what is the importance of higher education?

In today’s modern society, “would you like fries with that” is not a term that will put money in the bank. Times in America are changing and with this change money is getting harder to come by and unemployment rates are skyrocketing. The days of getting hired through connections are long gone. In our modern society employers are looking for people who have the most to offer and this is why a higher education is more valuable than gold. According to dictionary.com a higher education is defined as; education beyond high school, specifically that provided by colleges and graduate schools, and professional schools. Higher education can also be achieved through vocational and technical schools. Education past high school is important because America is a post industrial society and being a post industrial society means that a great number of jobs are done using one’s mind instead of using one’s body. Having a high school degree in America might qualify you for a job at as a janitor where as having a college degree will guarantee that you will not have to clean up everyone else’s mess.

Higher education is valuable for the individual and beneficial to an economy and society, but not everyone is ready for higher education. Many students who enter college are unprepared for the demands higher education places on them, and consequently perform poorly, fail to keep up with assignments and other requirements, and then end up dropping out of school altogether. This is frustrating to the individual and wasteful of precious educational resources.

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Higher education improves an individual's quality of life. Studies show that, compared to high school graduates, college graduates have longer life spans, better access to health care, better dietary and health practices, greater economic stability and security, more prestigious employment and greater job satisfaction, less dependency on government assistance, greater knowledge of government, greater community service and leadership, more volunteer work, more self-confidence, and less criminal activity and incarceration. In addition, college graduates supposedly have greater use of seatbelts, more continuing education, greater Internet access, greater attendance at live performances, greater participation in leisure and artistic activities, more book purchases, and higher voting rates. As an aside, I have to admit that I was amazed at some of these items--not that I found them, but that someone actually researched this stuff and thought some of the items were enviable.

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