FREE ESSAY ON A COLLEGE EDUCATION IS IT WORTH 100,000?

A COLLEGE EDUCATION IS IT WORTH 100,000?

A College Education: Is it Worth $100,000?
In Robert E. Sullivan, Jr.'s "Greatly Reduced Expectations", Sullivan discusses the lack
of employment available to college graduates. Throughout the essay, testimonials are
given by four college graduates who expected more opportunity when they graduated with a
four year degree. I sympathize with these men and women who are working in jobs that do
promote their ability.
Jim McKay, a graduate from the University of Washington, with a degree in English, did
not expect the reality that hit him when he went searching for a job. McKay wasn't hired
for any of the jobs he considered English major related. The newspaper wouldn't hire him,
nor would his university, nor a beer company as a sales representative. With a feeling of
dismay, McKay thought maybe he wasn't trying hard enough, or maybe he had chosen the
wrong major. After meeting several underemployed college grads, some more recent grads
than himself, he realized "something bigger was going on."(229) McKay, working with
people who never earned a college degree, has given up hope at finding a job that
utilizes what he learned while in school. "I feel angry about the whole thing," McKay
says. "I guess when you're told your whole life that something's gonna happened then the
opposite happens, you feel cheated." (230) I sympathize with Jim McKay, especially now
that I'm in college and will be facing the same thing in a few years. It is a deep
disappointment to work so hard as a young adult, sink so much money into an education and
have it take you nowhere in the work place. When a person realizes that they "wasted
their time and money", I can imagine the feelings of anger, disappointment and the
feeling of having been cheated. 
Brian McCoy, a major in chemical-engineering, and with a graduation date of this spring,
is already preparing himself for the strong possibility of not finding a job within his
field. As he nears graduation, McCoy is taking all the interviews he can, just hoping to
land something, and realizes that he may have to settle for a position in sales. "They
say they have enough engineers, and I guess they figure it's easier to teach a technical
person how to sell than to teach a salesperson to be technical." (230) I can understand
Brian McCoy's concern over his future. As graduation get's closer, he realizes that his
future might not be as secure as he first thought it was going to be. I find it
upsetting, that a student fresh out of college, has to be hit with the huge
disappointment of not being able to find a decent job within their major. All a person
can do, is try not to be discouraged and keep searching for that job of their dreams.
It is believed that the higher the education a person receives, the more likely they are
to land a job right out of college. Jamie Hurd, after graduating with a six year degree
in architecture, has managed to only find a part time job within her field. When Hurd
goes to look for other jobs, she feels the need to "play down her schooling"(230) Hurd
feels, "Here you've got this professional degree, and it's almost a
hindrance…Sometimes you feel overqualified.(230) The situation that Jamie Hurd
finds herself in unfortunately is not an uncommon one. I have heard many stories of being
"overqualified". In the United States, if a person doesn't go to college they have
trouble getting decent jobs. If a person goes to college, they are told they should
specialize to have a better chance at a good job. If that person chooses to specialize
they are now considered overqualified for many careers. I have difficulty excepting that
that can be an acceptable reason for turning someone down for a job. People who graduate
with a Master's Degree or a Doctorate, or any specialized degree, should not have trouble
finding a job. The fact is, however; they do. 
Meggan Baron, a graduate from a four-year college with a major in Commerce and Art (1/2
art, 1/2 business), had difficulty finding a job at first. Even with a internship at
Nordstrom, a high class department store, she failed to land the job she was hoping for.
Baron started out with a job at Nordstrom, but as a salesperson in the woman's clothing
department. After a few months, Baron realized that her position was permanent and she
didn't have a hope of moving up the ladder. The reason was, "there were all these people
on the bottom who were willing to keep their jobs; they didn't want to give them up.
We're talking about people who made selling on the floor their career, which is something
I never really wanted to do." (233) I feel that it is really hard for college graduates
to move up the ladder when there will always be people willing to stay at the bottom. If
everyone in the job force insisted, that they work their way up, it would keep the job
force moving, and give everyone somewhere to start with the possibility of moving up.
The situation that college graduates are facing is serious, and needs to be addressed. I
feel bad for all the people who were expecting more and never are going to get it. I just
hope that when I graduate my class has a better chance at a good job within out field.
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