Luke Zebell Zebell 1

Prof. Gregory

Eng. Comp. II

March 28, 2021 What are you willing to do for success?

Most people aren’t fans of scary things and tend to run away from them while

there are others who go headfirst into those type of things because that is what they

enjoy. Typically, the folks who go towards the frightening things are doing it for a reason

and want to get something out of it. Now what if I told you that scary thing was college?

The definition of college is “an organized body of persons engaged in a common pursuit

or having common interests or duties.” (Webster) Meaning people are grouped together

to further their education in a very difficult way. Those difficult tasks are what makes

college to be so “terrifying” and “scary” to some folks. The real question is if college is

needed to even be successful in life?

Colleges have been around for many years and even dating back to the 1600s.

There have been many institutions that date even further back to Roman times, but

nothing became legit until the early 1600s with Harvard being founded. It is reasonable to

say that colleges have been around for a long time and some people have gone and some

haven’t. Each person finding success in different ways along with some more than others,

but each person has their own definition of success. Working hard and earning everything
 is considered successful to me and to do that for me, it would require attending

school and earning a degree with hard work to achieve what I want in life.

Attending school leads to a better line of employment in the job market. Those

who attend school find themselves working full time and not having to worry about when

they are going to cash their next paycheck. According to The National Center for

Education Statistics, “73% of young adults with a bachelor’s degree worked full time,

year-round in 2014, compared to 65 percent of young adult high school graduates”

(NCFES). This means that those who went to college and earned a degree are working a

full-time job and a full-time job means that they are getting paid regularly for the work

that they are doing. Eventually adding up to their success that they define themselves.

College is hard work and obviously isn’t for everyone, but data proves that with that

degree, there is a significantly higher chance of landing a job with higher pay and a better

atmosphere than those who don’t go to school and only have a high school diploma. This

adds to my point that doing the hard work will pay off in the end. It takes hours of

studying and focus to achieve this and most people don’t understand that everything

won't be handed to them and that you must go out and earn it yourself.

Most people want to support their families and children are not cheap and so is

wanting to fund things that you want to do yourself. Things like buy that dream car you

have always wanted or going on a vacation and visiting somewhere that you have

always wanted to see. All those things cost money and money doesn’t come easy and is a

valuable thing to manage but you can do both, enjoy your job and make a living off of it
being able to support yourself and family. Attending college allows you a better chance

to earn those large figures and get those things that you want and enjoy it at the same

time rather than be unhappy and only see your job as a paycheck to pay bills. It almost is

never immediate and requires a lot of time but that is just how life is and nothing is easy.

To be more specific, those who attend school earn almost 66% higher median income

than people who specifically have a GED or something of equal status. These facts

clearly point that attending school and earning a degree allows you a better chance to

support your family and yourself for years to come.

Leadership jobs and jobs that are along the lines of higher stature almost all

require a college degree. A Taylor and Francis Online study “of 11,745 individuals in the

U.S. shows found that 94 percent of CEOs, judges, politicians, millionaires, billionaires

and business leaders attended college, with 50 percent graduating from elite school.

Based on these findings, those who become highly successful without college education

appear to be in the minority.” (TaFOS) Those job titles come with a large salary and a

large salary most likely requires a degree. Millionaires don’t become so prosperous by

sitting around and doing nothing. They went and got a degree and furthered their

education resulting into a better income and ultimately more successful than the average

person. A CEO must spend countless hours working hard to achieve that status in life and

the things he/she had to do to get that was earn a degree. The job wasn’t just handed to

them on a silver platter which is something a lot of people think. They earned that job

with hard work at school and beyond that.

person. “A bachelor’s program requires attention to detail, good study habits,

communication skills, critical thinking, and the ability to form opinions” (Northeastern)

With that being said, college shapes people into students who are able to do certain things

like have excellent study habits which are very important. Having good study habits

shows that you have a strong dedication to learn the information provided which can

easily be used in the workforce to study plans and be prepared to give speeches or

whatever line of work that one chooses. Almost always will there be a need to study

certain material as someone’s job could depend on it. Poor study abilities show the lack

of motivation to learn and what good is someone to a job when they have no desire to

learn which eventually leads to a lazy worker that nobody would want to hire for any job.

The ability for one to pay attention to detail is extremely critical in the work force.

Surgeons must be extra cautious and pay even more attention to detail so that they don’t

make a wrong cut and have a patient die on the operating table. College teaches students

to have that want to pay attention because they have a lot riding on it such as the fact that

they are paying thousands to attend that school and a lazy worker most likely will not

graduate and all that money goes to waste. Attention to detail is so important because

“detail-oriented individuals are preferred as employees by many businesses for their

analytical and problem-solving abilities. Competence in keeping track of details also

helps with analyzing information, which is beneficial in a variety of careers.”

(Reference*) Businesses want employees who are detail-oriented and detail-oriented

kind of people who will get hired more than those who aren’t and so those who are hired

with a college degree eventually lead more successful careers and lives.

Communication skills are also taught at school and those are one of the most

important things that are acquired. Being able to convey a message properly to others is

crucial in the work force. There will always have to be interactions that happen with other

people and there is no way around that so being able to communicate effectively is

critical to being successful. Along the lines of proper communication is the ability to

work with others effectively which involves communication skills. We are going to

encounter people that we despise and don’t agree with on anything but being able to put

that aside and work together properly is a difficult task that only gets easier with practice

and college gives those opportunities to practice and master those skills that are so

important and the job community.

Being able to solve tough scenarios and critically think effectively are also very

important. Workers run into tough situations constantly whether it be on the fly or

planned out. Difficult situations and decisions will have to be made with possible lasting

consequences. The best approach to this is to be as prepared as possible so practicing and

gaining experience with certain situations is key. Where would you find a place that

offers this? College. Instead of having a drastic consequence, simulations and fake

scenarios to practice the right or best possible choice is used instead to prepare students

for the world and the things that are thrown at them.
 Finally, college allows for people to break free from the “bondage” that seems to

be attached to most of the youth that they must believe whatever they are told to believe.

Many kids grow up in towns and don’t really travel enough to see other cultures and

norms and going to college is the most change that they experience, but some would say

that change is bad but is it really change? Experiencing new things and being exposed to

different people can only influence and the choice to change is on the person. The ability

to formulate your own opinion allows you to make your own decisions and one of the

best places for that to happen is at college. People from all over the world attend these

places and you meet so many different people that influence you and give you an idea of

what opinions you choose to have. Formulating an opinion adds to being a well-rounded

person which is a success in my book.

Some other benefits from going to school is that it is proven that those who attend

college and graduate with a bachelor’s degree live longer lives than those who only have

a high school diploma. “Earning more money gives you access to better health care and

healthier food options. Education also provides you with the information necessary to

make better food choices, to exercise, and to avoid bad habits such as smoking and

drugs.” (College Atlas) According to College Atlas, education allows you access to better

health care and being successful while doing the job that you enjoy doing means a

happier person and those are the folks who tend to live longer than those who are

unhappy and miserable. You can be educated on the different substances that are harmful
such as drugs and tobacco and make the right decision not to do them. All these facts add

up to a successful and happy lifestyle when college is attended.

A big argument on why not to attend school is that of the large amount of money

that must be paid for tuition. Average college tuition varies by state but is usually in the

range of $15-20k per year. First problem is that most people believe that they can’t afford

that to start off the bat. My response to that is the government provides FASFA which is

money given to kids who struggle financially and want to go to school. Another response

is that there are hundreds of thousands of scholarships that available for students to apply

for and some are simple as just putting your name down or writing a simple essay on an

event that impacted you. Volunteering opportunities also appeal to colleges as they want

students who they know are willing to do the extra work for more benefit to allow for

more scholarships. Some businesses will help pay for school if you work so many hours a

week such as Chipotle and McDonalds and they pay you for those hours as well.

Individual colleges also award scholarships to students who are exceptional

academically. Those who do well on their ACT or SAT get large scholarships and even

full rides along with athletes who want to play sports in college get plenty of

opportunities to receive financial aid. All of these are opportunities presented to all high

school students as they require the student to be willing to do all the work to be able to

afford college if they struggle financially. Those who say they can’t afford college don’t

know of the many opportunities there are to be able to pay for school.
 Does college still seem so scary? After all the benefits presented and the things

that you gain from simple hard work and determination? Shouldn’t be because college is

needed to be successful even though everyone defines success differently, it ultimately

benefits each individual person in the goals that they want to achieve. If two applicants

interviewed for the same job and had the same amount of experience in the field but one

has a degree and the other doesn’t, the job is going to the person with the degree. Go to

school and become successful.

Works Cited
“The 7 Benefits of Going to College & Earning a Degree.” EDsmart, EDsmart, 5 Oct.

2016, www.edsmart.org/7-benefits-of-college-degree/.

Atlas, College. “Why Go to College - The 9 Biggest Benefits.” CollegeAtlas, College

Atlas, 27 Apr. 2017, www.collegeatlas.org/why-go-to-college-infographic.

Bang, Chris. “Can You Succeed Without College? Yes, But It's Complicated.” Bachelor's

Degree Completion, 9 Jan. 2020, www.northeastern.edu/bachelors-

completion/news/succeeding-without-

college/#:~:text=Ther%20is%20%E2%80%9Cyes.%E2%80%9D%20It%20is%20p

ossibl.

Ham, John. “Why Is It Important to Pay Attention to Detail?” Reference, IAC Publishing,

www.reference.com/world-view/important-pay-attention-detail-10f11724639cf846.

Smale, Thomas. “Does That College Diploma Really Matter for Success?” Entrepreneur,

3 May 2017, www.entrepreneur.com/article/293676.