Persuasive Essay

Persuasion Essay

As young Americans living in the 21st century, we have many options when it comes to what we want to do after we graduate high school. Many choose to go to college and earn a degree while others choose to go straight to work or join the military. While all are very good choices for the young men and women who choose each path, some might be more rewarding than others. Earning a degree is something I think all young adults should do regardless of which path they choose; it brings much more economic security, many more job opportunities, and, in most cases, a broader understanding of the world and how it works.

One of the first major reasons for my believing this is the economic benefits of the college degree. As we all know, we have been in economic downturn for the past several years, and one study in 2008 found that this was due to a lack of college degrees, or partially at any rate."One of the biggest developments in this year's report is the strength of the relationship between higher education and the economy," said Dewayne Matthews, Lumina's vice president for policy and strategy. "People are beginning to understand that job growth is a structural issue, and that higher education is the key to economic growth." (UPI Top New, 2010) As you can tell, there is a correlation between what our economy does and the education that we, as Americans, receive after we leave high school and start to enter the real world. It is saying that the American economy cannot survive with employees that have limited knowledge and education. This is not to say that those who do not go to college do not contribute to society however there is an extremely important need for an educated populous to pull us out of this economic deficit.

The opportunities for person to find a well paying job are exponentially increased upon receiving a degree from an accredited college or university. "America needs more workers with college degrees, certificates and industry certifications." (Arabia 2000, 2010) This quote indicates another point I am trying to make: The employers in America simply cannot find the people they need to fill the jobs that require higher education and training. It used to be that you didn't need a degree to get a job, sure it helped, but you didn't have to have it. Well in today's society it's practically a requirement and the trend seems to only be growing. If this is the case, wouldn't you want to arm yourself with as much education and prowess before meeting with employers who won't consider your application if you do not have a degree attached to it? The answer is yes, you are more likely to get a job over someone if you have a degree and they do not. There is a correlation between jobs and degrees, and the article "Help Wanted: Projecting Jobs and Education Requirements through 2018" (Arabia 2000, 2010) indicates that this relation is growing closer and even estimates that 63% of all jobs will require some type of post-secondary degree by the year 2018. As you can see, there is substantial evidence leaning towards employers needing a degree, specifically the ones that will allow you to live in a comfortable middle-class lifestyle.

"Instead of exercising the appropriate mental muscles, we're allowing ourselves to become a nation of nitwits, obsessed with the comings and goings of Lindsay Lohan and increasingly oblivious to crucially important societal issues that are all but screaming for attention. What should we be doing about the legions of jobless Americans, the deteriorating public schools, the debilitating wars, the scandalous economic inequality, the corporate hold on governmental affairs, the commercialization of the arts, the deficits?" (Guelph Mercury (ON, 2010) this seems