This post originally appeared on the Upswing blog.

Even with the cost of college starting to slow, the cost of college is by no means affordable to the average American. Most students are taking on debt to pay for their degree. The rising prices in the past several years have caused some to raise their voices against the perceived value of college and to question whether or not college is a worthy investment.

A recent article from Business Week was in favor of telling our high school students that college isn’t right for everyone. The argument being that a great option for some is to pursue a trade career, like roofing or plumbing instead. With a shortage of skilled trade workers, the average salary of a trade profession is significantly higher than average and the odds of getting a job are favorable.

The problem with that argument is that, often, to get into a skilled trade job, some sort of education is required. Whether it’s a certificate or a technical degree, many skilled workers actually got their education from a college. According to Business Week, “a college education is not a prerequisite to an attractive salary”, but they don’t seem to include 2 year degrees or certificates as “a college education”.

In fact, the line between a bachelor’s degree and a vocational degree is virtually non-existent. As Business Insider said, skilled workers are in demand, but the skill in “skilled worker” has to come from somewhere. More often that not, the skills come from a university. It is true that there are several workers that don’t have an education beyond a high school degree. However, statistics show that workers in the same professions can make more money if they get any sort of additional education. Sometimes you have to spend money to make money.

The Business Week article also mentioned that while the unemployment rate for college graduates was low, the “mal-employment rate” was around 46%. Mal-employed employees are those who felt they were overqualified for their job, such as those working entry level retail or food service jobs even with a degree.

In this case, mal-employment depends on the degree that the student is pursuing. And either way, the unemployment rate for 25-34 year olds with a bachelor’s degree is 3%. While a bachelor’s degree doesn’t guarantee a job in the intended field, it does expand the amount of jobs that are available.

A 4 year degree is still an excellent option. According to Vox, the return on investment of a 4 year degree has never been higher, even with prices rising faster than inflation. The New York Times says that the average college student’s hourly rate is 98% higher than those without a degreee. And if the trend continues, the gap will continue to widen.

The gap between the salaries of graduates and non-graduates is continuing to grow because of a shortage of graduates. There aren’t enough 20-somethings with a college degree to meet demand. Whenever we reach the point of having too many bachelor-degree toting young adults, we’ll see the gap start to close. Until then, there’s certainly room for more people with degrees. According to a paper by David Autor:

The true cost of a college degree is about negative $500,000. That’s right: Over the long run, college is cheaper than free. Not going to college will cost you about half a million dollars.

College is the ticket to the middle class. Brookings did some excellent research regarding education and economic ability in a recent report.

A student in the bottom quintile of household income (earning ~$21K or less) has a 68% chance of not advancing to the middle class or higher if the student doesn’t get a college degree. If the student does earn a degree, the chances of that happening drop to just 38%.

Students from the lowest class are more likely to shoot all the way up to the upper class than to stay in the lower class if they get a college degree.

Despite what pundits may say, college is still worth the investment. While student debt is piling up (over $1 trillion now), it is even more costly to skip college. Whether it’s a 2 year vocational degree or a master’s degree, the numbers indicate that a degree makes sense and will continue to make sense for a long time.

Years ago, we didn’t think going to high school was all that neccessary. As jobs get more technical, we need more schooling. One day, college will seem like an absolute must.