by Zack Shen
Max Shannon graduated from Pella Christian High School, Iowa in the year of 2015. After his graduation, he chose to start working instead of going for a college degree. He started his own lawn business and at the same time works as an electrician. With zero debts and stable income, Max has an earlier taste of the real world than those who go for a college education. “It is fine for Max because I do believe that college is not for everyone. For him, he’s doing very well for his age. Most people at this time is not able to make this much or being so prosperous. For him it worked out great.” said Marina Shannon, Max’s elder sister who chose a brand different path. She decided to pursue her child dream as a vet by going to college with some debts. Marina and Max chose different paths for their college education, and they both ended up fine. Is a college education really matters if people can be successful with or without it?
The breakeven ages represent the expected age at which cumulative earning of individuals who go to college exceed the cumulative earning for individuals free of college expense. This chart on the right shows the breakeven ages of those who go to college major in the given fields. As we can see on the chart, those who major in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) or Business can usually achieve breakeven at the young age. However, those who major in arts/humanity achieve their breakeven at a relatively older age. As we can see from the chart, it would take longer for college students to earn the same amount of money as Max’s cumulative income. Apparently, the cost of a college education does slow down a person’s process regarding earning money at the early age (Webber).
To be or Not To be
However, those who achieve a college degree do appear to have more potential in their future life. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of 2015, the medium usual weekly earning of those who achieve a bachelor degree is almost two times exceed the earning of those who with a high school diploma. The number of income increase while the education level is going up. Eventually, those who achieve a professional degree earns about three times more than those with a high school diploma. The unemployment rate is determined by the education level as well. Those who with a higher degree are less likely to be unemployed ("Earning and Unemployment Rates")
