Cody Bareford-Final

Cody Bareford
Larry Neuberger
English Composition 102
Monday, December 12, 2011
Final
In today’s society the importance of furthering ones education past high school is almost required. Recent facts show that college graduates on average make approximately eight hundred thousand more dollars in a lifetime compared to someone with a high school degree or equivalent. Although it may be quite a struggle for some citizens to fund themselves through college at times, the evidence is apparent that in the long run it pays to get an education.
One of the most difficult parts about furthering ones education is choosing what field you would like to major in. Some people follow their life long dreams of becoming doctors or police officers, while others struggle with this decision considering every option of what they can turn themselves into. As long as the person enjoys what they do for a living, which can sometimes be difficult even with a college education, then money shouldn’t necessarily be the main priority in choosing a career, although a little extra money never hurts.
The most important step in continuing your education is to meet an academic advisor to set up an academic plan and begin taking classes, after all, one can’t educate themselves further sitting at home. The next step is to show up, do homework, and pay attention. This can be very difficult at times, especially when work begins to interfere with your school schedule, or family emergencies pop up, but never give up. As long as you keep a positive attitude you can overcome any obstacle and make any dream attainable, even if you have to make multiple attempts.
The most difficult part of having an education can actually come after you earn your degree, finding a job. Today more students are staying in school for longer periods of time due to the simple fact that the job market is becoming very limited because of the recession. With the limited job availability there are many older and more qualified citizens taking over jobs that aren’t directly in their profession to provide for their families, leaving college graduates out of the picture. Although more education is beneficial which allows students to learn more and gain additional experience in their field of study. On the plus side it is practically impossible to be over staffed in the medical field considering how they are often shorthanded.
In the end furthering your education opens many opportunities in a person’s life, for example in the state of Missouri as long as you have sixty two credit hours you can legally be a substitute teacher. Also holding a degree in general opens job opportunities in many fields. Yet the best part is, one can never have too much knowledge one and can always educate themselves further in numerous subjects.

hughes, karen. Benefits of a college degree. N.p., 16 Feb. 2006. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.
Longley, Robert. Lifetime Earnings Soar with Education. N.p., 24 Aug. 2011. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.