Zaheer Glass

Prof. Lago
College Writing 1100
Feb 09, 2014
Carnevale: College majors (Reflection)
In his work, Carnevale is analyzing the college majors, the work force, and how they both
correlate with each other. His goal is to try to answer the question is college worth it? with
statistics and correlations.
After looking over the information provided by Carnevale, It seems that, overall, any
college degree is better than just a high school diploma when it comes to finding a career. The
unemployment for students, says Carnevale, with a bachelors degree is 8.9 percent. This
percentage is insignificant in comparison to the percentage of unemployed students who only
have a high school diploma, which is a staggering 22.9.
Even though it is an important aspect, just getting a bachelors degree is not good
enough. One must have a focus in certain majors to have a better chance of finding a career it
seems. For me personally, it looks like I have chosen a fairly marketable major. The percentage
of unemployment for students with a bachelors degree in psychology and social work, says
Carnevale, are at a relatively low 7.3. This is low compared to non-technical majors, such as
Arts with a percentage of 11.1, or information systems with a 11.7. According to this
information, I am in ok shape.
Getting off of the comparison of college graduates to high school graduates, students who
go to graduate school have an even higher chance of employment than students who just get their
bachelors degree. This difference is not only seen in employment vs unemployment, but also,
amount of paid salaries. According to Carnevale, If I want to have a higher chance of being in a
well-paid occupation, I have to further my education beyond a bachelors degree.
With percentages so low, It seems to me that getting a college education is very well wort
it.