People often feel pressure to earn a college degree. There are very good reasons why that may be true. One of those reasons is health. Many people don’t realize that having a college degree means you’re likely to live longer than those with only a high school degree or less. Those without college degrees are also far more likely to experience poverty than those with degrees. Perhaps the most used argument to pressure people to earn a college degree is income. A person with a college degree is likely to earn far more in their lifetime than those without.
Certainly, there are good reasons to earn a college degree, but does that mean it’s the best choice for everyone? The answer is dependent on every individual situation. One of the first things you should evaluate is your current career track.
Ask yourself how your career might improve if you had a college degree. Would you be eligible for a raise or a promotion if you had a bachelor’s degree? Or would your career continue on much the same track? If you don’t think you would see an improvement in your career with a degree, maybe this isn’t the time for you to pursue one.
Many people would like to change careers and see earning a degree as an opportunity to do something new and earn more money. If higher income and a new career are a goal for you, then a college degree is an important step for you to take.
Another issue to weigh when considering whether or not to earn a college degree is how much time you have to spare for school work. If attending school as a traditional on-campus student is not an option, you may want to consider night school or an online bachelor’s degree program. Online degrees in particular often have very flexible schedules and graduation deadlines to allow students to continue their normal work lives while earning their degree.
Even with the flexibility of online or non-traditional degree-seeking programs, you may not feel you have the time to spare for college. At that point, you’ll need to weigh what the long-term outcome would be of possibly taking out student loans to help with not only tuition costs, but living costs while you work on your degree. This is a good time to talk to an admissions counselor about the up and downsides of choosing that path. You may also want to sit down with a calculator and look at the bottom line for your long-term financial future if you choose that course.
Every possible student’s situation deserves a thoughtful approach to the pros and cons of how well a college degree would benefit their life. For some this question will be far easier to answer than for others. However, if you simply want to earn a degree for your own enrichment or sense of accomplishment, that is an important factor to consider as well. You never know where your life path will go if you give yourself academic opportunities and that may help you decide whether or not to pursue a college degree.
