Stephen Henderson

UNST 121 Kenny Bagley

10/16/2013
Is a college degree worth it?
I grew up never truly knowing what I wanted to do with my life. Sure, as a kid I had
dreams of being an astronaut, a police officer, an adventurer or other awesome sounding jobs,
but I never put much conviction into ACTUALLY being those things. To me, living life with
good friends around me was all it has ever been about. Sure, it doesnt help that I had to move
every two to three years. Being a military brat was tough for sure. Ive been all over the United
States, and even overseas for a while. And every move was harder than the last as I grew older
and closer to my groups of friends.
All the while, I never thought much about college, or why Id want to continue my
education after high school. Both my parents graduated from 4 year universities, and both had
jobs primarily related to their degrees. My dad graduated from USNA with a BS in Political
Science and has been in the Navy ever since, and my mom has an English major and her
teaching certificate, and has always gone back to teaching no matter where we live. Basically Id
never really thought about whether or not I wanted to go to college until my junior year of high
school. When I did start looking into colleges at that point, I found out a lot of information all
about how a college degree could improve my life and career after graduating. Many different
articles boasted that people with a bachelors degree or higher made an average of twice as much
annually as those with only a high school diploma. Adultsyoung and old, male and female
who have a bachelor's degree or higher have twice the annual median income than someone with
only a high school degree. (Facts about the Income of Graduates) Statistics like these made me
think Oh, I should definitely go to college then. However, Id also find articles and reviews
saying that college graduates of this generation are finding it harder and harder to find jobs
related to their degree. Ezra Klein said that a significant number of college grads appear to be
underemployed. in an article in the Washington Post.
So why would I want to go to college and study a subject in which I may not work? My
feelings about it were definitely conflicted. How was I to know if a college degree would be
worth up to $40,000 a year, for four or more years of my life? I had to do some soul searching
and more research. I needed to find out what I was truly interested in before knowing how much
I really wanted a college education. At the beginning of my senior year I applied to all the
colleges that would give me a range of options for majors or minors and career choices in the
future. Then over the course of my final year of high school, I tried out all sorts of new things. I
took a computer science class to see how interested I could be in that, but the best decision I
made was getting into my theatre program and quitting the crew team. I had had enough of
competitive sports in my high school career, and not enough arts exposure. Through the theatre
program I learned many new skills and realized that it was something I was particularly
passionate about. So with that in mind I talked to my aunt and uncle that have careers in the
theatre and television industry in LA. They gave me all sorts of great tips on getting in contact
with local theatres, getting to know the film or theatre professors, and what to focus on in college
if I really wanted to learn about that industry. With that in mind, I decided that a college
education is in my best interest if I want a career in the entertainment industry. My aunt gave me
some great advice earlier this year when I asked her about her opinions and thoughts on breaking
into the industry. our advice is get fully immersed in your school's programs. Stay there for
the summers and work there, as both Matt and I did. Portland is a great place to be engrossed in
the arts. (Lori Merkle-Ford) This advice solidified my opinion that a college education was a
good choice for me.
I do believe that a college degree is worth my while. It may not be the right thing for
everyone though. A person needs to decide that college is right for THEM based on their
interests and career goals. The direct answer to the question Is a college degree worth it? in my
opinion is that there is no solid answer. Human nature makes all of us too different to apply a
simple answer to that question to a large population. Im definitely glad that I decided to go for it
though.


Works Cited
1. Facts About the Income of Graduates Minnesota Office of Higher Education. Web. 17
Oct. 2013. http://www.ohe.state.mn.us/dPg.cfm?pageID=948
2. Klein, Ezra. Only 27 percent of college grads have a job related to their major The
Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines - The Washington
Post. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/20/only-27-percent-of-
college-grads-have-a-job-related-to-their-major/>.\
3. Merkle-Ford, Lori. Personal interview. August 6 2013