Maggie McCarron
Staff Writer
In today’s culture, high school students are constantly bombarded with questions. “Where are you going to college?” “What are you majoring in next year?” “What do you want to do when you graduate school?” These questions are insanely stressful for individuals at the young ages of 16, 17 or 18.
Students spend so much time stressing about a college education, getting one and graduating, that it is not until years later that they realize their degree is completely useless to the job that they find themselves with. So many people go through the education system and do not learn anything that is actually useful.
In the modern world, most students go to college because they think that is the only way to get a stable job when they graduate. For their entire lives, they have been told by educators and parents that to be successful they must get a college degree. As a result of this, many people get a degree they do not want because they think it is the only way to be successful.
Students are led to believe that if they get a college degree, they are guaranteed whatever job they want. However, this is not the case. There will always be competition for any job, no matter what.
Little do teenagers know that they do not always need a degree to work a successful job. They can go to trade school to become electricians, plumbers, cosmetologists, chefs, etc. These careers are all just as necessary and make just as much money as ones that require a degree.
For example, here at Franciscan University of Steubenville, it is highly common for women to come to school just to find a husband. More simply stated, they wish to graduate with an MRS degree.
The jokes behind MRS degrees are a perfect example of how college can be a huge waste of money. People spend thousands of dollars to graduate with an academic degree that they will never even use. This happens with many different fields of work.
Most careers do not require a college education to be able to perform said job correctly and efficiently. Plenty of jobs can be made into full-time careers for adults to live on.
These useless degrees just pile up the loans one must pay off years later. The student debt crisis will only get worse and worse as more students who are not fit for college are convinced to attend.
Not only this, but it is very easy for people to be successful without college degrees. For example, it is fairly common for people to open businesses without ever graduating college. Owning or managing businesses generally does not require a college degree and will provide enough money for one to support a family.
As long as they are doing what they love, anyone will be able to find a path that they can be successful doing.
For these reasons, a college degree is not necessary for one to have a successful career and just results in more bills and stressful years.