Value of Education Essay Example for Free

Value of Education Essay It used to be a half century ago that completing high school was considered a valuable step towards a successful future. But as years go by we find that views of the past don’t always hold true. Today it is widely accepted that obtaining a college education is equally or even more critical in the pursuit of success than the importance of finishing high school was fifty years ago. The job market in today’s economy has increasingly become more competitive than it has even been and new job seekers are finding that a higher education is needed in order to obtain a well-paying job. Accordingly, the ones who do find a well-paying job right out of high school are realizing that their path doesn’t lead them to anymore steps in the future and without a college degree it is difficult to receive a promotion. Ironically enough, it used to be the ones who believed in the importance a college education were the ones who already had a degree or in the process of getting one. Today it is commonly viewed as a necessity by almost everybody. In fact, â€Å"84% of the general public say that it is extremely (37%) or very (47%) important to have a college degree in order to get ahead,† according to survey taken by higherdeucation. rg. It is now evident more than ever, in the current job market, that higher education is a better opportunity towards achieving the desired lifestyle of today’s expectations. A hard-work effort is no longer worth as much in gaining advantage against competing co-workers as it once was. Now employers are expecting new hires to be knowledgeable in the field of work before they get the job. A college degree isn’t just a good merit on a resume for employers to see; it shows them that you endured the whole college experience. A degree not only indicates that the applicant is knowledgeable in the subject that they studied in, but that he or she was able to complete the necessary tasks and steps in order to acquire the degree. Part of the college process is learning how to approach a project and complete it by a specific deadline. Learning important problem-solving skills and the ability to be punctual is viewed as a huge asset to employers and they will know the applicant possesses those traits just by seeing the word college on the resume. Some may argue that one could just check out some books and do a little research online and acquire the same status as a college graduate without paying thousands of dollars, but again college is more than the knowledge you gain from books. Students gain another advantage because they are learning directly from a professional of a specific subject. Just reading text isn’t the same as having an expert in front of you, explaining the optimal way of viewing a topic and performing hands-on lessons. College has been proven, over the years, to be an opportunity for citizens with aspirations to live successful and enriched lives.