Is College Worth It?

So in my higher level Economics class, my teacher has us read articles each week and respond to them in a forum-style. Anyway, this week's articles were on the validity of a college education and the trends in fields which students tend to major in.

The two questions that my teacher asked as guiding concepts were: "Is college worth it?" and "What should people study?"


My post read:
My response to the second question? Students should study exactly what they want to study.

This topic is continually at the back of my mind, and I brood on it every time someone asks me what I want to major in. On the one hand I would love to major in Creative Writing and be an author when I'm older. However on the other hand, being an author can be a not very lucrative profession, and unfortunately money does kind of make the world go 'round. This train of thought for a while pointed me in the direction of the sciences such as Biology or Neurology which I also have an interest in...however, I don't really like math all that much. And while it might be easier for me to find a career in these two fields, I don't think that I would necessarily be happy. And therein lies the most important part. It's important to study and follow a path which one is interested and enthusiastic in. While money is important, happiness is more important. It's better to study something you love rather than study something which you might come to despise at length.

However, it is also necessary to consider the realistic angle. In my case, it's maybe not the best idea for me to major in Creative Writing with the goal of being an author (as a primary profession); but there are other careers which incorporate writing and/or English which are more stable with more availability. So while it's very important to take heed of where your interests lie, it is also important of where jobs are realistically and be able to use the skills you learn to your advantage.

The first question is a much thornier concept. There is need of clarification as Raven pointed out, worth it to whom? This is really a case-by-case question. For some people it might be worth it to go to college for different reasons. It may be that for some people the costs and debt incurred by going to college are outweighed by the experience and the knowledge gained. Or by that same token that the costs are outweighed by the value of the career which higher education allowed someone to get. However to some people these costs may not be worth going to school for four years and thus foregoing money that could be earned in those same for years. It really is a subjective question.

Sorry for the weird formatting,

B