Written By: C.H. Amara
Do you really need a degree in today’s workforce? Degrees don’t just symbolize that you have a specific knowledge in something. They also imply that over the course of two to four years, your time management, social skills, professionalism, and maturity have improved immensely. These are things that ‘cannot be taught’. What that means is, an employer is willing to spend the time teaching you some skills for a job, but not basic fundamentals such as organization and punctuality. Having a degree implies you have these fundamentals, because you went through years of rigorous study that you could have only succeeded if you had these professional fundamentals.
Many people argue that by doing volunteer work and other assorted jobs, you will learn these skills. But, it is important to remember that nowhere else but a good college will take the time to review your work with you and teach you how to improve. Jobs just want the jobs done. College makes sure that the job gets done well, and how it could be done better next time.
Ultimately, many people would argue that you don’t need a degree to get by, and that may have been true before. But, having a degree is more common than ever before in the United States, so it has now become a basic qualifier for jobs. In addition, it is harder to climb the ladder without a degree. So, you may be fine now, but in the future it will be harder for you to keep up with your peers in terms of promotions and better paying jobs.
