Life and A College Education

The concept of forsaking college and a college degree due to extravagant costs only has value if there is a mass migration away from earning those degrees.  As long as employers require a degree to secure positions ranging from that of a rocket scientist to a receptionist, refusing to meet that employer demand could make finding employment very stressful.  In today’s environment, you MUST ask yourself if you are comfortable with the reality that you will not even be granted an interview without a college degree.  It’s not right - It’s not fair - and yet the only aspect more troubling than the requirement is the rationale behind the requirement.

 

Secondly, only in very select professions (Medicine, Law, Engineering and etc.) are college degrees designed for job training.  They are also designed to expand the mind in providing critical thinking that serve us throughout our entire lifetimes.  Even if you never use algebra or geometry, that education has expanded your mind to think in ways it wouldn’t have functioned.

 

History has value in determining the truth versus lies and deceit. This is crucial in making key decisions. It can be the barometer in determining what has worked and why; what is right and wrong and why; who to vote for and why – who to financially support and why. 

 

Finally, a degree has the value of creating lifelong pleasure and enjoyment in areas that would never have been introduced to us.  Literature, art, theater and etc. bring enormous pleasure to millions every day – millions who would have never known of these potential benefits without being introduced to them in college.

 

What you should do with your life is really quite simple.  First you must determine what you are most skilled at and what you love doing.  That is what you will do best and, being the best, will almost always ensure your greatest success along with the highest range of appreciation and thus the highest level of income.  If developing those talents and skills to the max requires a college degree than you must secure the degree.  If technical training and apprenticeship programs are required than the degree is not necessary.  

 

A final word on income.  The biggest challenge faced is not in determining what you will work at, but rather, disciplining yourself and learning how to live within your income level.

 

Most importantly, and in the final analysis, life only has meaning in our contributions to the common good and general warfare.   We can only derive true satisfaction from our professional accomplishments if they promote compassion and kindness, which clearly defines our purpose and thus the meaning of life.

 

The universe itself is a gift designed to provide for all our needs.  We have been given the world and everything in it.  Now we must choose.  Either we can hate and kill one another or we can love and nurture one another.  Your efforts and thinking in life – even the work you choose to do - will certainly favor one of those choices.  

Our professional life is NOT one tiny, teeny bit more complex than that.