I Learned More than my Social Security Number in College

The old joke is that the only thing most people learn in college is their social security number.  It’s just that you’re asked it everytime you do anything in college that you quickly memorize it. When you go to the records or cashier’s office, it’s the first thing you’re asked. When you go the library, you’re reciting it. If you have a food account tied into your scholarship, you have to sing it to get your food. Often I wake up in a flop sweat and the first think I can think to say is my social security number.

Whereas I do dream about my social security number the same way you dream about Tetris blocks after playing that blasted game for hours, I did learn a few other things in college. Because so much of academia is centered around tests, most people assume that what you’re learning is the answers to those questions. Naturally, when they go out into the workforce and realize that those answers aren’t helping them any, they assume their college years were a waste.

The key is that what they teach you in college, goes far beyond the facts and figures you were tested on. Well, I guess if you were studying to be a doctor knowing what the spleen does is pretty important, but for those of us who majored in a more esoteric field, the knowledge was only half of it. What you didn’t realize was that you were trained to think. Most of education is training you to think. When you were in High School, the solution to the riddle of a northbound train racing head on towards a southbound one wasn’t the end goal. It was learning processes and deductive reasoning. It was training your mind to solve problems.

In the end, you learned a lot more than you think you did, and that’s why your mind is so much more valuable to employers than one that can remember all of the hidden rooms in a given level of “Super Mario Bros.” It’s not the facts they’re interested in, monkeys have been known to memorize things like that. It’s the way you think that counts.

The Million Dollar College Degree

The best career investment you will ever make is going to college. Any way you look at it college presents a plethora of positives and rarely any negatives. Even though lack of funds seems to be a huge factor in not attending college, a D.C.-based employment agency says that your bachelor’s degree will be worth more than $2.1 million over 40 years. You are only gaining in the long run.

Nowadays, obtaining a college degree is crucial for times of recession. All of the job categories that will grow the fastest over the next decade require a college degree. Education, health care and technology are the fastest growing industries which all require a higher level of learning. With the unease in the economy many people are having a hard time spending so much time, energy and money on a degree. However, most Americans agree that a degree is essential for long term success. Employment for individuals who possess a bachelor’s degree grew by over a million over the past ten years while those without a degree have been losing jobs daily.

Going to college gives you rewards that aren’t just found in the textbooks. The classroom and the coursework will let you explore new ideas and challenges that will help you in the working world. By socializing with diverse people you will learn how to communicate and work with a spectrum of individuals. Your critical thinking skills will become sharper and you will become a better leader, team player and decision maker. A college degree is a career investment that will last a lifetime. The payoff from a higher education cannot be erased or broken. You will always have the knowledge and experience and no one can take that away from you. The payoff of a college degree is tremendous and it is truly your path to opportunity.