Powell 1

Drew Powell

Professor Bell

English 1201

2 May 2021

The Importance of Earning a College Degree

Brian Powell is the mouthpiece guy. With many clients ranging from local to

international, he makes his living repairing and remodelling saxophone mouthpieces according

to what his clients want. While not extremely wealthy, he has been able to make a decent living

and support five kids in a single-income household. Brian was raised in Ohio, but went to

college at Highlands University in New Mexico, in which he received his Bachelor of Arts in

music performance. How does one get the job of a craftsman after receiving a music degree,

you might ask? The simple answer is that they do not. Mr. Powell’s education is completely

unrelated to the work he has done since he graduated in the class of 1994. After receiving his

degree, Mr. Powell was at a loss as to what he would do next, there were no job offers or clear

paths as to what he could do. Returning to Dayton, he then took an apprenticeship with a

craftsman who had a long career in fixing mouthpieces. This is what led Brian Powell to having

the career he has today, meaning his college degree never did very much for him. But is this

problem prevalent? Is college necessary? While college may still be an important institution, it

should transition into being one option of many for future career paths, as while it still leads to

higher overall wealth, it has created student debt, can lead to degrees with no career paths,

and there are new small-scale opportunities that can create well-paying jobs while reducing

student debt.
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To understand why colleges are considered essential, it is important to look at the

history of college in America and analyze how the purpose of college has changed from its early

beginnings to its role in modern America. The first school established is what is now known as

Harvard University, in 1636. Between then and 1749, nine colleges were established, as per the

Encyclopedia Britannica. This number has changed drastically since then, as many different

colleges have popped up all over the country. For instance: Public four year institutions, two

year institutions, and various private institutions. The earliest colleges in the United States

were based on British colleges, as they focused on “general education and moral character”

(Encyclopedia Britannica). These colleges were mostly for wealthy white people, as they would

learn about basic citizenship as well as religion. This differs greatly from what colleges are now.

Colleges today act as businesses, trying to attract students to pick their business, as well

as make money in return. This is done through lots of spending and resources, as colleges

compete with one another over who can have more to offer to students; including student

resources, technology, and even luxury attractions such as swimming pools, such as the ones

demonstrated in Rossi’s Ivory Tower, which can be found on CNN. As well, college now has

many different specializations, with degrees in hundreds of subjects and various subcategories

of larger programs. This means students now have more choices than ever about which degree

they want to pursue. Colleges are considered to be the primary way to enter the workforce,

while also possibly debilitating to the future, as students have assumed “$1.5 trillion in total

student debt” (Encyclopedia Britannica). Intentions concerning college have changed as now

students attend mostly for the purpose of securing an economically stable future. However, it is
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possible that instead of providing a stable long term plan, college may be a hindrance to those

who attend, as the large debt gives those who do not attend a head start.

According to Astra Taylor (Newsweek Global), in the United States “45 million people

combine to hold over 1.7 trillion dollars in student loan debt”. Not only is this a lot of money

that hurts a lot of people of all ages from engaging in the economy, but it disproportionately

affects those who started with less money. While wealthier Americans are able to pay up front

and avoid taking loans, those who cannot afford to do so have to take loans that may gain

interest and will eventually cost even more. This helps to create a system where the rich profit,

and the poor continue to struggle, as now those with less money will pay more for a degree

than someone who starts with more. This exemplifies how this is a flawed system that hurts

the poor, but also affects the economy at large. Rather than being able to invest money or

support commerce, former students have to put that money into their student loan payments.

This means that not only is the high student debt detrimental to the people who accumulate it,

but it hurts the rest of the country as well, creating an unequal, unstable economy that does

not work for anyone.

One might provide the argument that student debt is not very much of a problem, as

many students are able to avoid debt through scholarships and alternative programs. While this

may be true for some students, the majority do not receive that luxury. When looking at the

APLU statistics on student debt in four-year colleges only, “about 42% of students” (Edelson)

graduated free of debt. This means that 58% of college students had accumulated debt when

they graduated, and upon further inspection, about 47% of students accumulated over $10,000

of debt. Additionally, it is not just how many are borrowing, but it is also a matter of who is
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borrowing, as upon receiving a bachelors, “black college graduates owe $7,400 more on

average than their white peers”(Scott-Clayton and Li). Over the next few years, the gap grows

even larger, on average triple the size. So, even though some students have the ability to

escape student debt, not everybody has an equal opportunity to do so, adding a level of nuance

to the issue. While some can circumnavigate student debt, usually this ability comes from a

place of privilege, as those of color have to work even harder to achieve a loan debt as low as

whites. This means that not only is student loan debt still very common, it is also incredibly

unbalanced and unfair.

As high as student debt looks from the outside, it could actually be worse upon further

inspection, as in 2004, “banks extended $11 billion in loans to students” (Strauss and Howe).

The economic implications of student debt then becomes more all encompassing, as students

begin racking up debt that will take them years to climb out of, affecting not only the monetary

wealth of the student, but also the family who attempts to support them. Not only are the

average student’s loans increasing, but the number of loans going to students is inflating at a

dangerous clip: between 1993 and 2004, they had “more than doubled [each year]” (Strauss

and Howe). This contributes to the idea that student loans are continually affecting the lower

and middle class, families that cannot afford to pay for college are taking more and more loans,

creating an economic bubble that is not only hurting working class families in the present, but

may continue affecting those with college degrees in the future. It does not help matters that

the process of getting a loan often hurts the young students who feel it is necessary for their

future.
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While college’s rising costs are increasing the number of loans taken out by students, a

negative side-effect that is revealed by this is predatory lending. As many of these students

who take these loans are very young and do not have experience taking out loans, they are hurt

later in life by the loans that they received before entering college. This acts as a cycle that

leads toward higher college tuition, as the idea that a degree is the clearest path to success

remains prevalent, students will keep investing their money in this lending program that

continually takes advantage of them and loses them more and more money. The idea that

college is necessary, even to those who might go into a profession that does not require a

degree keeps students playing and colleges in business. As well, this reinforces the idea that

those with a lower income will pay higher costs for college than those with a higher income, as

those who must take out loans are repeatedly hurt and wind up paying back this money for

years: “a great many will reach social security age still owing [money]” (Taibbi). While a degree

might be expensive in it’s own right, it becomes important to look at the odds of getting your

degree in college, and what the benefits are.

When looking at the success that colleges are having, one important statistic to consider

is the completion rate (defined as obtaining some degree), whether at a two-year or four-year

institution. In the 2018 National Student Clearinghouse study on college students who enrolled

in 2012, 58.3% had completed their degree and 11.1% were still enrolled, leaving 30.6% as not

having gotten their degree. The completion rate has been steadily increasing for both two and

four year institutions between 2009 to 2012, after falling between 2007-2009. These numbers

are very broad, as not only the type of college, but the characteristics of the individual affects

how likely you are to receive a degree. For example, those who enroll under age 20 (62.9%) are
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much more likely than those between 20 and 24 (46.6%) to complete their degree. This is just

one factor; many others include gender, ethnicity, the status of the institution, and the intensity

of the enrollment as well. Combining this with the knowledge of how much student debt can

be accumulated in this short period of time provides a cautionary story of even deciding to

enter college. Spending thousands of dollars and accumulating thousands in loan debt is

certainly not worth the risk, especially if there are extraneous circumstances that could affect

one’s ability to complete their degree. If the purpose of college is to get a job that secures your

economic status, and that degree is what secures that, then college is failing. The factors

described earlier combine to exemplify how college is very much affected by the person

deciding to attend, and these factors should all be considered when deciding whether it is right

for you. Not only might you not receive a degree, but it is also important to look at what that

degree really does.

Choosing a career path and major at a university may have a huge effect on your future

earnings once you have completed your degree. In the 2018 US Census Bureau tabulation of

outcomes of four different majors at the University of Texas, this fact becomes apparent. Case

in point, getting a degree in economics had a median of about 50,000 dollars per year, while

getting a degree in psychology had a median of about 33,000 dollars per year. Jobs that come

out of these degrees can vary widely, and with that, so does the income associated with it. As

well, it is important to see how many people do not get jobs soon after completing their degree

and what types of jobs are received by more fortunate others. As shown with Brian Powell

earlier, just because you get a degree does not mean that degree guarantees you a job. His

story is not an anomaly either, as 38 percent of those who get a degree in music (not including
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education) are self employed, as per the US Bureau of Labor. Obviously, music serves as a more

extreme example, however there are still some surprising numbers in other fields: 2.4 percent

of education majors with a masters are unemployed, as are 2.8 percent of those in the same

field with a bachelors, as shown by the bureau of labor statistics. Even psychologists who were

mentioned earlier go the route of many musicians, as 31% of psychology majors were self-

employed, while 6.1% are unemployed; in reference to the American Psychological Association.

While this may not seem like a lot, it is important to recognize that these small percentages in

each field add up, and each contribute to the high accumulation of student debt, as these

represent students who paid for the education, but did not receive the benefits they believed

their degree offered them. As we see that college can be too expensive and potentially

unrewarding to be considered the only sustainable option for future employment, other

potential solutions emerge as contenders.

While colleges can grant someone the path to the career of their choice, there are many

steps young people can take that can allow them to get stable jobs, without the risk of

abundant debt. This plan does not include four more years of school, but instead focuses on

building work experience and saving money in order to climb the metaphorical economic

ladder. Getting early hands-on experience in a field through jobs and apprenticeships, as well as

practicing basic money saving techniques allows individuals to prepare for the future debt-free,

inferred by Strauss and Howe in their Chronicles of Education. This can be seen as both a way to

make colleges obsolete -- as potential students realize that money can be made without college

-- but also as a way to make colleges change how they are run. If students begin to avoid the

potential debt of college, colleges are going to have to find more ways to make it cheaper to go
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there, in order to keep their business afloat. This could help decrease the inflating debt

problem and make colleges change their methods, instead of focusing on luxury attractions,

they can make sure that students are obtaining their degrees. According to Strauss and Howe,

students ditching the college plan can be a way to help students and colleges mutually, as

together they can find a balance of cost.

Expounding upon the idea of alternatives to traditional four-year institutions is Jeffrey

Selingo’s Wall Street Journal article “ College Isn’t Always the Answer”. The idea behind the

article is that there are plenty of ways to gain useful skills and attain well paying jobs that do

not require a college degree. A few of these methods include apprenticeship programs,

cooperative education, and even just taking a gap year. Hands-on experience is what allows

America’s youth to grow and gain the experience necessary to be put into the workforce,

experience that can be gained without the assistance of a four-year institution. These

cooperative education programs (or co-op for short) provide students with the ability to work

through college, giving them experience in their field, while helping to pay back their student

loans. Even some four institutions can adapt and include co-op programs that allow for

students to attempt to combine their work and education, making college more economically

secure for them. As well as making it cheaper, it creates the opportunities that students want

college to grant them when they decide to attend: The opportunity for a career and future

work. These co-op programs are only one route students can take, as both gap years and

apprenticeships allow students to save money while pursuing potential careers and gaining

some valuable life experience. There are opportunities that can both provide alternatives to
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college, and also some that can provide colleges with alternatives to traditional four-year

education.

Not only do some of the solutions included previously go to creating opportunities for

students outside of college, but they also help to provide ways in which colleges can improve.

While student debt and college costs may be flawed, it is hard to argue against how college can

be a truly successful model of education, as students can pursue their passions and take part in

research that will impact both their future and the future of those affected by their potentially

important work. However, it is important to look at how college is not working for everyone

and the idea behind changing college is not to abolish a system that we have relied upon for a

long time, but it is about maximizing the opportunities that college can create, as focusing more

on how a students education can lead to a job rather than the amenities and luxury features of

college makes sense for all involved. Colleges need to listen to the students, and students need

to be able to voice their concerns, utilize other sources than universities, and have their needs

addressed in order to find the balance between what universities and students need. Still, some

may oppose changes to college institutions, as they have become such an ingrained part of our

education system.

Despite some of the glaring flaws within college costs and student debt, many are

reluctant to attempt to bring change to this system. Most of the reason for this is due to the

“dramatic gap in wages [that] exists between Americans with college degrees and those

without them” (Goral). As well, it has also been shown that “college graduates have higher

employment rates, bigger salaries and more work benefits” (Encyclopedia Britannica). While

these facts may be true, as college education can lead to lucrative careers, it does not factor in
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how student debt affects those who obtain these careers, and how their newfound money is

spent trying to work out of debt: “When adjusted for inflation, the median earnings of workers

age 25 and older with only a bachelor's degree have fallen for four straight years.”(Straus and

Howe). This could potentially mean that apprenticeships or jobs could be equally effective, as

those who go that route will attain money without having to worry about debt. As those with

bachelor’s continue to make less and less, it demonstrates how the college plan is not

sustainable. Instead of just saving money with no loans to pay back, those who attend college

have to pay thousands and up to hundreds of thousands of dollars back, all while their average

salary is decreasing. This makes it harder to accomplish some of the things they might want to

do later in life, including saving for retirement. As shown in Andrew Rossi’s “Ivory Tower”, some

of the most successful people in the world do not have college degrees, such as Steve Jobs.

While examples as grand as that are considered to be anomalies, the documentary also showed

how many young people are taking advantage of careers and opportunities that do not require

degrees, and an increase in opportunities like this helps to prove how ineffective college can be.

As flawed as college is, some of the experiences, lessons learned, and opportunities for

growth cannot be matched. For an example of this, look no further than Brian Powell. Despite

having a “worthless” degree, he says that he “would not trade those four years of [his] life for

anything else.” College can indeed be a truly profound experience for those who attend, as

those individuals get to meet people that would not be in their ordinary social circle, face

problems and challenges that they have yet to be exposed to, and they get to grow into who

they want to become, as they learn the nuances of their major. Does the mouthpiece guy wish

that his degree had helped him more? The answer is: “Unequivocally, yes. If [Brian’s] degree
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would have promised [him] a career, [he] would have taken college more seriously, working

toward an achievable goal, rather than an unknown.” As well, he feels that he was lucky to

receive the apprenticeship opportunity he did, and that he knows there are many others who

did school similarly to him, but may not have gotten as lucky. Because of this, he feels that

colleges need to focus on making sure that their students are getting opportunities for careers,

or else the debt is all for not. He encourages students to actively search for apprenticeships

such as the one he got, as learning on the job can inspire passion, and potentially lead to a

stronger resume and successful career. While college can be a positive experience for some

and remains a crucial institution as it helps create the American workforce, it needs to become

one option of many, as it has created inflating student debt, can lead to degrees with no career

paths (if one is able to receive a degree at all), and there are new small-scale opportunities that

can create well-paying jobs while reducing student debt.

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Works Cited

Apa Issues Clarification on Psychology Employment Data. American Psychological Association,

2011, www.apa.org/news/press/response/employment-data#:~:text=The%20category

%20of%20%22psychology%22%20was%20the%20fifth%20most,percent%29%2C

%20economics%20%286.3%20percent%29%20and%20geography

%20%286.1%20percent%29. Accessed: 21 March 2021.

Edelson, David. “What Is the Typical Debt Load for Graduates of Four-Year Public Universities?”
Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities, APLU, 27 Feb. 2020,
www.aplu.org/projects-and-initiatives/college-costs-tuition-and-financial-
aid/publicuvalues/student-debt.html. Accessed: 2 April 2021.

Goral, Tim. “Assessing the True Costs of Free College.” University Business, vol. 21, no. 8, Aug.

2018, p. 16. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=a9h&AN=131049353&site=ehost-live. Accessed: 5 March 2021.

Ivory Tower. Directed by Andrew Rossi, CNN Films, 2014. Accessed: 7 March 2021.

NSC Research Center. “Completing College - National - 2018.” National Student Clearinghouse

Research Center, National Student Clearinghouse, 18 Dec. 2018,

nscresearchcenter.org/signaturereport16/. Accessed: 5 March 2021.

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“Musicians and Singers : Occupational Outlook Handbook.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1 Sept. 2020, www.bls.gov/ooh/entertainment-and-

sports/musicians-and-singers.htm. Accessed: 21 March 2021.

Powell, Brian. Personal interview. 2 March 2021.

ProCon.org, "History of College Education." ProCon.org. 14 Jan. 2021, college-

education.procon.org/history-of-college-education/ Accessed:10 March 2021.

“Psychologists : Occupational Outlook Handbook.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau

of Labor Statistics, 18 Feb. 2021, www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-

science/psychologists.htm#tab-6. Accessed: 21 March 2021.

Scott-Clayton, Judith, and Jing Li. Black-White Disparity in Student Loan Debt More than Triples
after Graduation, Brookings Institution, 29 Mar. 2017,
www.brookings.edu/research/black-white-disparity-in-student-loan-debt-more-than-
triples-after-graduation/. Accessed: 2 April 2021.

Selingo, Jeffrey J. “College Isn’t Always the Answer.” Wall Street Journal - Online Edition, 27 May

2016, p. 1. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=a9h&AN=115692194&site=ehost-live. Accessed: 4 March 2021.

Strauss, William, and Neil Howe. “The High Cost of College: An Increasingly Hard Sell.” Chronicle

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Accessed: 5 March 2021.

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Taibbi, Matt. “Forgiving Student Debt Alone Won’t Fix the Crisis.” Rolling Stone, no. 1348, Feb.

2021, p. 29. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=a9h&AN=148291850&site=ehost-live. Accessed: 17 March 2021.

Taylor, Astra, and Jimmy Sengenberger. “What Should Biden Do About Student Loan Debt?”

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live. Accessed: 18 March 2021.

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2021.