Is College Still A Good Investment?
May 11, 2009 by Tisa Silver
Filed under Finance
With the rising cost of a college education, is college still a good investment?
According to Fortune Magazine, the average cost of tuition plus room and board can run from $14,000 per year at a public university to $34,000 per year at a private university.
Photo by Domain Barnyard, courtesy of flickr
The cost of college has far outpaced the income of the average family. Filling the gap with loans can leave students saddled with debt and wondering if college is worth a try.
After all, several successful people have never attended college or enrolled and then dropped out.
For example, at 19, Michael Dell dropped out of the University of Texas at Austin. Steve Jobs dropped out of college after six months.
Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard, but he received an honorary degree thirty years later.
Warren Buffett dropped out of the University of Pennsylvania, but he later earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and an MBA from Columbia.
Sure, you can be successful without a degree, but education is still a good investment. If you plan ahead and explore every available funding option, you can lighten the financial burden of higher education.
So each day this week, I will write posts about paying for college. Loans, grants, scholarships, etc.
Tomorrow’s post- The FAFSA: To Do or Not To Do?
Hi Tisa,
In a word, YES! College is still worth the investment. Despite the short list of people listed above, there could potentially be many more people who have been successful in their profession or career without a degree, but for young people today (or old), a degree will barely get you a pass when competing for jobs. It is absolutely a critical key to compete for decent salaried positions. Can you find a job without a degree today? Absolutely! I know people that have good jobs without a degree. But they have a story to tell about what they have endured to get where they are in there respective organizations. I just wrote about my thoughts on the need for a college degree. Take a peek: http://www.bizzia.com/articles/one-degree-at-a-time/. College degrees are absolutely worth the investment for the majority of people who want to enter the workforce. The Steve Jobs, Dells, and Bill Gates of the world, seem to be few and far between. I love all of their stories, but that is by no means the barometer to measure whether an individual should pursue a degree. A college degree in my opinion is a piece of paper that carries a powerful punch. It is the necessary key to opening the door and competing for jobs.
Darlene
Interview Guru
http://www.bizzia.com/careers
Hi Darlene,
Thanks for stopping by! I couldn’t agree with you more. I believe having more education increases your job options, as well as your potential for advancement on the job. College was a great investment for me.
P.S. Did you watch Joan Rivers get hired on Sunday night?
Tisa