Bill White says travel is fun, but college gives you what you need for success.
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I’m currently a PhD student so I’m constantly trying to rationalize why I decided to go back to school. Was it money? Power and authority? Perhaps it was the chance to take my intellectual pursuits to the next level? Sometimes I really don’t know.
For some of these people, travel is probably a better option than going to college.
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I do know that my experiences in college have made a positive impact on my life. I wouldn’t be the kind of person I am today if I hadn’t put in the work and gone to college, learned from experienced professors, and constantly immersed in a topic that has captivated my heart since I was in kindergarten: archaeology.
Travel has also played a positive role in my life. Whether it was camping in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest or crashing on my buddy’s couch in Korea, I’ve learned things about myself and the world that I would never have learned had I not stepped out of my comfort zone and into a foreign land.
This post is a devil’s advocate position to the recent article on the Huffington Post titled “8 Reasons to Choose Travel over College”. I wholeheartedly agree with all of the author Kimanzi Constable’s reasons why travel is better than college. College is not for most Americans. Most of us are not equipped to excel in college when we were 18-years-old. Many Americans simply go to college because somebody expects them to. This is completely the wrong reason. For some of these people, travel is probably a better option than going to college.
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But travel isn’t for everybody and a college education still plays a formative role in our society. Our country would not be what it is without the millions of educated people that contribute to our wellbeing every day. Research is showing that having a college degree will be even more important in the future.
1. The job market is changing
A generation ago, earning a college degree was an excellent way to enter the ranks of the white collar workers. Constable tells us that, today, less than a third (27%) of all jobs in America require a college degree. But those are the figures for today. The increases in technology, the workplace, and fast pace of our world will continue to create more jobs for folks with a college degree.
In the near future, having a college degree will be a prerequisite for any career because most of the jobs will be for college-educated workers. The New York Times reported a surge in college educated people aged 25 to 29-years-old. This is likely because of the changes in the job market that forces employers to hire college-educated workers. In fact, the demand for high skilled workers is increasing faster than we are educating people, suggesting there will be even more employment opportunities for college degree-holders than those without a degree.
2. You will make more money
We are all aware that the pay gap between Americans with a high school diploma and those with a college degree has been growing since the 1970s. A recent article on the Federal Reserve of San Francisco website discussed the polarization of wages between those with a high school diploma, folks with a bachelor’s degree, and those with a graduate degree has been steadily growing. In 1979, workers with a college degree made 35% more than those with only a high school education. By 2013, this discrepancy had grown to 80%. Between 1979 and 2013, the gap between workers with a bachelor’s and a graduate degree also grew from 11% to 30%.
Let’s do a hypothetical summary. In 1979, the median salary in the United States was about $12,050 a year ($241/week for 50 work weeks/year). By 2013, the median worker earned about $38,800 each year—growing by about 222% since 1979 without adjusting for inflation or cost of living.
If we use this median salary as a proxy for the wages earned by a college-educated worker and calculate this change based on the aforementioned Federal Reserve article, in 1979 a high school-educated worker made about $7,833 in 1979 while an employee with a grad degree made about $13,376. By 2013, the median worker with a high school education made $7,760 while somebody with a graduate degree made $50,440. These statistics suggest a worker with a high school education actually lost 1% of annual earnings while the grad degree worker’s salary rose by 277%–a 55% greater increase than even college degree holders!
Those are just straight dollar values but, in sum, people with a college degree make way more than folks without one. People with a graduate degree make even more than folks with a four-year degree.
3. Get the degree now, get the increased earnings for life
College is about personal growth, but it is also about getting a diploma. If the earning potential of somebody with a college degree is 80% more than somebody with a high school education and a grad degree is worth 30% more than a bachelor’s, you can imagine the financial benefit of earning your degree earlier in life and continuing to reap the financial rewards. A recent study suggested that people with college degrees may earn as much as $800,000 more throughout their lives than workers without one. That’s more than enough to pay for an awesome two-week vacation every year for decades if you manage your money right.
4. A college degree will cost you, but you can cut the costs down
The average graduate leaves college with about $35,200 in debt. Despite the costs, graduates can expect to get about 14‑15 percent return on their investment which still makes college a sound investment. There are also a lot of ways you can cut the costs of college, increasing the return on your investment. Chris Metter’s article on College Financial Sense 101 has five excellent cost saving tips including evaluating the cost of an education in your desired field, doing your homework on student loan offers, and getting paid to attend school.
I’d also add the following: earn college credits in high school; attend an affordable, accredited state college; do your research before attending an online college; and keep working while you attend school. I am always amazed when I encounter people that simply took out loans to support a fantasy lifestyle of travel, parties, and fine foods while they were getting their BA in fine arts. Don’t do that. You’ll regret it.
5. Like travel, college also pushes you out of your comfort zone
Making the decision to attend college represents a huge milestone in the lives of millions of Americans, especially those who move hundreds or thousands of miles away to live in another town. The transition from adolescence to adult is challenging enough, but you introduce an additional element of difficulty when you’ve got to spend 4-6 hours on school every day while also working and trying to have a life. It’s hard and a lot of us drop out because of the pressure. Both college and travel will force you to work outside your comfort zone.
6. You will learn to consistently work hard on stuff you couldn’t care less about
It doesn’t sound like it, but doing stuff you don’t want to do is a huge difference between grown-ups and children. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to take a class or do a college project on something in which I hadn’t the slightest interest. For a long time I considered many of the projects I did in college a complete waste of time until I realized that I was learning how to consistently put a lot of effort and concentration into my actions even when I didn’t care about what I was doing.
This may sound awful, but we all spend a significant portion of our work day doing the things that need to be done even when we don’t want to. Even being a self-made entrepreneur will force you to do things you don’t like. And, you’ll have to do them on schedule and with adequate effort to satisfy someone else just like you do in school. College, especially grad school, takes this to a whole new level. If you don’t learn how to work through ennui, you won’t get a college degree and you will have significant troubles in the workplace.
7. College can expand your mind in a way that travel does not
While the cost of college is high, the cost of not having a degree is even higher.
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It is school, after all, so we are familiar with the way college forces conformity and obedience. But the ideas introduced to students during their tenure at a university can be life-changing to say the least. Imagine coming to school from a rural American town and meeting your first gay person, first rich person, and having your first chance to date someone from another race. Imagine learning in intimate detail how the macroeconomic systems work, or dissecting a human brain, or realizing how power and wealth influence society. These are common experiences in college that forever change a lot of people’s lives.
8. College can include travel
You can study in another country and get many of the same experiences that come along with travel. Studying abroad immerses students in foreign languages and cultures. They stay long enough to actually create life-long friendships. Study abroad provides an opportunity to move beyond the experience of the traveler and learn what it’s like for everyday people in another country while also working toward your degree. My wife studied in Germany as an undergraduate and earned her Master’s in the Netherlands. She made dozens of friends that she has kept in contact with for over a decade. Many of her European friends have come over to the States with their families, stayed with us, and let us show them around. Likewise, we’ve visited them and stayed at their homes as well. Our family has been enriched by these experiences with good friends in Europe that would not have happened had it not been for my wife’s college experience.
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Kimanzi is not wrong. Neither am I.
As I said before, there are a lot of reasons why travel can be a better choice than taking out tens of thousands of dollars in student loans and attending college just because your parents want you to. College is expensive, hard work, and doesn’t always result in the financial rewards mentioned in this post. While the cost of college is high, the cost of not having a degree is even higher.
The numbers do not lie. Getting a college education is still a good investment in your future. You can always travel, but the price of college is only increasing and you’re only this young once. Going to college is kind of like pulling off a Band-Aid: It’s better to just get it over with quickly and as soon as you can.
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Photo: Flickr/ Alex
William- I think what I value so much about your dialogue is that it is intentionally an alternative to another dialogue, while acknowledging the truth and benefits of both. Travel and perhaps more simply than the travel but immersion in another culture as a product of the traveling, can be life altering. Attending college, when done effectively, can also develop and alter your life and person. Working in Higher Education myself, I am especially fond of the combination of college and travel in a study abroad, internship, or service opportunity. It should be said that one does not need to… Read more »
It’s good to hear from a higher ed instructor that values both experiential learning and classroom lecture, Andrew. Travel is one of the most powerful learning tools a person can use. It has definitely shaped my outlook on the world and humanity. Good or bad, travel is an excellent teacher. I also value college education, not just for the social proof it conveys but for the experience of being among so many other motivated, smart individuals. It’s also one of the biggest mechanisms for improving socoeconomic status. College is a mistake for anyone that isn’t interested in learning, but, then… Read more »