Lesson 4: The Value of Earning Your Degree

Many people are debating the merits of a college degree. Is the expensive tuition, large quantities of student loan debt, and attending school rather than working a decision that will be beneficial in the future? Here are some reasons why earning your degree is still worthwhile:

1. College graduates usually earn more money during their working lives than people with only high school diplomas. A 2014 Pew research study revealed that college graduates ages 25 to 32 who were working full time now typically earn about $17,500 more annually than employed young adults with just a high school diploma ($45,500 vs. $28,000); those with a two-year degree or some college training earned $30,000. The U.S. Census Bureau has reported that those with bachelor's degrees earn nearly 2 million dollars, associate's degrees nearly 1.5 million dollars, and high school diplomas nearly 1.2 million dollars over their lifetime.

2. A college degree will make you more marketable. Employers seek after college graduates when looking to fill job positions because college graduates can think and learn. Not only does a college degree make you more marketable, it makes you more marketable to a much greater range of lucrative career options. While high school graduates can look forward to entry-level positions in non-skilled positions, graduates with a four-year bachelor’s degree will qualify for a much greater range of higher paying entry- and upper-level career positions. Earn a master’s degree or PhD and the career advancement opportunities are limitless. Earning a college degree–at any level–will open doors for you that would otherwise remain shut.

3. Are you really that much smarter if you earn a college degree? Well, that all depends on you–but in most cases the answer is yes. Even if you don’t remember everything you were taught in college, most students come away with (1) a greater ability to think analytically and (2) the discipline to see a task through from beginning to end, and 3) evidence that you are capable of learning new concepts and tasks. All of these qualities are very attractive to a potential employer.

4. Attending college provides professional networking opportunities inaccessible to those who don’t go to college. Contacts made through your professors, clinical and research supervisors, and membership in student professional organizations will help provide the framework of your professional network. And the career networking opportunities typically increase with every level of education attained (e.g. associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral).

5. There are numerous other benefits associated with graduating from college. Some of the greatest benefits of a college education are experienced during school. Students have the opportunity to meet new people, learn about different cultures, develop independence, and to expand their knowledge base by being introduced to theories and concepts they might not learn about without attending college.

But what about all those alarming stories you hear about indebted, jobless college graduates? Some of these instances may be real, but the media tends to exaggerate the problem. According to the College Board, about 60% of students who earned bachelor’s degrees in 2012-13 from the public and private nonprofit institutions borrowed an average of $27,300.  This is a tiny fraction of the economic benefits of college. And the unemployment rate in April, 2015 for people between 25 and 34 years old with a bachelor’s degree was a mere 3 percent. Community college students do not graduate with mountains of debt because tuition costs are low. And they are able to find a job and continue their studies at a 4-year school while they’re working because their credits are transferrable.

The Benefits of Completing Your Associate Degree

1. Completing an associate degree provides you with an important, marketable credential. If you transfer out early before finishing your associate degree - and then do not finish your baccalaureate degree, you will have earned no credential.

2. Research shows that community college graduates are far more likely to complete a bachelor’s degree if they first completed an associate degree.

3. Completing an associate degree "locks in" your college course credits ensuring the credential has a lifetime value.  If not, the unfinished degree and courses will depreciate over time - so if you ever consider resuming your degree, some of the courses may not count as a result of relevancy.

4. By completing your associate degree you can take advantage of dual-enrollment and articulation agreements with the 4-year colleges in our area. When you complete the transfer agreement requirements you will be automatically accepted into the four-year school and in many cases, will be awarded a substantial scholarship that can be used for your junior and senior years.

5. According to a recent study, nearly 600,000 students drop out of college every year. All of us experience events in our lives that are beyond our control. Even if you plan to continue on for your bachelor’s degree, completing your associate degree will provide the extra insurance of being able to find a job should you have to interrupt your studies. 

Assignment 4

Directions: Think of two reasons why you should finish your associate degree.
Congratulations! You have now successfully completed Module I!  

Please go to Module I Summary and Survey, review the questions, and then complete the brief survey. When you have completed the survey you may stop there or go on to Module II.