Pros and cons - Rob

Pros and Cons for Higher education.

PROS 

• The most-measured benefit of higher education is of course graduate salaries, and the report confirms that higher levels of education do result in higher earning power. It cites research by Greenstone and Looney (2011) of the Brookings Institution’s Hamilton Project, which says: “On average, the benefits of a four-year college degree are equivalent to an investment that returns 15.2% per year.”

• This earnings gap increases with higher levels of degree, and also with age. The gap between those with a bachelor’s degree and those with a high school education increases from 54% for 25 to 29-year-olds to 86% for 45 to 49-year-olds.

• The benefits of higher education also extend to the chances of being employed in the first place. Unemployment rates for four-year college graduates in the US fell from 4.7% in 2010 to 4.0% in 2012, while for high school graduates the equivalent figures were 10.3% in 2010 and 8.3% in 2012.

• benefits of higher education incorporate significant contributions to society, with higher educated workers typically paying more tax.

• Higher educated people more likely to sustain jobs such as doctors, police etc. Which contributes to lives of many in society

• Apparently those with a college education are more likely to live healthier lifestyles, with fewer incidences of smoking and obesity. The gap between smoking rates of those with high school diplomas and those with four-year degrees has risen from 2 percentage points in 1962 to 17 points in 2012.

• On average, the more you learn the more you earn

• More and more jobs require college degrees.

• Higher education graduates are more likely to have health insurance and retirement plans.70% of college graduates had access to employer-provided health insurance compared to 50% of high school graduates in 2008

CONS

• Student loan debt is crippling for college graduates. Between 2003 and 2012 the number of 25-year-olds with student debt increased from 25% to 43%, and their average loan balance was $20,326 in 2012--a 91% increase since 2003.

• Student loan debt often forces college graduates to live with their parents and delay marriage, financial independence, and other adult milestones.

• Many college graduates are employed in jobs that do not require University degrees.According to the Department of Labor, as of 2008, 17 million college graduates were in positions that did not require a college education.

• Many recent Higher education graduates are un- or underemployed. In 2011 50% of college graduates under 25 years old had no job or a part-time job.The unemployment rate for recent college graduates was 8.8% in Feb. 2013, down from 10.4% in 2010

• College stress can lead to health problems and other negative consequences. 40.2% of college students reported feeling "frequently overwhelmed" in a 2012 survey about stress levels. According to the University of Florida’s Counseling & Wellness Center, "The competition for grades, the need to perform, relationships, fear of AIDS, career choice, and many other aspects of the college environment cause stress." According to the Director of Student Health Services at Biola University, college stress can lead to "headaches, weight gain, chronic digestive disorders, fatigue, increases in blood pressure, insomnia, teeth grinding in sleep, general irritability, reoccurring feeling of hopelessness, depression and anxiety and low self-esteem."

 

Conclusion
After going into depth with reasearch on pros and cons of higher education I have came up with the final conclusion for myself that higher education is the way forward. I believe that it is evidently clear that there is more benefits with higher education than without however you can still achieve well without it and will still have negative outbursts with having higher education but overall will have a better outcome.