“You need to go to college if you want to be successful.” It’s a common argument, often delivered from expectant parents to their children. This argument is well-intentioned and not entirely inaccurate. {Culture and family dynamics can often inform the perceived significance of college}, but it isn’t the only pathway to a successful future. At least not in the way that well-meaning parents prop it up to be.
Benefits of College Degrees
Across the board, there are benefits to holding a college degree. These benefits involve improvements to quality of life in terms of median income, benefit packages, and job security. College degrees also provide more opportunities for advancement in relevant career fields. But that’s exactly the conundrum: the career field must have an advancement path. There are also those who study management in college who implement those skills in blue collar industries like construction.
Mastery of the field aside, a college degree might also demonstrate an applicant’s ability to commit to a long-term position. A resume peppered with relevant extra-curricular activities can demonstrate an active interest in the field one wants to work for, and some of these experiences are only available in a college setting. For anyone pursuing a career that normally requires a college degree, the choice is often a no-brainer. Without pedigree to your name, the chances of landing a job at a company where college education is the minimum are close to zero.
Benefits of Blue-Collar Jobs
Blue-collar workers perform duties that provide the infrastructure upon which white collar workers depend on. CEOs of companies that focus on manufacturing earn extraordinary salaries to manage their businesses, but they likely lack the technical know-how to function in the environments where their products are produced. This falls to the blue-collar workers who don’t require college degrees to demonstrate mastery in those fields. Oftentimes, an apprenticeship coupled with recommendations and strong job history/performance will suffice.
Despite this, manual laborers tend to be looked down upon. It isn’t because they aren’t hard workers, either. Manual laborers are more likely to suffer from physical debilitation in their later years compared to their white-collar counterparts. In spite of a lingering sentiment that blue-collar work isn’t respectable, the median salary for blue-collar workers is a perfectly livable wage assuming the worker doesn’t have significant outstanding debts. Pew Research Center indicates that a $100,000 household income for a family of four living in Los Angeles places that family in the middle class in a state where the cost of living is relatively high (this uses data recent as of 2018). That accounts for two working parents and two children.
Which is Best?
Deciding which path to take should always depend on your interests as an individual. A lot of pressure exists to go to college for the benefits that it can impart, but these discussions frequently fail to consider the potential of other career options. It is undeniable that going to college imparts certain benefits, but for someone without interest in the careers that require college degrees, the effort can easily end in unemployment and a burden of debt. This goes without saying that the decision to go to college should only be made if you’re certain of your desired career field and if college is part of that process. There is no requirement to go to college straight out of high school, and it’s okay to spend additional time to decide which path is right for you. Whether it’s going to college for a white-collar profession, a blue-collar job, or something more contemporary, decisions about your future should always be made with abundant consideration and without coercion.
