Recently,I’ve noticed that there have been more than your usual number of articles and profiles that suggest that getting a college education isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Mike Rowe of Discovery Channel’s "Dirty Jobs" made quite a stir last fall when he began doing the media rounds discussing his theory that college education is not the guaranteed route to stability and success it once was. Or ever was. Rowe’s basic notion, as I understand it, is that the jobs that people are going to college to secure simply aren’t there anymore, and that not only are jobs that require a college degree vanishing, but that investing time and money into pursuing those degrees leads to frustrating careers and a mountain of debt.
It’s commonplace to point to all of the pioneers who have eschewed the traditional career path: college degree (+ advanced degree) = success. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are celebrated as icons of the "I don’t need college" chorus. A quick Web search will yield the names of hundreds of people who never finished college and many more who never set foot inside a college classroom. Certainly, there are any number of celebrated names who have proven that you do not need a college education, or even a high school diploma, to achieve success.
So if you’re the next Jobs, Gates or Zuckerberg, knock yourself out. Launch that billion-dollar company. Take that company public. Watch your net worth skyrocket. And then bring your family and friends on that luxury cruise to Fat City, where you will be wined and dined through your golden years. The only fingers you will have to lift will be those raising a flute of champagne to toast your wealth and fame, or those writing checks to those organizations that want to name their next building after you.
Sadly, I am not a Jobs, Gates or Zuckerberg, and, in all likelihood, neither are you.
I knew Rowe from his commercials and his celebrity, not because I watched "Dirty Jobs." But I found it refreshing to see this guy, who I knew as something of a joker, making very valid and well-informed points about the myth of the college education as a guarantee of success. But he kept doubling back on the idea that it wasn’t the worthlessness of the education many were receiving, it was the crushing debt so many folks were accruing to secure those degrees.
Enter your military education benefits. The term "GI Bill" covers any funding for service members administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and apply to active-duty, selected Reserves, and National Guard members. Eligible service members and retirees, depending on their duty status and years of service, have a powerful tool for themselves or their designated beneficiaries to ease transition out of the military or to enhance their dependents’ opportunities to further their careers.
Rowe’s central point about a college education was framed around the debt people assumed to pursue college degrees. But because there are various educational benefits afforded to military members and their families, this point is moot. Being able to slash or eliminate personal debt in pursuit of a college education frees military families from having to overcome that one huge obstacle standing in their way.
The benefits of a college education are many, but there are four worth highlighting:
1. Credentialization. Many detractors of securing a full, four-year degree point out that all of that time and effort (not to mention cost) one invests into a college degree earns you nothing more than a fancy piece of paper that you frame and hang proudly in your office and your home. And they would be correct. For some, a degree is nothing more than a very pricey piece of paper. But that pricey piece of paper speaks volumes. Obviously, a degree is a requirement for many high-paying jobs. But do those jobs necessarily require the skills you amass during your years of study? Sometimes they do not. In many careers, there is very little someone might do on a day-to-day basis that presumes a working knowledge of what is taught in a college classroom. So why bother? "If I’m not going to use the knowledge I picked up in (for instance) my business administration courses in the course my job, why go through the hassle of getting that degree?" The short answer is this: Employers are looking for that college degree as a signaling device to indicate that the job candidate has the wherewithal, maturity and determination to complete a long-term project and to see his or her pursuits through to their fruition. A prospective employer sees that college degree as evidence that they are dealing with a serious person who has the ambition as well as the smarts to tackle challenging tasks, a person less likely to throw in the towel when things become difficult or boring. This person finishes things he or she starts.
2. Leverage. A college education opens doors. It affords access. It offers networking opportunities. It gets your name on alumni lists, which offer you a ticket to any number of career, cultural or social events sponsored by your alumni association. All else being equal, the candidate with the degree will get the job. You wouldn’t use a wrench when the job calls for a hammer. Likewise, a college education is that crowbar you might need to crack open that stubborn barrier that would otherwise remain sealed shut. But access isn’t the only thing a college degree makes available. According to a recent study that cited data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, people with an associate degree can expect to earn $325,000 more over the course of their lives than those who only have a high school diploma. Moreover, people with bachelor’s degrees can expect to earn about $1.2 million more than those with high school diplomas. Obviously, these figures are averages, and earning potential will vary greatly given career choices and interruptions. Most military members and their families will have very different career trajectories than their civilian counterparts, but the results are quite clear. On average, college pays off. Time in military service will obviously impact the ability to work continuously from age 22–65, which that study presumes. And the various career hiccups spouses face during repeated PCS moves will almost certainly detract from their ability to follow a linear career path. But considering the financial incentives of earning a college degree, coupled with a drastic reduction in tuition and fees military families enjoy by leveraging their GI Bill benefits, not taking advantage of them is like leaving money on the table.
3. Training and skill enhancement.Much of Rowe what says about how college might not be the meal ticket that many believe it to be centers around the lack of job-specific skills imparted in an average college education. He recommends that people considering college have a very clear goal or skill-set they wish to acquire, and then take steps to realize those goals. Even though Rowe is talking mostly about trade skills, his point is certainly well-taken. Unless you had an older brother or sister walking you through auto mechanics, HVAC maintenance and repair, or sewing, you’re probably in need of skills specific to careers that are not threatened by market cycles. In good times and bad, people are going to need their cars or homes repaired. People are still going to need hair stylists. The wealth is endless for jobs and careers that are not possible to outsource. But to enter those trades, you need training and certification. It’s a matter of simple labor economics: A shortage of talent in a certain industry leads to higher demand (and by extension paychecks) for those with industry-specific skills. Those industries might not be glamorous or high-profile. But instead of looking at college as a four-year indulgence into your fascination with art history, think of it in terms of meeting the needs of an underserved industry. I’ve read many accounts of employers who are desperately seeking employees with a specific skill set. So while some may enlist their education benefit to fill a personal void or subdue a gnawing guilt about not having a college degree, a forward-thinking person might seek out those technical or vocational voids in underserved industries, and take direct measures to develop marketable skills or get a particular certification.
