Building Education Builds the Future
The future of business–the future of America and most every other first world country in the world–is currently sitting in a college classroom somewhere. If you’re one of the 50 million or so Americans currently in college, look around you and you’ll see the people who will be running this country in a few years time. If that’s scary, maybe you should stop reading, and start taking notes, because you’re in that group too.
Receiving a quality education is something that not everyone can afford, but those who choose to undertake postsecondary education, whether that’s through paying their own way, student loans, scholarships or some combination thereof, are opening themselves to an opportunity to change their lives for the better.
Statistics indicate that, generally speaking, the lower your level of education the higher a chance you have of falling below the poverty line. In fact, 29 percent of people with no high school diploma/GED currently live in poverty vs just 5 percent for those with college degrees. A path void of an opportunity for higher education is a path that is filled with far steeper hills, rockier trails and forks in the road.
Objectively, a career without a degree isn’t an automatic failure; many of the world’s giant businesses were build by people who didn’t go through this right of passage. But, by neglecting education, you’re making it exponentially more difficult to find business success or develop a promising career.
Money certainly isn’t the only means of measuring a person’s success. And while studies have shown that money can indeed buy happiness, it certainly isn’t the only thing of importance when young people are seeking an education. According to the Huffington Post, data also indicates that those with postsecondary education also tend to be happier and healthier than those who have a lesser education.
But the benefits of obtaining an education extend far beyond just making more money or being happier and healthier. A strong educational foundation is the basis for our society. As human beings we have almost unlimited capacity to learn and expand our own opportunities. By continuing your education you’re giving yourself a chance to change the world–some of science’s greatest discoveries and breakthroughs happen in college labs.
Getting a strong education helps to build the future business leaders of tomorrow. The CEOs and CFOs and cofounders of the next big startup, the next tech giant and the next breakthrough in college are all out there right now. And while an education may not guarantee a success–and nor does a lack of education destine one for failure–obtaining an education allows young people to find their niche and broaden their horizons. It allows their beliefs to be challenged and questions on a broad scale, letting them grow as they learn. Most importantly, education can help change society for the better. While free undergraduate college might not be feasible in the near future of America, investing in the continuation of education is building for the future.
