Diaz 1
Altagracia Diaz
Prof. Kathleen Zurich
English 121 CL1
Due Date 9­18­2014
College Today in America
A college degree is a badge of honor and accomplishment that we gain in order to have a chance at a better future.
Most people go to college for a purpose, with one of the most valuable reasons to have a better future for their family and for themselves. I personally believe that in order to better my life and achieve my dreams, I would need to get a college degree. In America and other modern countries, not having a college education will make achieving goals more difficult because many jobs today require a diploma. If people want a beautiful house, car, and family, they likely need to have a good job. In order to land that job, they will need to work hard in college to obtain a degree. Financial stability is another factor that will impact someone's ability to live a comfortable life. This goes hand­in­hand with the purpose of a college degree, as getting one allows someone to be able to have financial stability through a successful career. People often ask themselves how much money they will earn with a degree before deciding on a major. Prices have become extremely high for nearly everything and will likely continue to increase in the coming years. In my last year of high school, I was listening to a conversation that the counselor was having with a student. That student told that counselor that she wanted a job with a certain pay scale so that she would have the

Diaz 2 money to pay her debt when she graduated from college. That is a huge problem that a lot of graduates face. Teachers make a livable wage, but it is not too much when considering the debt they must go in for school. In Perth Amboy, they first make $47,000 with a bachelor degree and generally increase every year by a slight amount of dollars. If they earn more education in the same subject, their salary will be increase. For example, a masters degree will earn a teacher around $60,000 in that same district.
According to Perth Amboy New Jersey Agenda contract “A Teachers salary depends of bachelor, master, and doctorate degree”.
When Knight Kiplinger said “ a college degree is not enough,” he was being truthful. Kiplinger also said, “ Blame inflated grade point averages and references who are sometimes less than candid about an employee’s performance” (16). Recruiting employers are looking for college graduates, but those candidates need other skills as well . Those that are recruiting are looking for various classifications, such as critical thinking, aptitude, personality, and other talents that an educated person usually possesses. It is not enough to get a degree. be it a bachelors, masters, or doctorates, but how you apply that vast amount of knowledge to your field and line of work. Some people do not take college seriously and in most cases they underestimated it. They attend college just to say they went to college and barely do enough to earn a degree. Others go to college with a serious attitude to learn and master a skill in which will help them gain their dream job. These are the more desirable candidates when it comes to getting a job. According to Caroline Smith, “it’s essential to be professional if you want to be a success". What Smith meant by that was that people need to be clever at work and do a good job. If they go to college with a positive attitude and are hungry to gain experience and modify their behavior, success tends to follow. For instance, how will one work in a field if they do not

remember the critical skill sets you need to do your job? People need to be honest about what they truly know and have the attitude and courage to be able to face whatever obstacles they face in their given career .
Because debt has been going up, colleges across the country have been hiking tuition and fees and families' incomes have