To get a Degree or not?

Question

What is the whole point of getting an education, say, to the level of a Degree? Do you think its for personal gratification or indeed to help you get a job you desire? I appreciate answers will vary from individual to individual. I just want to see what drives different people...

Answer 1

I got a BS degree and the whole point was to get a job that pays a lot more than without a degree. The drive was to never have to live paycheck to paycheck and to be able to have a very leisure lifestyle plus with a degree you get respect and a better class of job. More vacation, better benefits, an office, etc.

Answer 2

There are jobs available to you in industries like the trades, in which you do not need a degree. But in those industries, you often have to perform intense physical labour. If you're the kind of person that enjoys that, then perhaps you should not pursue a higher education. However, if you're the person who prefers a lot of opportunities, and who wants to experience growth in the workplace, then you definitely need an education. A college degree will open many doors for you with millions of possibilities. Employers know that it is not easy to get a degree, and that it takes a great deal of persistence and motivation to complete college. So just the fact that you completed college says a lot about you. And of course, people with college degrees do get paid more than those who do not have a degree. But for some people money is not that important. You just have to decide whether or not it's important for you. Good luck.

Answer 3

As people are different, so do individual motivations vary. There are some who earn degrees out of legacy and others to overcome poverty. A degree is like employment insurance. That isn't to say that everyone with one will make large sums of money or even be employed due to other variants, but it does increase the chance for sustained employment.

For me, it (college) was a place to practice adulthood and I couldn't get the job I though I wanted without a degree anyway. Turns out I love teaching and have become pretty good at it. without a degree I would never have experienced it.

Hope that helps...

Answer 4

I think in our society it is a sure thing that having a credible degree not only helps you get the type of job you want, but also increases the base salary you are able to get, which will determine how much money you make for the rest of your life. Also, in our capitolist country, it often increases the amount of respect and reverence you get from most people.
It is of course possible to not have a college education, but to work hard and earn a lot of money if you are smart enough to figure out how. But that doesn't happen for everyone, and therefore a degree is usually the smarter bet, especially just to have something to make you a more well-rounded person, and to have a stable career to fall back on (like for people who want to be an actor/artist/musician...or invent flavored frisbees or something!)
As for personal gratification, I think that is also a big factor. Having more knowledge and knowing you are succeeding at something definitely increases self confidence!
And of course...getting your degree by going to college is always popular for socialization...and beer!
For me it is a combination of all these things that helped my decision to get my four-year degree....and to hopefully go on for a Master's soon!

Answer 5

It's all of the above. If your reason for getting a degree is to make more money, that's crap. You can go right to work and save 10% every paycheck into investments and be way farther ahead, especially when a degree is so expensive now. For me, it's the personal gratification. I love learning, but I can say I'd probably be a successful millionaire in my own business by now if I hadn't had 10 years of distraction from college. I have to have the degrees to do what I do (chemistry/physics teacher). I love my job, glad I got the degrees to do it, but financially it wasn't the best move.

Answer 6

Im 25 now and starting in September, I was going to go when I was younger but couldnt see the point.
Now I've reached a glass ceiling in my job, I'm bored stiff and want a change, my degree will give me a head start when applying for the jobs I want.
I've decided to go now because I can, I love learning and yes I do want the satisfaction of getting a degree and fulfilling my potential (or finding if I have any!)

I also want the experience, some of my friends have been and loved it. I want to meet new people, travel a bit and just try something new. Youve nothing to loose and everything to gain so why not?

Answer 7

For me, it was a combination of both. My parents struggled to go back to school to further their careers when I was in high school, and always stressed the importance of education to me as a means of career advancement and financial gain. When I did start college, I found it to be incredibly gratifying to have the opportunity to learn about anything in the world that I wanted to. Now, as I'm going on for a doctorate, it's become even more about both--I need this degree to do what I want to do (be a professor), but I also get the opportunity to make my ideas happen, in the form of research. I find it terribly exciting, and feel very privileged to have opportunities that my parents didn't have.

I think that our society (in the US, at least) should put more emphasis on the personal gratification aspect of education. Too many people go to college and study something they don't enjoy that leads to a job they don't enjoy. What's the point of that?! College should be a time of exploration that helps one find the career path that is both rewarding AND enjoyable!

Answer 8

In me experiance I have a maths degree and a masters in IT
and I did it for the following reasons

1) I have working - and studying is so much more fun
2) you meet so many people and you make friends that will be with you forever
3) you learn a lot more about life and looking after yourself
4) when you have a degree you ALWAYS have something to fall back on - it's like a weapon- or a key that opens doors!!
5) Getting a job when you have a degree is much easier than my friends who don't have one
6) Even if you get a degree in one subject you don't have to get a job in that field - you can change and do something different
7) people always take you more seriously - even though I know people who have no degree and they are more intellegent than me and other people who have them.... but the paper talks!!

good luck

Answer 9

It depends on what subject and what career you are aiming for.

A lot of people go to Uni because they don't know what they want to do and it gives extra time to work that out. Which is not a bad reason for doing it.

If you have a specific job or career in mind, research that, and see what people who are in that industry say to you.

I do think that you need to like studying to spend another 3 years doing it.

But I would recommend Uni or Colleg just as an EXPERIENCE. You could meet some great people tat you will know all your life. It can be fun.

Think carefully though about which college and which subject. You can't get too much advice.

Had you thought of taking a gap year to help you decide what is best for you?

Answer 10

A Degree can mean everything or little or nothing these days. It depends on what Degree you take. Companies also like you to have 'life/work' experience too.
However, I do not have a Degree, I have 20 yrs experience in the field of Management but without a Degree even though I could competently do the job, some companies will not even allow me to apply without a Degree qualification - it opens doors for you!!

Answer 11

Everyone should go to college and get a degree unless they hate school. Even those who hated high school should try it for at least a semester to see if they like it. College is much different than high school. You have more choice in what you study. There is more opportunity to voice your opinion in classroom discussion and term papers. Their is more diversity in college. You will meet older and different people while in high school everyone is near the same age and usually come from the same culture. There are two advantages.1) you learn how to live your life based upon your study of philosophy, logic, history, psychology, and sociology. 2) you acquire knowledge that will pay off in the workplace. This is no given. Some degrees e.g. like Russian Literature, Sociology, History,etc. are virtually worthless in the workplace. But even with a worthless degree you can go on for a 2nd B.A., law school, business school, med school, library science, social work, etc. You give yourself more options. Employers like people who invest time and money in improving themselves. People who expect to be paid a large salary as a birthright are a huge turnoff to employers.