The debate whether college degree matters or not is quite old and still ongoing. The cynics say that education is not knowledge and college degree is not necessary to survive in this world. But I think that - Yes college degree does matter! In today’s world it is very important to possess a college degree.
So what makes college degree so important? Most corporations, large or small, automatically reject resumes that don’t have a college degree on them. It really isn’t a case of standing policy, but it is a true fact that all the employees in any company probably have a degree. One might argue that Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerburg didn’t possess a college degree and still went on to become billionaires. But guys, let’s be realistic, not everyone is endowed with the same talent as these extraordinary people.
One of the other reasons is the brain drain, and this time it is the reverse brain drain. There was a time when Indians and Chinese flocked to the U.S. and rapidly populated the programming and executive ranks of the top software companies in California. But now the times have changed. Large numbers of the Valley’s top young guns are seeing opportunities in their own countries and are returning home to Bangalore and Shanghai. This is creating a big gap in the American economy. If the American students don’t get college degrees, the already shaky economy will plummet further.
For arguments sake, let’s say you land a job on the basis of your skills and abilities, right after high school. You enjoy the job and you’re pretty good at it. But eventually, as time passes the technology used by you changes, so you end up taking a class to learn it. Since it helps to better your job, the company pays for it and after few more years, the same thing repeats and repeats. The result – you wound up with a master’s degree! It’s true; I have seen people in the 70’s writing codes in their basements and ending up with a college degree as it was necessary for them to keep going on. Also, you won’t find a boss in corporate America who doesn’t have a college degree. So to climb the ladder in the corporate world, you got to have a college degree.
But it is also true that most of the employers really don’t care where you got your degree from as long as you have one. Of course, having Harvard or Yale on your resume is pretty impressive, but for most of the jobs they don’t give a damn if you went to Oglala College. All they care about is that whether you hold a degree and you how well you did in the interview.
So, go ahead and get that degree! It can surely take you to places.
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