Does college really guarantee a happy and successful life?

Question

All my life it's been drilled into my head that college = good life. In recent years, I've started to reject this notion, but everyone around me is absolutely convinced that if they go to college they'll have a good future. I'm going through a lot of emotional turmoil right now, so tell me: does college really guarantee a happy and successful life?

Answer 1

it guarantees nothing but it does open many opportunities that would not be open to you if you didn't go to college

Answer 2

Does not guarantee a happy life, does guarantee a slight raise in pay. Without a Bachelors, you can get stuck with the $12 an hour rate or lower. With a Bachelor's you might start at $15 and work your way up from there. Should you have a nursing degree you might start at $30. There are so many jobs where just a Bachelors, not even specifying anything, is required for an entry level job. It's not going to be the most amazing thing you've ever done with your life, and it is challenging and takes endurance to get through it, but you will never regret it when you're out on your own applying to jobs and you realize how limited you are without it. Get it over with and you'll be so glad in the long run. Everyone has that couple of months where they just want to drop everything and run naked around their campus and tell their parents they're not going to finish their midterms, but you can do it. Don't worry if it takes you longer to complete it, it did for me, just get it over and done with.

Answer 3

Satisfaction isn't always guaranteed. : )
College is considered the smartest mobile to more financial success. Financial wealth doesn't always lead to happiness, and to have the true good life you need that. Some jobs don't require degrees for you to be successful in acquiring a position of stature. Think about what career you want, if you'll be satisfied with it until your death, and what it takes to be successful. You're a sophomore in high school, I take it? (I saw your other question) You've got time. You're living life right now, so start making decisions.

Answer 4

Alot of people with college degrees are working at jobs that they could have gotten without a college degree. If you go to college and you land a great job, then it is worth it. The richer you are, the easier your life will be. More people will want to date you. You can get all the medical help you need. Money can solve a lot of problems. Money, used correctly, can bring about a happy and successful life. Of course, you have to keep away from drugs and alcohol, or you could end up ruining your life like Britney Spears.

Answer 5

there are many studies regarding this issue (for starters see below)
It may pay off to do some of your own research and see if there is any advantage in your (educated) opinion after reading some. Also ask around of some of your family and trusted people in your community who may have graduated and gotten hired recently or not.
The other question to pose yourself is"Is the journey itself worth the effort whether or not you get the exact training for an exact career?". Going to college at a later time in life-say after your teens/ 20's may not be as easy as getting to college early on.
Life almost always becomes more complicated once getting out on ones own, developing relationships/marriage/kids/job. The other issue is you may not actually know which field could gain your passion and talent until it is exposed to you through college and other smart talented students and professors. How would you know for instance , that you did or didn't like chocolate if you'd never smelled/seen or tasted it?
If you are unsure if you'd be successful in college I'd say take some initial placement tests to see which subjects ,if any, that may require extra preparation so that you can succeed. Do not give up on the idea of college if you are scared about it for instance.Just do the testing and do the prep work. There are many programs to help those students prepare for college level courses . This may not apply to you at all, but for anyone else reading I mention it anyway.subjects such as math or writing can instill fear and hatred in many people, but needlessly so with proper tutoring or preparation.
My advice is to try college when you are young(or any age reallybut especially if you are young) and stick to it for a couple years for as an investment in your future If you can't get any benefit from it after that you could move on to another plan,or combine it with working.

Answer 6

It used to, actually...not so much anymore now though, unfortunately. You have to work harder and do some major impressing and butt-kissing to beat out the other 1,000 people with the same degrees nowadays. You want a college degree that will come as close to a guarantee as you can get, do some research. What are the top 10 in-demand jobs out there right now? What about when you plan to finish your degree in the future? Which one can you most see yourself doing?

Answer 7

Going to college DOES NOT Guarantee a job or success. I graduated last May and still not have found a decent paying job. Most of the time it does not and does not provide you the real world skills that you need. You can learn more by going to a technical school.

Answer 8

You know there are no guarantees in life. Life is what you make it and it is simply lots of choices and consequences. One thing college will do for you is make you much better read and smarter. If you apply yourself in college, you should be able to get a much better job and have better income over your life. The other things that college does for you is teach you to be more mature and just in general handle yourself better. You also meet a lot of people that you can network with for the rest of your life. You are surrounding yourself with people that are going places and have ambition. It's not to say you can't work your way into riches w/o college but college rounds you out. I went later in life and will never regret the time spent and the opportunities it opened for me. I suggest you go with a plan in mind. Have a good time but make your studies most important. Don't take the easy way, pick something so that you have the background to end up where you want to be in life. Put a lot of thinking into that. That's what will make you happy. I went for accounting with no intention of becoming a CPA. I did my duty and worked a job for experience and then worked for a CPA and then went to work for myself. I work the hours I want. Through the jobs I have I met a lot of CPA and they pass me jobs that they can't afford to do at their rate. I do them, happily, for less. The clients are happy, the CPA is happy, and I still make a pretty good rate. I spend a lot of time outdoors and at the beach and work in my nightgown or swimming suit. I couldn't have done it without college and a couple of lousy jobs. It was a plan to end up where I wanted to be and I got here a lot quicker than I thought I would. Everyone in college thought I was stupid to not want to be a CPA (that gets sued more than doctors) and they are working 9 to 5 for less than I make. . .and I'm still in my swimming suit. You are the only thing that will guarantee a happy and successful life. Always make a plan and shoot for it. Do what it takes. When you get there, make another plan and never stop. You will end up with everything you always wanted and be where you want to be. That is the first step in being happy. It doesn't just happen, you work for it.

Answer 9

Education (particularly up to the high school level) is not just learning, it is primarily learning how to learn. There are very few occupations that pay a decent wage that do not require continuing education to maintain proficiency. Your brain will not be “fully grown” until you are in your early twenties. Making major decisions based on personal experience alone will close off many avenues for you to get ahead in life. The wise thing to do is to try to maintain as many options as possible. The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. Socrates, 469-399 B.C.E. Wisdom outweighs any wealth. Sophocles, 496-406 B.C.E. It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err. Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) The worst of all deceptions is self-deception. Plato The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. Alvin Toffler The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -- it is the illusion of knowledge. Daniel Boorstin (1914-2004) Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance—it is the illusion of knowledge. Daniel Boorstin (1914-2004) We prefer to believe what we prefer to be true. Francis Bacon, 1561-1626 Our chief want in life is somebody who will make us do what we can. Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882 Education is the best provision for old age. Aristotle, 384-322 B.C.E. Education consists mainly in what we have unlearned. Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens,1835-1910 Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance. Will Durant (1885-1981) Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one. Malcolm Forbes (1919-1990) Education is not filling a bucket but lighting a fire. William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance. Will Durant (1885-1981) He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) In one’s youth every person and every event appear to be unique. With age one becomes more aware that similar events recur. Later on one is less often delighted or surprised, but also less disappointed than in earlier years. Albert Einstein (1879-1955) We must make use of what people have done … If we start afresh, then, when we die, we shall be about as far as Adam and Eve were when they died. Karl Popper, 1949 Only fools (they say) learn by experience. The wise learn from the collective experience of the species. But for some young people, this is rather galling; it means that they will have to learn from people older than themselves, and even from dead people. Christopher Derrick

Answer 10

Of course it doesn't guarantee a happy and successful life for everyone, but it gives you more options. A college education allows you to have more earning power, which will generally allow you to provide more for your family. Not having a college education basically dooms you to low-paying jobs with little mobility. It seems to me that having more options can lead to more happiness. Hang in there.

Answer 11

I don't know. Honestly for me, I'm having trouble landing a job because I am overqualifyed because I went to college and underqualifyed for the field I am in. I think generally it means success, but there are exceptions. I will say I learned alot and do not regret that I went. I want to go back. I don't think college always determines success.