mandatory. Professors are more lenient due to the fact that they teach the required material and leave the rest up to the students. It is one’s duty to practice and review the material to make sure that they understand the lesson. Most students get tutors or set up a schedule to study.

They learn how to manage their time by prioritizing their study time before any personal time. As time progresses, they build up interest in their classes and become more responsible. In school, teachers assured that every student did their homework and passed their tests due to the fact that they had to report to authorities. Professors are entitled to their own teaching methodology as long as they teach the required objectives for that class. The environment is different in college which lets students to be able to find their own studying techniques.

There are many different resources such as libraries and tutors provided by college so the students learn how to study independently. There is never an end to learning because everyone learns something new everyday. There will not always be teachers around to guide one through life. College permits students the freedom to choose their own major, provides experts in that field of knowledge, and train students to become responsible for their actions.

College is filled with students from all over the world with different background, race, and ethnicity. There are students who are highly educated, who are extraordinary athletes, and who are charismatic. Each and every student knows their own strengths and weaknesses. They all want the best for themselves and to be better than their peers. This results in competition which motivates students to stay focused on achieving their goals and becoming well-rounded individuals. Connections and new ideas are built on the foundation of people with similar interests and hobbies.

“Education helps an individual acquire social skills, which enable him to move with people around, maintain social relations, and mingle well with others in company. Education is an individual’s instrument to flourish in society. As a part of the educational system, every individual learns with a group of other individuals of his age.” (Mohammed) Students analyze their environment and create relationships that will benefit one another. The company that one surrounds themself with is usually a reflection of their own persona.

The high sense of competition will help one to stand out in a job interview. “UC-Berkeley economics professor Enrico Moretti estimates each additional high-tech job creates nearly five jobs in the local economy, more than any other industry. Unlike a restaurant, for example, high-tech employment tends to increase demand overall rather than merely shifting employment from one competing establishment to another. If talented workers opt out of valuable training and end up underemployed, not only have they failed to create employment for other less talented workers, they have taken jobs those workers likely could have filled.” (Conard 470)

A degree does not limit someone to just their knowledge but manifests one’s skills that were acquired college education. “Today, all too often, internal and external entities, groups, and individuals see the purpose of college as job training.” (Morris 190) Job interviewers look for education level because they want to hire the right person for the job. They want people with skills and determination who are willing to stick to their job.

Back in the day, the least one needed to get a job was a high school diploma. “In 1980, they were 40 percent higher than those of high school graduates, and by 2000, that advantage had soared to almost 80 percent.” (Rose 25) In today’s society, the competition in the workplace is so aggressive that the norm in order to be a applicable candidate is to have a college degree or any high level of education. Everyone wants to live their best life and have a career that provides financial stability. According to “3 Reasons College Still Matters”, Delbanco expresses the most evident rationale to the momentous influx in college enrollment, “the most common answer is an economic one…and there is abundant evidence that people with a college degree earn more money over the course of their lives than people without one. Some estimates put the worth of a bachelor of arts degree at about a million dollars in incremental lifetime earnings” (Delbanco 464).

Jobs with high income have high standards from their employees to strengthen competitiveness and improve products and services. To be able to read a consumer and know their wants is analytical work which requires employees to be well-rounded intellectuals. In “We Need More Humanities Majors”, Madsbjerg and Rasmussen argued that degrees in humanities are actually useful due to the fact they know what consumers want. Most people are driven by success and money which is why they major in a STEM related field to become doctors or engineers. They do not care about what they learn along the way as long as they have a solid income. Some people with a degree in STEM lack communication skills or fail to realize what consumers really want.

Madsbjerg and Rasmussen explain that analytical work means “getting and analyzing data that can help us understand the bigger picture of people’s lives. The real issue with understanding people, as opposed to bacteria, or numbers, is that we change when we are studied. Birds or geological sediments do not suddenly turn self-conscious, and change their behavior just because someone is looking. Studying a moving target like this requires a completely different approach than the one needed to study nature. If you want to understand the kinds of beings we are, you need to use your own humanity and your own experience.” (Madsbjerg & Rasmussen 472) As cash flows out from businesses in the form of payments, cash flows in from consumers who are in need of products or services.

Employees with a high income are able to afford luxuries such as vacations, concerts, or other leisure activities. The funds from taxes that are granted by higher wage earners and skilled laborers are used to improve infrastructures such as roads, highways, and bridges. Furthermore, additional tax dollars will be utilized to improve the quality of public services and public schools. Overall, employees with a high income help make the cash flow run smooth throughout the economy.

There has been a long standing argument over whether or not the field in which a student majors in is correlated to their career. In “No, It Doesn’t Matter what you Majored In”, Rotells discusses that companies do not really care about what your major is. They do not look at your major but instead look at where one attended and one’s study habits that were adapted in college.“They do care that you’re a college graduate. What that means, if you worked hard and did your job properly and your teachers did theirs, is that you have spent four years developing a set of skills that will serve you in good stead in the postindustrial job market.

You can assimilate and organize large, complex bodies of information; you can analyze that information to create outcomes that have value to others; and you can express your ideas in clear, purposeful language.” (Rotella 468) He makes a compelling argument about the fact that work ethics and skills are crucial to any career, but knowledge plays an important role as well. A students spends years studying a specific subject in order to specialize and master all the skills needed to become an expert. Regardless of the choice of profession, one’s major in college is central toward their career.

The major of a student is a signal to the company of what the student’s interests are what skills they possess. A 2013 research indicated, “that individuals who possess self-regulatory ability in decision-making contexts were more likely to choose majors and jobs of good fit, experience satisfaction from their career decisions, and choose careers relevant to their college majors”. Everyone has their own talent that they are gifted with which should be reinforced and put to proper use. One should pursue a career in a field that they are passionate about as most people spend the majority of life working.

College benefits everyone. College education is a four year journey that develops a sense of meaning into one’s life and exercise their skillset to mirror their career. Regardless of what major, one must have a career with a steady income in order to live a comfortable life. The purpose of higher education is to pass down our knowledge and experiences to the younger generation so they may work together as a wiser and an improved society. The future of our society depends on the students in college in today’s generation. There would not be any development with low successful graduation rates. People who attend college are those who want to live their best lives and make a difference.

Cite this paper

What Is The Purpose Of A College Education?. (2021, Mar 27). Retrieved from https://samploon.com/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-college-education/

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