7 Reasons Why College is Not Worth It

7 Reasons Why College is Not Worth It

     Now, we've all been informed that life works in a linear way, that we all start out as children, grow up a little bit, and go to school. After school, we're all expected to go to college, attend a job, get married, and start a family. However, is college even necessary? Some people attend college for the sole reason of just attending, some are pressured by family, friends, and society, but is it really the only route to take? Absolutely not, so here's where I'll tell you some reasons why college is not for you:

1. If you're going for a major that you know you're not going to love, then college is not worth it. When a typical student spends tens of thousands of dollars on education and then ends up not using their degree, then what was the point of college? Is it not it a bit wasteful? I've worked in the restaurant industry for five years now and I can attest that many of the people that work in the restaurant industry have degrees. However, they're no longer using their degrees because they decided they either don't like their major, or they can't find a job, or they earn more money serving people. It makes no sense to spend money and time on a degree that won't even be used. 
2. Now, this is an obvious one, but college is extraordinarily expensive. Sometimes people decide to go to a prestigious or a private school in order to earn their degree, but they end up in debt. 100,000 dollars is a lot to spend on a degree that won't be repaid in a short time or used in a job setting. Of course scholarships and grants help the student pay for this debt, but not every student earns scholarships, and if they do then the scholarship rarely covers the full cost of the course. By going to a community college for a year or two is a better alternative that will save money and allow the student to explore courses that are interesting to them with little or no financial consequences.
3. Another reason why college might not be for you is if your parents are making you do it, or anyone for that matter, your friends, your coworkers, etc. If it's not your choice to go to college then why go through all of the trouble of earning a degree that you might end up hating? Won't it be easier to start off with a job and figure out your interests as you go? There's an option such as a gap year that could potentially help you because it can offer a new viewpoint on how the real world works.
4. Now this one annoys me a little bit. Let's say that the only reason for why you'd like to go to college is because you're only interested in the fantasized version of college. You know what I'm talking about, drinking alcohol, doing drugs, and attending college parties because you're finally on your own, away from your parents. There's an easier and less expensive way to do all of that and it doesn't involve spending copious amount of hard earned (possibly your parent's) money.
5. If you're going to study philosophy, don't. There's not a lot of job opportunities for this field and if you're not planning on getting a Ph.D. so you can teach other students the same thing, don't major in philosophy. 
6. The military can be a viable option. If fighting in wars and possibly losing your life in disputes that you might not agree with doesn't sound appealing, then realize that there are other jobs in the military that don't require combat. Some the tech. jobs can be seen as profitable and safe not only in the military but also outside of the military, which is possible without an official degree. However, if you decide to do something else for a living, you can always use the educational funding and onsite military college programs to help you achieve that.
7. My last point is, you can possibly progress in a field faster than others. One such field comes to mind is management. Yes, it can be easier to study business first and then go into management but most people don't realize how easy it is to make it in management. When I was searching for jobs myself I found out that there's a lot of open positions for management in the fast food industry. Now hold on, I know that not a lot of people like the idea of working in a fast food environment but I'm not saying that you'll have to hold down the job for long. In one or two years, this is about how much experience is needed to get rehired for management in another department, it's possible to acquire some experience and then move on from there into other management positions. Thus, with a bit of time and luck, you can start climbing the corporate ladder earlier than most business degree holders.

     So what I'm trying to say is that there is a preconception that everyone has to attend college but if the degree won't enhance anyone's life and be ridiculously expensive for the student and parent, then what's the point? I believe that college can be a great investment for careers in medical, engineering, math, a couple of others, but why invest in an education prematurely? What's wrong with experiencing life first and then education second? Plus, the primary reason for why I wrote this post is due to the fact that I've seen a lot of lost potential in my day, even if it's been a short while. I've worked at restaurants and people with nursing, biology, history teacher degrees all ended up in one place, not achieving anything new in their fields and basically living in a way that they could've without a degree. Now, college is great, it can boost your career, it can provide job security, unlock possibilities, but it doesn't guarantee you a job neither does it guarantee that you will love the job you studied for, for the rest of your life. That's my two cents, and I know that there are some people who will disagree with me and that's ok, I just found this topic interesting and explorable. I just want people to do what they want to do, find their passion, explore the world, and be aware of their options. So if your passion is to go to college, that's great!