Samantha Chaffin

Editor-in-Chief

More and more frequently, I hear of college students from programs across the board who are only here to “get their degree and get out.”

It seems it has become a trend in the United States to attend an institute for higher education to get a degree in order to attain future financial stability, not to increase intelligence or for the sake of education.

Of course, in order to attain a degree even under the aforementioned pretenses students would have to retain at least some knowledge, right? But is that knowledge as beneficial as it could be? Are students learning to learn, or learning to earn?

Several of my peers are earning degrees in fields they are already highly knowledgeable in, whether that knowledge be from other courses, personal studies or experience. They are earning a degree and taking what they consider simple courses, even near the end of their degree, in order to get higher paying jobs. Most of them have no intention of actually gaining a more rounded, complete view of the world or even their own field, which is extremely different than past generations’ view of education.

So the question I pose is this: is that okay?

I can relate to this idea and this dilemma, as I’m sure many reading this can.

College, at times at least, can act as a means to and end. The end in this scenario is a job or career with a salary that allows us to lead the lives we desire, whatever that may be.

While I feel that I have a desire to learn more about the world as a whole and increase my education, I also realize that I am primarily here because I know I need a degree to survive in today’s job market in order to live the life I envision.

Of course, there are others in school merely to soak up as much knowledge as they can. Most students I’ve met who fall under this category, however, are non-traditional students who have either already made a living for themselves and retired or who have been successful enough that they can afford to return to school for the sake of getting an education, not just a degree.

Meanwhile, others fall somewhere between these two aforementioned extremes.

Several university students are working toward a degree not necessarily for the sheer sake of education or for a paycheck later on. Rather, these individuals are working to learn about a field or major he or she is passionate about regardless of whether it will create considerable financial stability, or instability.

All of these categories as well as those that fall between make up the reasoning for most students in the realm of higher education.

Which category do you fall into?

I am by no means qualified to tell anyone whether or not their reasoning for pursuing higher education is justified. My point is simply for us all to take a moment to think about why we’re here.

Are we here for an education, or the money that we stand to make by having a degree? Are we doing this for ourselves, or others in our lives? What is driving us, motivating us to finish our degrees?

I strongly believe that if each of us can answer those questions, the answers will help us succeed and put our goals in sight.