Value of education

I have tried to think of the best way to approach the subject of ” the value of a college education.” I did a lot of research. I found all types of information on line and in the library. As much as all of this research could be valuable in presenting a case for a positive financial incentive of college education, I am not going to use any of it. I believe that the value of a college education lies within each individual. The statistics seem overwhelming that a college education has many benefits. Some of the benefits may be an increase your earning power, ability to get a job, and job retention. These all seem to be very good reasons for a college education to be valuable. However, none of these benefits will mean much unless the person receiving the education values it. I guess here would be a good place to add my definition of value. To me value is not monetary, but rather the importance you place on your education. If you are going to college because your parents want you to go you are probably not going to value your education. It will be an obligation that is grudgingly fulfilled. You could have attended the most prestigious Ivy League school and you still won’t value the education you received. There is also the possibility that you receive a low quality education due to your own lack of interest. Again you will place no value on this education. Another value could be placed on what you are learning. Let’s say that you want to learn more about auto mechanics. If you were to attend a four year college for a Bachelors in Liberal Arts, you are not going to value what you learned to the same degree as you would have valued what you learned going to a two year trade school. You have no interest in learning the majority of the things you are required to take to earn your degree. Therefore, you will probably not place a great deal of value on your education. Here is where the monetary value can seem false. If you were to take your BA degree into an auto shop and another person took their Associates Degree in auto mechanics into the same shop, who do you think is getting the job? Not only would the person with an Associates Degree in auto mechanics get the job, but also they will be paid a higher wage than someone that may need on the job training, but has a Bachelors Degree. At this point you will definitely not value your education. You will probably feel like you have wasted four years of your life. You will not have learned the skills you feel are valuable to the career choice you have made. There are some people who get a college education strictly for the knowledge. The fact that they receive a degree is secondary. They are trying to attain personal growth. Personal growth is what they value and the college education fulfills the criteria for them. Other people go to college to get the degree, for them knowledge is a by-product. They may be getting the degree to advance their careers. They could also be getting it to help retain their current job. For these people the degree is what holds value in receiving a college education. Another person may value the college education for their own self fulfillment. Some people may feel a challenge to be the first in their family to receive a degree. The completion of achieving their goal is what they value. There are many people that succeed without a college education. These people would probably have succeeded even more if they had a college education. However, I couldn’t find any research on this topic. I also believe that there are people that have gone to college that would have succeeded on their own without college. These people are high achievers and very motivated. Everyone has their own idea of the value of a college education. I wouldn’t be in college if I didn’t believe there was personal value in it. For myself, the value of a college education lies in the skills you develop, the knowledge you receive, and the networking opportunities you create. I have already seen value in the information and skills I have gathered from my first class. Some of the items could have been learned on my own without the structured guidance of a college curriculum. However, the overall value I place on college would be very high.