Marty Nemko Essay

One of the biggest complaints about a college education is the large price tag that comes with it. A national survey found that 75% of adults in the U.S. think that college is too expensive to afford, showing that a majority of the people in the U.S. agree that colleges should lower prices (Source F). As Source A says, college is about learning but the goal in life is to earn a living (Crawford). This means that while you need to earn a living, college isn’t the only route you can do so. There are careers that don’t require education beyond high school and you can still make a respectable income. It’s easy to see that not enough people realize you don’t need a college degree to get a good job.

In her essay “The Value of a College Degree,” Kathrine Porter attempts to persuade the audience of the benefits of having a “higher education,” while on the other hand, the author of “The Case against College,” Linda Lee says from her experience college is not for everyone. Both Lee and Porter have great arguments, but Lee’s argument that college is not for everyone is slightly more compelling.

Supporters of getting a college degree often point to the statistics that college graduates earn more than their high school educated peers over a lifetime. Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau reports that since 1977, “Adults with bachelor's degrees in the late 1970s earned 55 percent more than adults who had not advanced beyond high school. That gap grew to 75 percent by 1990 -- and is now at 85 percent.” A gap of an 85% pay difference is a huge figure and a clear reason why college is a great option for some people. But there are problems with that figure because when the number of college graduates who are either unemployed or underemployed is taken into account it changes the value of the statistic. In an article by Businessweek’s Richard Vedder we get statistics to counter that argument. He tells of how the number of new college graduates far exceeds job growth in technical, managerial, and professional jobs where graduates traditionally have searched for employment. As a consequence, we have underemployed college graduates doing jobs historically performed by those with just a highschool education. He says we have “more than 100,000 janitors with

In “College Is a Waste of Time and Money,” written by Caroline Bird illustrates that college is not for everyone. There are many reasons that Bird lists so that readers and colleges can understand that tuition is never going to decrease. Bird uses diction, tone, sentence structures, locos, ethos, and pathos to prove that college students attend college hoping to get a better job and people who decide not to go to college do not want to waste their time and money.

David Leonhardt in his article “Is College Really Worth It? Clearly New Data Say” goes over the biggest negatives of college that deter students and even returning adults from receiving a higher education and earning a degree. He talks about the struggles of finding work after college and the accumulated student debt. Daivd Leonhardt points out that “Americans with four-year college degrees made 98% more an hour on average in 2013 than people without a degree.” (Leonhardt). Which shows that as much as college costs, you get that back multiple times over after graduation and after you are employed. The stress and struggles that undergraduates face such as deciding a major, the issue of time commitment and large financial sacrifices are worth

The topic of “Are Too Many People Going to College?” was presented by Charles Murray, the W.H. Brady Scholar at the American Enterprise. In today’s world college is a must due to many employers seeking educated individuals. Murray develops an interesting conversation by demonstrating that many high school graduates who are seeking to go to college do not need a degree depending on their career paths. Murray provides the analogy of a high school graduate who is looking to become an electrician but is not sure if college is the most logical decision. Murray acknowledges the fact that a B.A. does not necessarily led to a higher income than one with a degree. The logical argument of money is brought to attention and is stated “the income for the top people in a wide variety of occupations that do not require a college degree is higher than the average income for many occupations that require a B.A.” (Murray 247). Although this is his main point, he understand that it varies due to the occupation one is leaning towards. There has been individuals without a college degree that are making millions of dollars, but it varies. Murray claims that getting a B.A. is going to be the wrong economic decision for many high school graduates (Murray 246); however not everyone wants to be an electrician or any other hand held jobs that doesn’t necessarily need a degree, but if one wants to be a lawyer, doctor, or anything require a degree, college is the answer. Having a degree in a

Recent high school students are debating whether to or not attend college, should consider the benefits of attaining a college degree. For many low or middle income students, this a route to gain opportunities to improve their economic circumstances. An article, “Pathways to Prosperity,” states in 2008, workers with bachelor's degree make about 65 percent higher than high school graduates and workers with associate's degree make about 73 percent more than high school dropouts.. This is evidence obtaining a college degree can be an opportunity to have earnings higher and significantly increase one's income.

• The speaker seems credible, based on her position as a daughter of an alumnus. But most things that were stated were mere opinions. And to me he friend who works in the admissions office has no credibility. She does not see everybody that comes to the admissions office. When is the last time you saw an admissions office with only one chair for one person. With that said, she is basing her statistic on the people that she handles, and not the school as an entire.

In recent discussions of “Is College Worth It?” By John Green, a controversial issue has been whether, people should attend college or get a job after they finish high school. On the one hand, some argue that people can get a monthly income better than if they have a degree. From this perspective, some people they do not want to attend college. On the other hand, however, others insist that people should attend college after they finish high school. In the words of John Green, one of this view’s proponents, “after graduating from college, I actually made $1 per hour less when I started working as an assistant at Booklist Magazine, but the job was better in every way” (video). According to this view, he was working at Stake and Shake and he was getting better salary than what he got after graduate by 1$ less but money is not everything in life. Then he proved to the audiences through his experience that he was more comfortable with working as assistant at Booklist Magazine even he is making less money. Because he got a better job, got the knowledge, and work on something that he like. In sum, then, the issue is whether to attend college or work without a degree. My own view is that attending college is worth it even if it will cost some sacrifices of things that we can get it in the future. After, all, I have chosen to identify as a college student at Winona State University. Though I concede that choosing the university and working to

Before one can truly dig in and unpack this texts, we first need to get to know the author. The author of the article, “Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s” Brent Staples, born on September 13, 1951, grew up an unpretentious boy in Chester Pennsylvania with nine siblings (“Brent Staples” 1). Staples grew up very financially challenged and “was accepted to Widener University through a program called Project Prepare (“Brent Staples” 1). By receiving his PhD in Phycology he then went on to teach at local universities in Pennsylvania and Chicago. Staple’s article, “Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s,” by the use of ethos gains instant credibility as he has personal experience in the field to back up his arguments. Also coming from such a poor family with so many siblings Staples work ethic had to be sickening to become as successful as he has. This has imprinted a moral of working hard for what is received, which explains his anger towards this undeserved sense of accomplishment that college students are receiving.

In recent discussions of Is College Worth It? By John Green, a controversial issue has been whether, people should attend college or get a job after they finish high school. On the one hand, some argue that people can get a monthly income better than if they have a degree. From this perspective, some people they do not want to attend college. On the other hand, however, others insist that people should attend college after they finish high school. In the words of John Green, one of this view’s proponents, “after graduating from college, I actually made $1 per hour less when I started working as an assistant at Booklist Magazine, but the job was better in every way” (video). According to this view, he was working at Stake and Shake and he was getting better salary than what he got after graduate by 1$ less but money is not everything in life. Then he proved to the audiences through his experience that he was more comfortable with working as assistant at Booklist Magazine even he is making less money. Because he got a better job, got the knowledge, and work on something that he like. In sum, then, the issue is whether to attend college or work without a degree. My own view is that attending college is worth it even if it will cost some sacrifices of things that we can get it in the future. After, all, I have chosen to identify as a college student at Winona State University. Though I concede that choosing the university and working to enroll and pay the

In the article, “Colleges Prepare People for Life,” Freeman Hrabowski compares his beliefs to those from a New York Times illustration on how college does, or does not, prepare young adults for success in life. Based on the content of the article, it is likely that the writer is attempting to inform students and young adults about the benefits of receiving a college education. A main point he includes is that many jobs in today’s society require some form of a degree to even apply. To convince his audience, Hrabowski utilizes an argument and counteracts the argument with facts to support his claims. His strategies are extremely effective in conveying his message as he uses strong evidence and factual information in stating his beliefs.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate is projected to be highest for those without a diploma or GED. However, those that have a master’s degree will have the lowest unemployment rates. Also, the 2018 estimated median weekly income for people with a diploma or college degrees are as followed: less than a high school diploma, $471; high school diploma, $652; some college but no degree, $727; associate degree, $785; bachelor’s degree, $1,066; master’s degree, $1,300; doctoral degree, $1,624; and professional degree, $1,735. There is a big difference between those without a diploma and those who have earned a bachelor’s degree is very noticeable. For someone to graduate high school and earn a degree in a career that one enjoys can almost immediately change their lifestyle and enjoyment of life. I, myself would enjoy my job more if I made a weekly income of $785, I do not want to work 40+ hours and barely get by. Many youthful people already know what they would enjoy being and by going to college not only will they have a job promised because of the degree in hand but they income will remind them of all of their hard-work. There are a few jobs that require higher education that does not pay as much as it should, but the one that come to mind first are teachers. Four years should earn someone an income of $50,000+ and yet after all of the hard work put into their career, the under-pay, and appreciation they still put their heart into their classes. A positive attitude about one’s job will create a much better work place and one worth being part

8. Do you have enough information to judge the quality of the source of the article for a college reading audience? Please explain. The information given in this article is given in a person’s experience with students also opinions from the author. The article is not backed up enough with other then his own opinion.

Most expect that by attending college and graduating they will be able to find a good paying career with benefits in a field that will interest them. It seems that from high school it is drilled into our heads that we must attend college to be successful in life and contribute to our society. However, college graduates often find themselves working in a field that is unrelated to their degree. This could be due to how many people are also trying to apply for jobs in that specific field, or it could be that that job does not provide them with enough money to live off. The most important thing that students really need to ask themselves before they attend college is, “is a college degree really enough in today’s world to get a good career