Education pays more than just
big bucks.
My children
think it is funny when I tell them that twenty
years ago the computer I owned did not have
enough memory to boot up on its own; that I had
to insert a large floppy disk in order for it to
boot; and the words “Internet” and “World Wide
Web” were, for all I knew, related to fishing
somehow. How things have changed—and continue to
change!
In our modern world
today change has become the poster child for the motto,
“new and improved” and anyone who does not keep up with
it is left in the dust of a bygone era. There is one
thing in particular that makes all the difference
between individuals who create change, who triumphantly
ride the waves of knowledge and those who end up getting
soaked by tidal waves of information. The difference
between these two sets of people is “education.” More
precisely, it is the “value of education.
Students today need
higher levels of knowledge and skills than ever before
to succeed in today’s changing workplaces. In fact,
Anthony P. Carnevale and Donna M. Desrochers explain in
their work, Standards for What? The Economic Roots of
K-16 Reform, (Educational Testing Service, 2003),
that future jobs will “require at least some
postsecondary education” and that these kinds of jobs
“will make up more than two-thirds of new jobs.” In
other words, we are entering into a world that has
changed from the one where a high school graduation
might be sufficient to get by and provide for your
family. Success in the world today seems to carry with
it an educational prerequisite.
Recent studies have
shown that one can expect to more than double their
lifetime earnings potential if they go one to obtain a
Bachelor’s degree. According to one study (College
Board, Education Pays, 2004), the average annual
earnings of those who drop out of school are $22,000
compared to $31,000 for those with a high school
diploma, $38,000 for those with an Associate’s degree,
and $50,000 for those who earn a Bachelor’s degree. The
bottom line: education pays.
Although the bottom
line, your paycheck, is an important factor in life,
there are still several other benefits of gaining a good
education. For one, an educated mind thinks differently
than one who has not undergone academic rigors. Educated
people tend to perceive life differently and to grasp
situations with greater perspective. The example I like
to use is imagine you are a young boy standing next to a
wooden fence. On the other side of the fence is some
construction taking place where lots of giant
earth-moving tractors are at work. There is a knot hole
about one inch square in one of the boards just big
enough for you to catch glimpses of what is going on, an
occasional view of a tractor moving through your field
of vision, etc. Anything that is relatively small has
the potential of obstructing your view completely.
However, imagine what your view would be like, the
action you could take in, if your viewing hole in the
side of the fence was three feet in diameter.
Now, imagine that
viewing hole is your education: the greater your
education the greater the view; the greater your
comprehension of problems you face; and the greater your
understanding of life. Truly, one of the great benefits
of an education is far more valuable than merely
enjoying a bigger paycheck; it is the enhanced quality
of your life in every aspect.
By David Bean
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