The Education vs Employment Myth - Getting an Education

There are lots of studies that show the direct correlation to the level of education a person receives and their income after they leave college. These figures have fueled the myth that you can't get a good job unless you have an education. Therefore, people have drawn these obvious conclusions:

• If you go to college it will guarantee you a great job.
• Any cost required to get a college degree is worth it.
• No one can go to college without scholarships or loans.
• I'm not a genius, so I need loans to go to college.
• College education should be free to everyone, especially minorities.
• If you don't go to college you will always be poor.

While there is a little bit of truth in each of these points, they are mostly wrong.

• Going to college will not guarantee you a good job. We all know many people who graduate with a degree, but then can never find a job in their field and end up working at a position that doesn't even require a degree.
• If you think that any cost for college is worth it, you don't understand basic economics. If you have $50,000 - $100,000 in college debt, paying this off is nearly equal to buying a new home, but it can prevent you from qualifying for a home loan. You can have payments of $300 - $800 per month for the next 20 years. The payments are higher if you pay it off sooner. Incurring $100,000 in debt to obtain a $20,000 - $50,000 job is not a wise financial move.
• Anyone can go to college without scholarships or loans. Having a degree from State Universities or most community colleges is as good as a degree from Harvard or Yale to qualify for a job for most people. Attending a cheaper college and working an outside job will put most people through school.
• You don't need to be a genius to get a scholarship. There are millions of dollars of scholarships that go unclaimed every year. We all know about Rhodes Scholars, Football and Basketball Scholarships, as well as Academic Scholarships, but there are hundreds more that don't require an IQ of 200 or the physic of Wolverine.
• The site, Scholarships.com, lists many, many scholarships that nearly anyone can qualify for. There are:
• Community Service Scholarships
• Legacy Scholarships
• First in Family Scholarships
• Military Scholarships
• Scholarships for Average Students
• Scholarships for Men
• Scholarships for Moms
• Even Weird Scholarships
• There are also grants available for a variety of students for a variety of qualifications.
• There is a cost for everything. Everyone used to understand the phrase, "There ain't no free lunch." Now we have college kids, most of whom have never earned and paid for anything in their lives, clamoring that a college education should be free and that all existing college loans and debts should be forgiven.
• There are some occupations that require additional education at a university or specialty school to "know your stuff". These include; doctors, architects, attorneys and some other professionals. But programmers, entrepreneurs, managers, and most manufacturing positions do not have appropriate courses in most universities. These people need to find the information and teach themselves in order to succeed.

So, getting a job is not as dependent on getting a college degree as it is on having the desire and ability to work hard.

Photo courtesy of:
http://www.bcrwealth.com/blog/educating-our-children