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The Right Choice: 5 Reasons to Pursue a College Degree

Choosing a college
Earning a college degree is a crucial step in life and is now considered an integral part of the “American Dream.” It is about creating opportunities in life. A college degree prepares your intellect and social abilities for your adult life and career. Most people want to attend college, but they don’t know why they should or how it will benefit their lives. There are many benefits associated with earning a college degree and here are just a few.

1. Make More Money
For many people, the ability to make more money is what drives them to go to college. Whether it is a bachelor’s or master’s degree, a postsecondary degree gives you the opportunity to pursue higher-paying careers that require advanced skills. Research indicates that college graduates earn more money in their lifetime compared to those who only possess a high school diploma.

According to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, high school graduates earn about $30,000 annually, and bachelor’s degree graduates earn about $50,000 a year. In a few years, this translates to a big earnings gap between these two groups of individuals. The earning potential also differs depending on your field of work. Although there is an income disparity based on your gender and race, your earning potential still increases significantly with a college degree.

2. Expand Your Knowledge Base
Getting a college education helps you gain advanced knowledge in your subjects of interest and a broad range of experience in many other subjects. It also gives you the ability to exercise critical and abstract thinking. It helps you gain the capacity to express yourself both in writing and speech clearly and to make sensible decisions. These skills are quite crucial both on and off your job.

3. Better Career Opportunities
The most common path to a better career is earning a college degree. Although when most people enter college, they don’t know what they want to become in the future, most of them know they need a good job that will pay them well and offer them more satisfaction and security. This is one of the primary reasons people invest their money and time to go to college.

Usually, it doesn’t matter what you study, what counts is just the fact that you earned the degree. Since college gives you a wide range of skills, many graduates end up working in various fields that are different from what they studied. Thus, college opens up doors for opportunities that aren’t always available to those who haven’t been engaged in higher education.

4. Satisfaction and Job Security
A post-secondary degree usually leads to better job security. The truth is, without a degree, you may not be as valuable to your employer. And when things get tough, it can be easier to lay you off. As a matter of fact, higher education is so vital that some companies will offer to pay for their employees’ tuition. That is how valuable a college degree is.

It is considered as an important investment that will be of benefit not only to the employee but the firm as well. Studies show that during economic recessions, college graduates are least likely to be laid off. Those who suffer most job cuts are individuals who only possess high school diplomas. If you are a college graduate, you are also bound to enjoy your job due to factors such as employment benefits, higher income, and opportunities to advance your career, and this translates to job satisfaction.

5. Ability to Weather Adversity
During an economic downturn, with more money available in your savings account, an education, and marketable skills, having a degree will help you survive hardship. The benefits of getting a college degree are very numerous indeed, and a college education is a great investment in your life. You will gain more money, a bigger knowledge base, job security and satisfaction, and the ability to withstand tough times. And all these factors will give you a secure future.

Going to college will come with some difficulties. One of the things you don’t have to do, however, is relocating. If you live in Colorado, for example, try to find a local college in Colorado instead of travelling to an out-of-state university. By attending a local college, you can maintain your current job and life while still attaining the many benefits available to you through a degree.

Need help getting started on your college search? Search by location, major, admission difficulty, and more with Peterson’s College Search.