Integrate your views/ideas (Essay Sample)

Student’s Name
Instructor’s Name
Course Name
Date
The Dilemma of Going to College
One of the main reasons for pursuing college studies is to obtain the relevant skills which the employers require to increase one’s chances of securing employment. I am pursuing a nursing program and I hope to secure employment particularly because of the increasing job opportunities for registered nurses. However, although for many people, going to college after high school can be a guarantee that they will be employed, others do not believe in going to college to become successful in life (Goshgarian & Krueger 54). Some people have become successful despite that they did not attend college. The essay uses information various authors on College education such as, Christopher Seward (More Employers are Seeking Workers with College Degrees) and Gary Goshgarian and Kathleen Krueger (Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader). The essay further uses material from Charles Murray (What's Wrong with Vocational School?) and George Leef (More College does not Beget more Economic Prosperity). Although college education present valued and preferred by employers thereby prompting many people to seek college education in their quest to become successful, there are those who have become successful without college education; an issue that does not guarantee that those without college education are bound to be successful.
In my view, I believe that going to college is likely to increase the chances of one getting employed due to the changing trends in the job market. This is in-line with Seward’s assertion that “employers increasingly want smarter workers and are filling positions traditionally held by high school graduates with applicants who have college degrees, according to a recent study” (para 1). According to Seward, a CareerBuilder survey of over 2, 600 recruiting managers found that more than 50% employers required candidates to have two-year associate’s degree or higher while 44% require four-year degree or higher (para 2). Seward further cites that 64% of the surveyed hiring managers cited that recruiting more educated employees leads to a higher work quality, 45% of employers cited an increased productivity, and 22% employers associated recruiting college graduates with an increase in revenues (para 7). From these statistics, it is evident that having a college degree increases the chances of an applicant being employed.
However, I also believe that having a college degree is not necessarily an automatic guarantee that one would get employed or become successful in life. For example, Leef argues that there are many successful individuals without college degrees while many others with Bachelor of Arts degrees or even higher qualifications are struggling in low-paying jobs (26). According to Leef, “more seat time, credits, and degrees do not automatically translate into more productive people” (26). I also agree with Leef’s assertion that formal education does not necessarily result into skills and knowledge that a person can use productively (26). This is because most employers today complain about lack of basic practical skills and knowledge even among those with college degrees. Despite Leef’s assertion that one can succeed even without college degree, it would be wrong to believe in such opinion considering that very few people have succeeded in life without going to college or attaining college degrees. In fact, Leef’s claim contrasts the huge number of people who have succeeded in life because they had college education, degree, or even higher qualification. Most of those who are educated are likely to secure employment opportunities and grow in their careers thereby succeeding in life. I agree with Murray belief that many people go to college to increase their possibility of making a better living; therefore, people require vocational training though it is considered ‘second class’ (Para 6). Moreover, many people who are intellectually eligible to college do not want four-year college-level courses. Such people go to college merely because their parents are able to pay the fees and because of the fact that college is where other young people of...