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Kevin Thompson

English Composition 2

Prof. Hunter

4 February 2020

Literature Review

There are millions of young adults trying to figure out their lives at a young age from

deciding whether to go to college, go to a trade school, start a job, etc. There are also tons of

questions about college during and when you get a job. Does your college education impact the

development of a character or career?

In the past college has only been for the upper-class and some middle-class people. There

were more of a job demand for factory worker jobs and farmers that only needed a high-school

education. The United States has become more efficient with their productions that jobs started

to need a degree to get employed. This has led to nearly 70% of students attend a secondary type

of school and students not sure what they want to do. Colleges are becoming more expensive and

less affordable year by year just to get the degree. There is much debate on what the students are

actually getting out of college and if it is helping them in their career (Kim).

The articles had a similarity with the pathway through college is still a very good one to

take. It has higher incomes and more health benefits that come with getting a degree. They also

have reported to maintain a more healthier lifestyle than non-college attendants (Riggio). From

“Top 4 Benefits of Higher Education Continuing on After High School”, being more educated on

current politics was shown to be higher with higher education increasing from the degree you
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had. It also is a great way to pursue a passion that you might not have known that you had and

increase your overall happiness for your life (LaTour).

The type of college that you go to isn’t a factor for income as it previously was seen as.

Going to a top ranked college still has more of an investment than other smaller colleges, but

there are still affordable colleges that rank in the top ten. A school that eclipses schools such as

MIT and Standford is Maine Maritime Academy, where the majority of students come in-state

and most are the first from their families to attend college (Svrluga).

There are many differences between the articles; such as, Katherine Hansen describes

There are many skills that you need to learn to strengthen your career pathway choice. Working

on skills in college can go a long way in helping out you in employment. College is a place

where many inexperienced teens make themselves desirable employees in the future (Hasen and

Hasen). From the New York Times article, it shows how employers are in a tough situation,

since the economy has gotten more complex and more competitive. There is a bigger gap

between college and the workplace, so managers have to train their inexperienced workers faster

with more material (Tugend).

In “How Work and College Change Your Personality”, it explains a German study done

on students that pursued either vocational or college pathways. It was found that the vocational

pathway students were tested to be more hardworking and more thoroughly than the college

students. The college students were tested to be more investigative and analyzing than the

vocational students since they are taught to think more critically (Riggio).
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Works Cited

Hansen, Katharine, and Randall Hansen. “How the Lessons, Skills, and Values You Develop in

College (and Maybe Even High School) Prepare You for the Job Market.” LiveCareer,

Bold Limited, https://www.livecareer.com/resources/jobs/search/college-job-market-

lessons.

Kim, ChangHwan. “Are They Still Worth It? The Long-Run Earnings Benefits of an Associate

Degree, Vocational Diploma or Certificate, and Some College.” EBSCOhost, 2019,

https://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=77707c6f-c28e-4a68-8e40-

e1d9432cdb2a@pdc-v-

sessmgr02&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU=#AN=edsdoj.934601225b27494ea1a01

ed3ea09c93d&db=edsdoj.

LaTour, Amée, and Michael Nelson. “Top 4 Benefits of Higher Education.” 8 Tips for Choosing

the Right College Continuing on After High School, Good Choices Good Life Inc., 2014,

www.goodchoicesgoodlife.org/choices-for-young-people/the-benefits-of-higher-

education/.

Riggio, Ronald E. “How Work and College Change Your Personality.” Psychology Today,

Sussex Publishers, 20 Nov. 2018, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/cutting-edge-

leadership/201811/how-work-and-college-change-your-personality.

Svrluga, Susan. “Is College Worth It? A Georgetown Study Measures Return on Investment --

with Some Surprising Results.” Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2019. EBSCOhost,

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/11/14/is-college-worth-it-georgetown-

study-measures-return-investment-with-some-surprising-results/?arc404=true.

Tugend, Alina. “What It Takes to Make New College Graduates Employable.” The New York

Times, 28 June 2013, https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/29/your-money/a-quest-to-

make-college-graduates-employable.html.

Discussion with Literature Review

I added a few sources to my Research Paper throughout writing it. I needed more

information after revising my thesis statement and including different counterexamples and

arguments. These sources include the following websites:

Goldy-Brown, Sarah. “The Average Cost of College in 2018 - Student Debt Relief.” The

Average Cost of College in 2018, Student Debt Relief, 21 Oct. 2019,

www.studentdebtrelief.us/news/average-cost-of-college-2018/.

Maltzman, Noa. “Keeping up with Modern Society: Rising Cost of Higher Education.”

Medium, Medium, 22 Jan. 2018, https://medium.com/@noamaltzman/keeping-up-

with-modern-society-rising-cost-of-higher-education-ce451f052428

Slowey, Kim. “Survey: Salaries for Many Construction Trades on the Rise.” Construction

Dive, Industry Dive, 2 Jan. 2019, www.constructiondive.com/news/survey-salaries-

for-many-construction-trades-on-the-rise/544739/.

Smith, Stew. Military.com. “Military Benefits at a Glance.” Military.com, 20 July 2018,

www.military.com/join-armed-forces/military-benefits-overview.html.
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