30 years ago... I think they would have been right. Nowdays, a college degree, all by itself, is worthless. Even if you graduate with a high GPA. Take me, for example. I went to a good school, did what I was supposed to do (study) and now I can't even find an entry level white collar job because I don't have work experience.\n\nGet this in your head, adults:\n\ncollege degree + any GPA + work experience = good job\ncollege degree + good GPA = oblivion
208499
I agree that the entry-level job market is tight right now, but I also know that all of the entry-level employees at the company where I work (a $400 million/year tech service company) went to good schools & got good grades. I think you are still in a much better position than those who didn't study hard in college, but you do have to compete with others like yourself. It's just like when you applied to college -- people with 1300+ SAT scores are dime-a-dozen at the top schools; you had to have something else on your application to make you stand out from the crowd.\n\nYou didn't ask for suggestions but I'll offer some anyway: \n\n - If you can, try volunteering with an organization that offers you an opportunity to develop leadership skills. This will look good to prospective employers, and give you valuable personal experience.\n\n - Move to a foreign country for a year or two and learn the local language. Even if you have to work a blue-collar job there, the cultural & linguistic skills you gain will be invaluable to many employers. And if your English skills are good, you could always teach English there.\n\n--Good luck!\n\nPS: Unless you are a *very* young college graduate, you're an adult, too. :-)
289400
Unfortunately, the world is just not a fair place.  The person who graduated from a prestigious college with an advanced degree will always get the job.  I learned when I graduated that a bachelor's degree isn't worth the paper it's printed on when it comes to getting a job.  Less time and effort is expended by the employer if they hire someone with a master's or PhD. The worst from Harvard will always get paid more and get the better job than the person who graduated with honors from LCC (local community college).
676784
It is the SAME thing.  The fact is if you go to college your High School Diploma is never regarded again.  Just go to College after and it makes no difference.  I believe K-12 schooling in this country in dragged on for too long learning not enough.
471482
No, definitely not.\n\nHere's the thing: You are earning a college degree.  Employers will look at that and say, "Look, this guy stuck to it for four years and proved he wants to better himself."\n\nIf you drop out, it will tell employers "look at this dummy who can't even work to better himself.  Screw him."\n\nGet the degree.  You'll be glad for it.
292493
Being a good student is not a certificate for being a good worker. I know many individuals who were not so good students but they excel in their fields of work. All you need to do is search for a right type of Job that will suit your interest and you can also excel in your field. I understand high percentage do play a very crucial role, but once you are onboard it is your skill which will decide your future.
485414
Don't let that get you down.  My mom and a few friends went to college in their 30s.  I have friends here on campus who are 22, almost 23 and are freshmen.  When you're in college, no one really looks at your age or judges you nearly as much as high school.  It's a new environment and most of the high school drama has gone away, especially if you go out of state.
487367
I went back to get my bachelors when I was 34 , had three part time jobs and a child.  I got a much better job.  Three years after I graduated I went back and got my Masters Degree and a very large raise.  (4K per year).  I now teach college and the first thing I tell my older students is I sat where you are sitting and I can tell you that its worth every moment and every sacrifice.
352269
Yeah they offer all these great programs but don't offer degrees.  They only offer diplomas.  I guarantee that a future employer will be searching for a diploma graduate and not a diploma no matter what course it is in.  I researched them and decided to go to a college instead and I am 33.  Never too late, wish I would have went years ago.  If you want to raise your education level might as well go for the gold and go back to college.  Good luck!
446301
An associates degree is certainly better than no college -- but it is meant as a stepping stone to a four year college.  Continue your education.\n\nTo put things in perspective -- what does an associate's degree mean.  To answer this -- I have two questions:\n\n1.  What do they call someone who goes to a community college for two years? -- Someone with an associates degree.\n\n2.  What do they call someone who goes to Harvard for two years and leaves with a 4.0 average?  A college dropout.\n\nWhat does this mean?  It means that if you stop your education now, there are college dropouts with a better education -- and they are more likely to get decent jobs than you are.
355967
You are a college graduate if you have a degree.  It doesn't matter if it's an associates , bachelor's, masters, whatever.
477881
It is not so much what you learn by going to college, but the fact that you did it, and that it says something about you.  Of course, it will give you the qualifications to apply for many more jobs, but it will also tell employers that you had what it takes to stick with it and to graduate.  It says that you wanted to improve yourself.\n\nEmployers may believe that college graduates are more likely to be fast learners, to feel better about themselves, to be good workers, to be highly motivated, to be team players, to be able to think more analytically, and to know more about more things in general.\n\nAdditionally, from a personal point of view, getting a college degree is a maturing process and broadens ones perspective on life and the world, no matter what courses you do.\n\nSo there are a number of reasons to go to college.  Why did I go when I went?  I was 16 years old and I knew that I had to support myself and find a way to do so relatively quickly.  So initially I went for one year, then worked for a year, back to college for another year, etc.\n\nI hope these thoughts help.  Best of luck.
436159
ONLY ONE of my friends of those that attended vocational schools ever did anything worth mentioning; the others are still driving buses or working in Sanitation or working as Maintainers (repair work) in the subway systems or still working in garages as grease-monkeys.  That one person who did this is my buddy of 43 years who also made the sacrifice of going to college and he struggled because of his poor academic skills that he received in vocational school but he buckled down and studied harder and persevered until he got his BA and he is now in a Supervisory position.  My buddy is the exception to the rule, but the exception does NOT make the rule...!\n\nBecause of his college degree and the dogged way of studying and passing exams, he is the youngest and the only one of the supervisors that went up the hierchical ladder because of his college degree, except for a couple of incompetent fools who have cronies in positions of "power" within the Transit system, and those nincompoops are always making a mess of things (they're going to be in a heap of trouble once my buddy retires)!\n\nConsider this: years of being a minor: 21 years; years of being an adult: THE REST OF YOU LIFE!  If you "sacrifice" a few more years (and, believe me, these years will seem to go by so quickly), and you also sacrifice some time away from fun-times, you will have a more comfortable adulthood afterward if you settle into a comfortable routine of studying and getting your work done on time; you will develop good study habits and develop the academic skills to enable you to do well in college, which will prepare you for whatever you wish to do for the rest of your life, and that's an awfully long time!  I speak from experience. \n\nSmart people learn from their mistakes; WISE people learn from the mistakes of others.  WHAT do you prefer to do?
139759
Everyone is different.  I personally went to college to be a high school teacher.  I realized after a year and 1/2 that I hated it.  I worked in a restaurant for a year, then taught adult learners for a year, then when I was 25 I stumbled into a marketing position and have been in marketing ever since (for 7 years).  I wish I'd gotten a degree in marketing....
249086
Gee,is this only for new grads?  Oh well,going to answer anyway. I graduated a long time ago. I've accomplished a lot in my lifetime,but am just going back to college now to finish my degree. I felt that something was lacking in my life,and this is it. I need my masters degree to feel complete.
151093
Are we speaking of college students who are graduates of college or graduate students?\n\nI can tell you from personal experience that being a graduate student is way different from being a college student. For one, I had many other "grown-up" things to worry about (bills, house, husband etc.) besides where to party on the weekends. Spring break means absolutely nothing to a graduate student because most have jobs and/or children. I also think there is more personal investment in graduate students, due to it really being a choice. Not that an undergraduate degree is not a choice, but it is almost understood that in order to get a decent job, you have to go to college these days.\n\nHope this helped :-)
642545
Completing my college degree is important to me because I came up from nothing. I did not have good influences in my life, I dropped out of high school and I was on the wrong path in life. Several years later, at an age that most people have already graduated college, I began taking classes. It was to prove to myself, my family, and my community that I was not another statistic. I ended realizing that I am smarter than I ever thought. I am now a sophomore with a 4.0 GPA pursuing my degree in Industrial Engineering and I hope to go on and get my M.B.A. \nAll of that in itself will be a major achievement to me, but I hope to own a Engineering firm someday and also play a major role in my community by helping troubled youth and others who might not otherwise go to college. Bottom line, it has saved my life.
220999
It can't hurt...but it's all in what you study and how you apply it.  I once met a man with a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology driving a cab.  And I have met very successful corporate CEO's who never finished a bachelor's degree... although these are rare cases.\n\nFor the average person on the street... if you want a white collar professional job with opportunity for advancement, yes, you really do need to have at least a bachelor's degree in today's job market.  Educate yourself to be a productive and competitive worker, and keep refreshing your education every few years to stay current.  The fact that our labor force in the US is badly under-educated is a big part of the reason why our jobs are going to Bagalore. \n\nBeyond that, graduate degrees are worthwhile, but only if you are properly motivated and focused on realistic career goals, so I think most people are better off waiting and working for a few years before going back to grad school so they don't waste their degrees.