Americans and Higher Education
The average American has come to feel that to get a good job, one must first seek a degree of some sort. Most Americans find that, with a college educations, many more job opportunities arise as well. The evidence from very recent polls makes this an undeniable fact. But what could possibly cause this trend among Americans? What are the implications of such a collective thought? Only time will tell, but speculations can be made.
Around late May of 2011, a noteworthy poll website known to be quite credible and accurate in its findings called Gallup questioned a vast amount of Americans about their thoughts and opinions of higher education. When asked if having a degree is essential for getting a good job in this country, 69% voted strongly agree, 19% voted neither agree nor disagree, and only 11% said strongly disagree. The questionnaire went on to ask "which of the following is the main reason why students get education beyond high school?" The results were staggering. 54% answered "to earn more money". Following behind that, 33% answered "to get a good job". Only 5% answered "to become a well-rounded person", 3% "to learn more about the world", 1% "to learn to think critically", 3% "all of the above", and 1% voted "none of the above". Even with most Americans being aware of the poor state of the economy and the difficulty in the job market, 57% agreed that having a college degree would better a persons chances of finding a worthwhile one.
Americans leanings towards higher education are not unfounded, either. Another poll by Gallup supports this completely. Another extensive poll was done from January 2nd to September 30st of 2011, with impressive results. Among college graduates, 73% are employed full time for an employer, 7% were fully self employed, and 9% were employed part time without wanting to be employed full time. Postgraduates also had a percentage of 73% employed by a full time employer. Technical/Vocational school graduates were reported as 67% employed full time by an employer. While people with a high school diploma or less were at 58% fully employed by an employer. To further drive this point home, only 9% of postgraduates and 12% of college graduates reported being under employed, and 4% of postgraduates and 6% of college graduates were completely unemployed. Among technical/vocational school graduates, 18% were underemployed and 9% were unemployed. Even further down the list, people with a highschool diploma or less were at 25% underemployed and 13% unemployed. These are the kind of results that just can't be argued with.
Clearly, Americans feel the importance of furthering education just by seeing it. These are the kind of results that shine through, that everyone is aware of. The job market is a fight for survival, and whatever sells will make itself clear. If college graduates get better jobs easier, the American people pick up on that.
Getting a good job in life is something stressed to young Americans by relatives, teachers, and the like constantly. Ask any teenager how they feel about dropping out or not recieving a college education, especially in high schools that really focus on pumping up students for college, and you will hear something along the lines of "I don't want to be flipping burgers for the rest of my life." Americans are raised to want a worthwhile, quality career, and they are also raised to believe a college education can give that to them.
The effects of this mindset of the American public should already be quite clear. More students attend college out of high school, more Americans go back to college to further their education. College starts to become the next essential step in growing up instead of something completely optional.
So what sort of implications does this have for the American public? Well, as Gallup says on their Most Americans See College as Essential to Getting a Good Job article, "Some college graduates and post-graduates remain out of work, which may partly reflect today's challenging economy and jobs climate. However, it also suggests that leaders can do more to ensure that college graduates have the quality of education and skills that employers are looking for."
"Recent research by Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce proposes that the U.S. needs more college graduates with a quality education and skills suited for today's job market. Gallup/Lumina data suggest that the majority of Americans would agree with this assessment."
This mindset among Americans is an interesting one indeed. Not only because the polls were flooded with so many people agreeing on the importance of an education, but also because this opinion of the general public is nearly spot on with the evidence. Americans are right, those with higher education seem to have more chances for full employment.
Bibliography
Marlar, Jenny. "Seven in 10 College Grads Are Employed Full Time for Employer." Gallup.Com - Daily News, Polls, Public Opinion on Government, Politics, Economics, Management. 10 Oct. 2011. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. <http://www.gallup.com/poll/149981/Seven-College-Grads-Employed-Full-Time-Employer.aspx>.
p.w. I feel like I have a solid essay with to-the-point facts on the subject. Are my points throughout my essay clear? Are the causes and effects balanced?
Hi Ashley:
ReplyDeleteI like your subject: it's timely and (for me) quite interesting.
Your analysis as to causes and effects also seems interesting, clear, and thoughtful.
But where's the trend? Have you specified a change in behavior? Did Americans once feel that a job was the least important factor for going to college? I'm not seeing that here. See my point?
While I recognize Gallup, you are really getting this information second hand, right? Please use in-text citation consistently and logically, okay?
cite your sources? many more job opportunities arise as well. The evidence from very recent polls makes this an undeniable fact.
please use in-text citation and cite your source: Around late May of 2011, a noteworthy poll website known to be quite credible and accurate in its findings called Gallup questioned a vast amount of Americans about their thoughts and opinions of higher education. When asked if having a degree is essential for getting a good job in this country, 69% voted strongly agree, 19% voted neither agree nor disagree, and only 11% said strongly disagree.
Fifty-four per cent: 54% answered "
I'm confused as to the relevance of this paragraph. Is this a cause? Among college graduates, 73% are employed full time for an employer, 7% were fully self employed, and 9% were employed part time without wanting to be employed full time.
Please avoid quoting back to back without your commentary intevening: "Some college graduates and post-graduates remain out of work, which may partly reflect today's challenging economy and jobs climate. However, it also suggests that leaders can do more to ensure that college graduates have the quality of education and skills that employers are looking for."
"Recent research by Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce proposes that the U.S. needs more college graduates with a quality education and skills suited for today's job market. Gallup/Lumina data suggest that the majority of Americans would agree with this assessment."
Cite sources?
good MLA (although you should title this "Works Cited"), but you will not need URL's. Are these sources scholarly and credible? Bibliography
English, Cynthia. "Most Americans See College as Essential to Getting a Good Job." Gallup.Com - Daily News, Polls, Public Opinion on Government, Politics, Economics, Management. 10 Oct. 2011. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. .
In your commentary, you're saying that you find the subject of my essay interesting. However, I need to work on relating it more to the subject of it being a trend. I feel that you haven't missed anything positive or negative in your feedback. From this assignment, I've learned to incorporate information from polls into my writing. This will certainly be useful in the future for me.
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