Luke Vonnahme

English 250 Section PA

Ms. Futhey
Assignment #5
11 December 2014

Money and Success with A College Degree

When someone thinks about money and success they always think of becoming rich or
famous. However, that doesnt happen to everyone in the world. Thinking about all the
opportunities that an average person has, not everyone is going to become successful. Some will
have major financial troubles, while others will just deal with college debt. Everything in life
relates to what that person is choosing to do with his or her future. When push comes to shove,
one should make an effort to do the best in every aspect from making money, to climbing the
ranks at a company, and staying financially stable in the work environment.
Within the work atmosphere, Barely 30 percent of adults have received a degree higher
than their parents (Porter). When you think of all the families whose parents didnt go to college
this seems like a low percentage for the amount of students that attend college in a single year.
According to the same article, only one in 20 Americans aged 25 to 34 whose parents didnt
finish high school has a college degree (Porter). The information presented in this article
implies that those who came from a rougher background and home life are less likely to attend
college in order to better themselves and their future. This remains to be true despite research
that shows that those with a college degree have increased wages.
In some cases people still succeed without the college degree. There is a story in the
Rereading America book about class, and it talks about how different people have a variety of
jobs. Cheryl Mitchell, a woman in the book, grew up in a low-income family in the Bronx, while

her mother was a waitress and her father was a janitor (Mantsios). Not only did she live in the
ghetto of New York City, she had very little education. Cheryl only took one semester at a local
community college so she didnt receive a college degree. When she was 17, she was a clerk at
the local bakery in New York, as well as a file clerk with a temporary-service agency (Mantsios).
Today she is a nurses aide at a municipal hospital. She doesnt earn much money in her
occupation. Her annual salary is about $17,000, but she is living life to the fullest. Cheryl lives
with her 4 year old son and her elderly mother in an apartment in the South Bronx (Mantsios).
Even though she doesnt make the most money, Cheryl is trying to find something new and she
is still alright in the real world. If she would have attended college and received a degree, she
could have gotten a better job at a higher income level.
Even though there are some people in this world that dont make the most money, they
still have a good life with what they do make. Some adults have a routine that they do every day,
like an assembly line and some people like that. With a college degree you may not have to do
this line of work. There are many different jobs where you can have a variety of opportunities to
do something different each day. With a college degree you will be able to find a career that you
will really enjoy. There are many opportunities that every young adult has to decide on with their
college degree.
Americans that have worked hard to earn a college degree tend to earn more money and
benefits, as previously stated. In the New York Times article it states that, American workers
with a college degree are paid 74 percent more than those with only a high school degree
(Porter). This article is baically saying that it is important to go to college and get a degree, so
you can make money and not be in debt in the future. The article presented information and
statistics regarding disadvantaged individuals who do not attend college, but based on the salary

research these individuals should still work to attend college, and they should be better off in the
long run. Because of these opportunities, students that attend college will benefit in the future.
Individuals who may not have the financial means to attend college, can apply for scholarships
and grants to help them reach their goal.
College today wouldnt be the same without scholarships. Many people would not be
able to afford to get the higher education. Scholarships are meant to help out students who are
intelligent as well as those who are of different ethnicity. Without the New World, some people
would not be able to continue their education because, with the New World, beginning the
Colonial era with church-sponsored scholarships (Delbanco). This is the time period in which
the ideas of scholarships were introduced, promising schoolboys, the story of higher education
has been one of increasing inclusion (Delbanco). From here the idea spreads rapidly with the
creation of universities, thanks to land-grants. Attendance also began to increase due to GI Bills
and the growth of women and minorities attending previously all-male/all-white schools
(College at Risk). Today, scholarships make a world of a difference when you are applying to
colleges; they also help students take the time to complete college if they are willing to apply for
scholarships and pay the back. With the help of scholarships, students are able to understand
what their financial balance will be in the future.
Students who attend a university benefit more because they will gain knowledge that will
assist them in their job. One of the biggest advantages to going to college is that youll be
qualified for more high-paying jobs in most fields (How To EDU).
With that an average salary for a high school graduate is around $28,000 (How To EDU). In
the How to Educate article it says, a study within 40 years of someone with just a high school
diploma will make $1,116,000 while someone with a bachelors degree will make $2,048,204

(How To EDU). It is not all about the skill level or talent that the students have. It shows the
employers that having a degree benefits you with responsibilities and dealing with stress. College
has different opportunities that you didnt have in high school. The decisions we make in college
will affect us in our everyday life because employers will look back on those decisions we made
to see if youre reliable.
Those decisions include attending college so as to benefit you in the long run. Since the
mid-1980s, education has played a large part in potential wages, with bachelors degree holders
taking home an average of 66% more than those with only a high school diploma do (N.P.).
With a bachelors degree there are many more jobs you can apply for and make a more amount
of money.
Those students who are fortunate enough to go to college will experience significantly
higher wages than those who only have a high school diploma or GED. According to the
National Association of College and Employer, the college graduates of 2013 were to experience
an increase of 5.3 percent in the average starting salary (College Degrees With the Highest
Starting Salaries). The study also created a list of the average starting salaries for different
undergraduate degrees; Engineering was at the top of the list with $63,000, Computer Science
came in second with $60,000 and Business came in third with an average starting salary of
$54,000 (College Degrees with the Highest Starting Salaries). According to this survey, wages
are supposed to increase; this may not be accurate information for everyone due to the state of
the economy.
In the life of a young adult, many changes take place because of all of the opportunities
they are presented with. The major choice they are faced with is what they are going to choose to
do with their own future. Todays young adults are faced with a harder decision than some of the

past generations because of the state that the economy is in. Don Peck presents some interesting
information in his Generation R article, with the R meaning recession, Peck says going to
college and graduating during a time of recession could end up costing you around $100,000
(Peck). This estimate is relative if you are able to get hired, however if you are unemployed for a
longer period of time you are at an increased risk for depression and substance abuse (Peck). By
reading the Generation R article in Rereading America this struggle becomes evident when it
states that: in fact a whole generation of young adults is likely to see its life chances
permanently diminished by this recession (Peck). That being said, it is important to understand
the amount of work that attending college today is going to require, but if you are willing to put
in the sweat and hard work while remaining positive, it will all pay off in the end.
Every individual has an opportunity to attend college and receive a degree. There are
many choices that every young adult has to make. And with those decisions, comes the path to
greatness. The multiple options of becoming successful all comes down to what you have done
in your college career. With a college degree a person will be able to go anywhere and do
anything in the future. One should make an effort to do the best in every aspect from making
money, to climbing the ranks at a company, or even staying financially stable in the work
environment.

Works Cited
"College Degrees With the Highest Starting Salaries." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 11
Nov. 2014.
Delbanco, Andrew. "College at Risk." Rereading America (n.d.): 219-28. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.
"How Much More Do College Graduates Earn Than Non-College Graduates?" Education Portal.
N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.
"How To E-D-U." How To EDU RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
Mantsios, Gregory. "Class In America - 2009." Rereading America (n.d.): 281-99. Web.
Peck, Don. "Generation R: The Changing Fortunes of America's Youth." Rereading America
(n.d.): 299-306. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.
Porter, Eduardo. "A Simple Equation: More Education = More Income." The New York Times.
The New York Times, 10 Sept. 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.