- Apr 2015
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There is an epidemic of college students across the country choosing majors at four-year universities that do not lead to a viable career path after graduation. The “underemployment rate” for young college graduates is 44 percent. What does that mean? Almost half of the recent graduates in the United States are employed in positions that do not require a college degree.
In my opinion, college is a major factor in your career. Going to college is because you have a specific job you want to have, not just because everyone else is going there. However, a lot of people do go to college just because they want to. This leads to the underemployment rate being higher. When these students finish college, they have nowhere to go and go to a job not requiring a bachelors's degree, just to pay their bills.
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Many may argue that getting a four-year college degree is the key to achieving the American dream and the only path to upward mobility in terms of economic prosperity. But when my students can go to a two-year technical school for about $20,000, receive an associate degree in welding technology and reliably earn a wage of up to $59,000 (some specialties, like underwater welding, can command up to $90,000 and more, with experience), I find the idea of a four-year university, where students graduate with an average of $30,000 in loan debt, the least logical path of upward economic mobility.
I disagree with this statement because a Bachelor's degree is what most employers are looking for, and therefore, the student getting the job is equivalent to achieving the American Dream. For the two year college, I disagree with her reasoning. The job she describes are not in high demand, as there are not many underwater structures, and welding technology is only needed when something breaks. I believe that a four year college opens more possibilities for the student.
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