I am very proud to say that I am a college graduate and so are many of my friends and coworkers. I graduated from the University of Oregon about a year ago. Having a degree is one of the most powerful things you can do in your life, and I believe everyone should have the opportunity. With the Tuition Equity bill being approved, this will bring the opportunity for even more young Oregonians to obtain a bachelor’s degree.
Today a bachelor’s degree is more powerful than ever. In this economy just having a bachelor’s degree will automatically get your resume read when there are hundreds of them in the stack. Having a bachelor’s degree today is almost the same as having a high school diploma was fifty years ago. Thirty percent of adults in the US have a bachelor’s degree, but more and more young people are going off to college. In 2012 a record number, one third of our nation’s 25-29 year olds had earned at least a bachelor’s degree. Having a college degree is powerful today.
The demand for a college degree is greater than it used to be and continues to increase each year. While right out of school you may not feel like it is paying off, in your lifetime it will. One study from 2011 found that college graduates earn 84 percent more over their lifetime than high school graduates do. That can also be seen as them making $1 million more over their lifetime than high school graduates. Even though college can be a very big expense, it is critical if you want to get a higher paying job. However the poorest Americans see the greatest payoff; a college degree gives them an 80 percent chance of bettering their economic status in their lifetime. A college degree provides you with much more options and mobility in your future jobs. For most jobs today, having a bachelor’s degree is the minimum requirement. More and more jobs that used to only require a high school diploma now today are requiring a bachelor’s.
Attending college is an opportunity, a time to learn and explore the options for your future. I am very happy that I had the opportunity to go to college and I hope that everyone else can seize the opportunities that they have to follow their dreams and to graduate from college. This is because in the end a college degree is a powerful thing to have, that will help you succeed in this ever changing economy.
Sources:
http://www.luminafoundation.org/newsroom/news_releases/2011-08-05.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/23/college-degree-makes-upwa_n_1619760.html