Instilled into students from an early age, going to college is viewed as the foundation to a lucrative, stable career path. However, obtaining a degree may not be the stepping stone to success in life for everyone.
In recent years, the number of students pursuing college has decreased. According to News Nation, the college enrollment rate for recent high school graduates fell to 61.4 percent in 2023, the lowest in at least three decades, with various factors contributing to the diminishing interest in college.
Perhaps the most obvious is college expenses, as the financial burden of paying to get an education, and the debt that follows, make college unappealing to many, especially those of lesser income.
According to Penn GSE, despite qualifying for Pell grants in 2016, students from low income families’ average net price of a college tuition cost about 94 percent of their income, $32,542. In addition, the average amount borrowed through grants by students from low-income families surpassed the amount borrowed by students from higher income families without grants.
The economy is partly to blame. According to FinAid, tuition rates will increase at about twice the general inflation rate. On average, tuition tends to increase about 8 percent per year. An 8 percent college inflation rate means that the cost of college doubles every nine years. This explains the rise in tuition as the national inflation rate has risen to 2.6 percent.
According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, depending on the repayment plan and loan terms, it may take up to 10 years to repay a student loan, and up to 30 for consolidation loans, over one-third of the average lifetime of 77.5 years. This is also due to a decrease in state funding. According to NEA Today, 32 states spent less on public colleges and universities in 2020 than in 2008, with an average decline of nearly $1,500 per student, increasing tuition.
Nonetheless, going to college may increase chances of attaining a profitable career. According to the Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities, typical earnings for bachelor’s degree holders are 86 percent higher than those whose highest degree is a high school diploma. Despite the costly tuition, colleges provide career-related opportunities and internships to students, as well as chances to network and establish relationships with peers that may lead to a prominent job position.
“It is important to first identify a career with a positive long-term projection and then acquire the appropriate education and/or credentials to be employed in that career,” CAP Advisor Jan Spivak said. “If a college degree is required for an occupation that is projected to do well in this country, then getting that degree will lead to having that successful career.”
Obtaining a college degree is not exactly necessary to attain a career, however. Though going to college may help reach financial stability in the long run, it is not a requirement to reach success. According to the Harvard Business Review, recruiters are now looking at talent pipelines outside of college pathways in order to find the right candidates.
For job seekers without degrees, this means more opportunities, better pay and benefits than ever before. With more opportunities within the workforce, despite not having a college degree can lead to rising up in the ranks and positions at a company, based on effort and merit. Graduates may also seek to establish their own businesses and find success along the way.
Though beneficial in many ways, a college degree is not necessarily the key to having a prominent career. Whatever one decides to do may be achieved through hard work and determination.