Why College is Still Worth It for Me

Obtaining a college degree has always been a dream of my family and mines. My mom and dad are first generation immigrants coming from Myanmar to the united states of America. Since they did not have the opportunity to go to college, they did everything they could so that my sister and I had the chance. This make my sister and I first generation college students in the family. I recently read an article in my English class called “College May Not Be Worth It Anymore” by a reputable journalist and a professor in college named Ellen Ruppel Shell. I have also done research on my own about the career I want to pursuit in. After studying the information on the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s website, I have come to the conclusion that obtaining a college degree would be in my best interest if I want to pursue my career in electrical engineering.

Ms. Shell’s article “College May Not Be Worth It Anymore”, talks about how college may not be worth it anymore just like the title states. To go more in depth, she talks about the advantages and disadvantages that people have according to their ethnicities, financial status, and the area they are from. She compares and contrasts between people with a bachelor’s degrees and without. Ms. Shell states a lot of facts in her article, referencing other reputable sources to back up her claims. As you read the article you get the feeling that Ms. Shell does not seem to be pro college, until you get to the end. There she tells you that she encourages her own children to take the path of higher education. This made me come to the conclusion that, she’s not trying to have people stray away from seeking higher education, but that there are other options. If you’re career doesn’t require you to have a bachelor’s degree or higher education, then why go through the trouble of going into debt with student loans. Unfortunately, not going to college is something I can’t do.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics my career requires me to have at least a bachelor’s degree. The median salary for an electrical engineer is about $47.63 an hour or $99,070 annually. Compare to my job as an aircraft electrician this is almost about double my pay, both annually and hourly. Even though they are not the same job some aspects of it are the same. For example, we both work on electrical components, electrical engineers might not be working on airplanes and helicopters but the wires and the electricity running through it is the same. Electrical engineers do more though, they not only repair electrical components and wires, but they have design, test, and even build up the electrical systems for components. Not only that but they aren’t just grounded to the aviation field. They can do work in a broad area, like transportation, for the military, manufacturing, etc. The salary for this career looks good and so does the job outlook for it. Overall employment for this job is to increase by 2 percent from 2018 to 2028. Even though its lower than most other jobs its still a growing career field. After doing more research on electrical engineering and what they do I see why higher education is needed for this career.

Going back to the Ms. Shell’s article, she uses notable information that backs up her claim. She uses the modes or persuasion or rhetoric writing to really communicate with the readers. There is a lot of logos in her article. For example, she states that students who drop out of college, about 40 percent earn only a bit more that people with a high school diploma: $38,376 a year versus $35,256. There are even examples of ethos in there as she references credible sites an author in her article backing up her argument. She also uses the emotion or pathos in her article by talking about how being from a poor background or just being a certain race could influence who goes to college. Not even just that but, how well and how much they would make in their jobs. Ms. Shell really gives her insight on this article on why just because people don’t have a college degree, they shouldn’t be written off on to be given a chance to prove themselves worthy of good work.

After conduction my own research and after reading Ms. Shell’s article “College May Not Be Worth It Anymore” I still believe that college is still worth it for me. Ms. Shells states so many valid points and uses those essences of writing to persuade the readers, but after doing my research on my career, I need a college degree to be an electrical engineer. It’s not something that’s recommended but required. I love working with technology mainly electrical work. I’m personally contempt with the salary and overall job outlook for electrical engineers. I stand by my decision that college is worth it for me.

References

• Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2019). Electrical Engineer. Retrieved From https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/electrical-and-electronics- engineers.htm
• Shell. E. (2018). College May Not Be Worth It Anymore. Retrieved From https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/16/opinion/college-useful-cost-jobs.html