Is College Education Worth It

Is College Education Worth It? Hailey Mulligan October 24, 2012 Organization Communication MG320 Is College Education Worth It? Getting a â€Å"good† job is not straightforward as it used to be. In past generations, someone in an entry-level position could work their way up the ladder simply through hard work and determination; whether or not one had credentials or a diploma mattered very little. This is not the case today. Higher education is now critical to obtaining a better job because the demand for skilled labor is rising.For this reason, the value that a degree offers is higher than that of one’s actual intelligence or merit. Furthermore, workers without college degrees will quickly be outpaced in position and salary by degree holders. Earning a college degree is no longer simply an option for potential job seekers, but a necessity for those wishing to advance in their careers. With the cost of postsecondary education rising in leaps and bounds, potential student s may wonder if the college education system is still worth investing in.Niall Ferguson (2012) states that at a sample of public colleges, average tuition and fees for in-state residents have risen by 25 percent since 2008; for private schools, these tuition and fees rose by 13 percent (p. 20). Similarly, over half (56 percent) of students are enrolled at four year schools with tuitions and fees of up to $9,000 a year with high-ranking institutions reporting costs upwards of $40,000 annually (Walker, 2010, p. 28). Although this cost has been offset for many students by the increase in government funding for education in the form of grants and entitlements, postsecondary expenses can be daunting.Yet, findings discussed later in this report reveal the vital importance of a college degree, not only in short-term job hunts but as a long-term investment over one’s lifetime. First, the demand for skilled labor has risen in America. According to Bound and Turner (2010), â€Å"colle giate attainment has not kept pace with increases in the demand for skilled workers in the United States† (p. 7). Although there has been a significant increase in the number of college attendees, the number of students actually completing a college degree has not increased proportionately (p. 7).One possible argument for the rising demand of college graduates is the reduction of blue-collar jobs as this nation moves into a technology and information-based economic market (Carnevalle, 2006, p. 90). Bankston (2011) says this trend might be consistent with the argument that advances in technology have created a rising demand for advanced credentials (p. 337). Other authors cite examples of how â€Å"a new technology may require that people have a degree to provide a product or service for which a degree was unnecessary ten years ago† (Whitaker and Zenker, 2011, p. 21).Others argue, however, that demand for jobs that require a college degree is simply a self-perpetuating r esult of the increase in college graduates. In 1940, barely five percent of American’s held a college degree; by 2008 that number had risen to 30 percent (Bankston, 2011, p. 326). One author credits the rise of degree requirements to the growth of government subsidies in the market of postsecondary education (Bankston, 2011, p. 336). As the government gives more money in the form of Pell grants (which has now been deemed an entitlement), more students attend college and obtain degrees.Bankston reasons that â€Å"one would expect that as credentials flood the market, they will purchase fewer opportunities† (p. 336). Over time this may mean that the value of a college degree may diminish and the gap in income and job opportunities between graduates and non-graduates will decrease. (p. 336). It may also mean that having only a bachelor’s degree will not be enough to secure a comfortable career. Debra Stewart, president of the Council of Graduate Schools, claims tha t â€Å"over the course of a lifetime, people with master's degrees earn 18 percent more than those with baccalaureate degrees† (Loftus, 2012, p. 3). For now though, the rise of credentialed job seekers has led to the thought that higher education is an expectation for everyone.Because having a degree has become so common, employers now use it as a way to eliminate people who would not make good candidates for employment—even if a degree isn’t a totally accurate determinant of one’s talent or work skills. The mass availability of college education may actually â€Å"debase its intrinsic value† (Bankston, p. 338). Although someone without a degree may have more natural intelligence and ability than their credentialed ounterpart, a degree is now worth more than actual capability in the job market. Bankston writes that â€Å"the popular emphasis placed on higher education in a society in which higher education has become a broad expectation has heigh tened the importance of credentials as an asset for obtaining a job at the expense of other assets, such as demonstrated ability or experience in a field† (p. 337). A degree provides a form of merit that employers look for immediately because the degree marks the individual as someone who can supposedly meet deadlines, fulfill obligations, and think critically.Margolis (2007) remarks how â€Å"it was the common practice of my colleagues to immediately sift out the [resumes] that didn’t have a degree and just throw them away† (p. 42). Because many employers are searching through high volumes of resumes, they don’t have time to thoroughly look at every single one; they speed up the process by simply filtering out non-graduates. This point is exemplified further in the case of Marilee Jones. The former dean of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M. I. T. ) quickly resigned after it was discovered she did not actually have the credentials listed on her resume (Kinsley, 2007).Even though she started as a clerical worker and advanced in position over 28 years to become the dean at this prestigious school, her talent and loyalty meant nothing once her padded resume was revealed (Kinsley, 2007). She simply lacked the paper qualifications M. I. T. based itself upon. Although these qualifications are all â€Å"artificial substitutes for real merit, sometimes the artificial substitute is unavoidable† (p. 34). The substitutes are unavoidable when employers, like colleges, do not have the time or ability to gather all the information necessary to determine who will be a successful employee.Even though Ms. Jones â€Å"demonstrated real merit† (p. 34), her paper merit—or lack thereof—ultimately determined her fate at M. I. T. A college degree stands in the place of ability when ability cannot be measured in a concrete way. Not only can the absence of a college degree inhibit one’s ability to o btain a job, it can also hinder one’s likelihood of advancement in a career. A degree increases one’s â€Å"marketability and maneuverability—without a degree, you’re flying by the seat of your pants† (Kinsley, 2007). Although one might find a job without a degree (based on connections, etc. , the degree provides a cushion. If this job were to be lost, a new job could readily be found because of one’s credentials. Furthermore, non-graduates â€Å"cap out† in their careers sooner than graduates. Kinsley notes that â€Å"you hit that ceiling where a high school diploma only gets you so far in a salary range† (p. 34). Bankston also documents the increasing gap since the 1950s in median wage incomes of Americans with and without college degrees (p. 337). The wage premium of a college degree over a high school diplomas increased by 83% since 1979 (Carnevale, 2006, p. 90).Non-graduates have less bargaining power in their positions be cause they are less valuable to their employer and may therefore be unable to take advantage of an increase in earnings or benefits (Kinsley, 2007). So stringent have the qualifications for employment become—arbitrarily or otherwise—that sometimes just having a diploma isn’t even enough. For example, employers are still wary about the quality of online degrees. Lynn Gresham (2008) notes a survey conducted by Vault. com that revealed â€Å"nearly two-thirds (63%) [of employers] still said that they would favor job candidates with degrees from traditional colleges† (p. 4). One hiring manager said they didn’t believe online degrees â€Å"reflect a serious commitment to education† (p. 24). Currently the perceived value of an online degree is less than that of degrees obtained from brick-and-mortar institutions. However, as more job candidates complete degrees online, employers’ views on their validity are slowing changing. For some, the c ompletion of an online degree shows that â€Å"the person is highly self-motivated to learn new skills and acquire knowledge through rigorous self-study methods† (p. 27). Today, the average American changes jobs eleven times during their adult life (U.S. Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012). For this reason, a person without a college degree would be devastatingly ill-equipped to survive in today’s job market because they lack the flexibility to move to new careers. In 2010, non-graduate workers experienced 10. 4 percent unemployment, while workers with at least a bachelor’s degree were only unemployed at 4. 7 percent (Whitaker and Zenker, 2011, p. 21-22). Employers still look to see if a job candidate has a degree, even if they exemplify significant intelligence.Doors of opportunity that remain open to degree holders will be closed for non-graduates and the ladder of advancement will only reach so high. Diplomas are a form of meritocracy neces sary in America, even if only arbitrarily. While the intrinsic value of a college education may be disappearing because of its mass production, its extrinsic value remains true. Despite its high costs, college is still one of the best investments a person can make in today’s highly competitive job market. Financially and opportunity-wise, obtaining a college education is still worth it.

Advertising: Make the Consumer Believe They Are Superior Essay

Advertisers persuade people into buying their products by making the advertisement appealing to the consumer. By relating alluring experiences that in most cases have nothing to do with the product at all. It is a psychological strategy that advertisers use to make the consumer believe that by buying the product they will be superior or they will get some kind of satisfaction out of it. Researchers have found a way to discover codes hidden in advertisements that make the unconscious mind want to buy the product. Advertisers relate the products to pleasurable experiences and they use emotional branding to make money. Researchers study the right language to sell a product or idea by trying to figure out a code to the unconscious mind of why people actually buy the product. According to (Clotaire Rapaille) from â€Å"The Persuaders† advertisers know how Americans feel about the product, â€Å"there are unconscious associations with every product that we buy†.† Every word has an unconscious code in every mind marketers understand the real need of the customer sometimes unspoken and they deliver give me want we want†. Marketers try to connect their products to the consumers they are persuasive and they have plenty of selling strategies to get to people to buy something. They relate the product to a certain group of people for example, there was an advertisement that was shown on the film â€Å"The Persuaders† that made a connection with happy people saying that Song a new airline is for happy people. It could be very difficult to get around in this world with a degree of self- awareness as to what’s happening because all these messages are trying to move us to act and make choices on an emotional level and probably the best way to not fall into this trap that advertisers put consumers into is not to believe in the advertisements. (Rusgkoff, Persuaders) Advertisers capture the attention of teens by relating cool or pleasur able experiences to products. They obtain their attention by telling them what’s cool. On TV commercials or at the stores that teenager are most likely to visit. Persuasion is an important role in capturing teen’s attention. Teens are easily persuaded into buying things by the media, advertisers know that teens have favorite celebrities and they use it to capture their attention. Teens attention is captured by the images and wordings that an advertisement has. There is a story that teens can identify just by the picture and by how well the advertisement is organized. It is so easy for teenagers to be amazed by some products being advertised. Teenagers want to have everything that is cool, everything that is going to make them stand out or popular among their own groups. (Rushkoff, Merchants) An example of emotional persuasion is that advertisers are trying to sell their products by making people believe that by buying a product they will be superior. Advertisers relate their products to culture, sports, family anything that is important to people. For example they might advertise something that has to do with a groups culture. Therefore consumers buy the product because they feel that it relates to their culture and makes them feel good. Emotional branding is used to describe a way of life. What people like to do or they are accustomed to do advertisers try to put it in their advertisements. Images and words are important to tell a story within an advertisement. Products are related to things that we enjoy doing advertisers want to make us think that the products we purchase make us who we are. An important strategy that advertisers use is imagery. Imagery displays pleasurable experiences or things that make people laugh. For example the joy they would feel if they bought energizer max batteries because the bunny is so catchy and gives a precedent of how the batteries work. (Maasik and Solomon) Having the correct picture in an advertisement can be very beneficial. Images are what capture peoples’ attention. Pleasurable experiences are shown in images so that the consumer is enlightened by the product and could see themselves in that pleasurable experience. Imagery is very important in selling products. It defines what people want and the words in the advertisement makes people see what advertisers want them to see and feel in order to sell their product. . Pictures give advertisements a sense of what the product means. A product can mean many things in an advertisement but the images show emotion towards things that people want.(Streeter) Images of desire are substituted for actual products on the advertisements advertisers goal is to transform desire into necessity. â€Å"Semiotics is a tradition of thought known for calling attention to the formal structures of signification, of meaning-making, in culture.†(Streeter) Advertisers use psychology to sell their products by associating products with pleasurable experiences, this is how consumers are persuaded into buying a product even though sometimes the pleasurable experience has nothing to do with the product being advertised. Advertisers want to know how the unconscious mind works when it comes to deciding whether or not to buy a product. They believe that the unconscious mind makes people buy things that they don’t need. Advertisers try to satisfy consumers’ needs throughout images and words to make them feel that they deserve to have that pleasurable experience that is being shown in the advertisement. Some ways that advertisers use psychology to sell their products is by making us think that we need the product but we buy a certain brand because it associates with something that we enjoy doing. For example, their favorite brands, things that they like, colors that they might find alluring. Advertisers are willing to pay these people for information to gather ideas for new advertisements. (Rushkoff,Persuaders) Day after day people are exposed to advertisements. There are advertisements in every building, any place we look at. People are being persuaded to buy things and many do not realize it. Many do not even imagine that behind those fascinating images there is a code that advertisers worked too hard to uncover so that people buy their product.

Cultural Awarness on Venezuela Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cultural Awarness on Venezuela - Essay Example Apart from its stunning scenery, Venezuela moreover is abundant with natural wealth that the rest of the worldwide public is hurried to get at. Inappropriately latest bullying to the land-living, folks, and administration have overpowered the republic into close devastation (Duarte et al). Venezuelas countrywide populace is almost comparable to that of most other South American nations, with a blend of primary aboriginal inhabitants, a huge Spanish arrival, and noteworthy residents of African descent. There have also been distinguished Latin American and European immigrations in the past two epochs. Even with these diverse inhabitants, conversely, Venezuela has one of the greatest established state identities in the landmass. This state firmness is almost certainly due to dual factors: Venezuela has an enormously lesser fashionable manifestation of native groups to challenge the national solidity, and secondly up until the 1990s Venezuela boasted an unbelievably sturdy national budget. Venezuela has a federalist government, which comprises of policymaking, jurisdictive, and legal branches. The policymaking branch is led by a generally chosen president who remains in power for five years. The jurisdictive branch encompasses Congress that is separated into a Chamber of Deputies and a Senate. The Chamber of Deputies mirrors the nations provincial picture, whereas the Senate comprises of two legislatures from every state and the capitals centralized locality. Venezuelas uppermost justice body is that of the Supreme Court, whose fellows are picked out by the legislative body of Assembly. The Venezuelan military contains an expected eighty thousand fellows alienated into the army, air force and navy. The country has by tradition upheld stumpy levels of security expenses, be an average of only 1.5 percent of its GDP. Venezuela has had enduring significant skirmishes with adjacent Colombia and Guyana, which further heightened in the 80s. From the time

Self Expression Through The Clothes We Wear Essay

Self Expression Through The Clothes We Wear - Essay Example The emergence of street style of clothing has not at all changed the desire among people to show themselves via their wardrobe. According to Dorene (1) fashion and function should match well without hustle in the current world. There should be no one to dictate the mode of dressing as long as the individual is comfortable with the clothing he or she is putting at a given function. Dorene (1) says in the article, â€Å"I need the style and comfort that’s going to let me wear it all day.† It is argued that all sexes desire clothing and apparel that can not only perform but also bring out the fitness of their life style in any given function. Many people want apparels that help to express the attitude of the wearer, which gives room for them to bring out their character, clothes that expresses whether by showing off their tattoo or their colorful headband. Functionality in most cases begins with durability, lightweight and breathable garments with enough room to conceal the total range of emotions. This seems to have evolved with the assistance of high technology from other markets. In the current days and time, people should be allowed to wear what pleases them because of the increased sophistication of the clothing. â€Å"Fitness apparel has evolved in the quality of material and the quality of construction,† says (Andrea 1). Andrea (1) however offers a candid advice to everyone in the society of what to wear and what to consider. As much as everyone should the freedom to wear what they pleases, the people must evaluate their own personal motivation, provide a little guidance on background depending on the function, create respect for oneself, take children into account and provide a role model to various people in various walks of life. The guiding principle should the personal conviction of the person himself