by Julie Jaworski

While growing up, you grow to hate school. You go through twelve years, just to have to do more. For many people, post secondary education is not in their plan. There is no problem with not wanting to further your education, but there are many benefits to doing so. 

Let’s begin with why college is NOT necessary. There are many options after high school, things like the military and trade school. Even without going into those things, there are people who are still just as successful without all the schooling as someone who got a Masters degree. 

Though this is true, your best shot at a successful future comes from going to college. There are many different options: an Associates degree, a Bachelors, a Masters, etc. These are the most common degrees to earn and your decision on which one you want to achieve is based on how long you wish to stay in school. An Associates degree is two years, a Bachelors is four, and a Masters is 4+ (usually 6 years).

Each degree can certify you for different careers. For example, a doctor cannot only have an associates degree. Most doctors must have at least a Bachelor’s degree, followed by many years of training. It comes to a point of considering if your dream career is worth spending that much time on.

Things are continuously changing, so in the future many careers that currently need a certain degree could be completely different. There are also many careers that will not exist by the time you are at the age to get your full time job. Technology is constantly changing.

College will help you figure out what you want to do in the future. Many people go into college with a goal to reach, but there is a majority of people who go into college undecided. Being around other students and taking different classes at your college can help influence you!

Of course, college is not for everyone. It is a time commitment and a very challenging time in your life that not everyone wants to experience, and it is okay.