At a recent visit to a friend's house, we played the Game of Life. For those who have never played the game all players start out choosing whether or not they want to start their career or start college. Long story short, out of the four players two of them went to college. Those two who went to college came out with the most money. Can we say that this is just a game or can it be linked to real life? My answer to this would be yes to the latter. The reason for this is the multitude of options once graduating from college. There were several career cards with "degree required" on them thus leaving those who chose the career option out in the dust.
In reality, acquiring a 2 or 4-year degree is a very general degree for that matter. It is simply a prerequisite of a higher degree which will of course earn you more money. Browse through your daily classified ads and you will find that nearly every job requires a degree (if you're not looking for a labor or trade job). Then there is also your butcher, baker and candlestick maker. If you're into those types of jobs, maybe taking out a 5-figure loan isn't the best idea.
Aside from textbook studies and elongated lectures you can do without, you also learn through experience from doing fieldwork, community service, on-site experience for your projects, etc. Don't forget to include these in your resume. I find many peers who have graduated from a 4-year college crying the blues about finding a job that meets their skills or say "They're looking for someone with more experience" or "You need a Master's or PhD in order to get the big bucks". I say horse poop! Students who acquire Associate's Degrees are even in demand.
According to JobWeb, an internet site that specializes in career development and job search advice, "about one-third of employers report plans to hire associate degree graduates in 2005-06." Business, technology and engineering jobs were the three major fields in highest demand in the 2005-06 year. Also, compared to 5 high demand jobs that would require a Master's Degree, 10 jobs were in high demand for a Bachelor's Degree. That is twice as much jobs looking to hire people. No more excuses, folks.
