Trade Profession Argumentative Analysis

A con to that is many recent college graduates are un- or underemployed. Meaning, they either have/had a job that has little work or none at all. 50% of college graduates under 25 years old have no job or a part-time job. The reason to that could be they are worried about their life and how they’re going to pay back loans. They could wake up and realise that the degree they got is not the one they wanted and feel bad about wasting their time and money. The unemployment rate for recent college graduates was 8.8% in Feb. 2013, down from 10.4% in 2010, but up from 5.7% in 2007 as said by (ProCon, 2017). They could be underemployed because many people that are working the job they’ve wanted have graduated earlier in life or even a year before them and got hired before.

Another pro is college graduates are healthier and live longer. That is because they choose jobs that are more mental than physical hence the reason why they have to have schooling to learn
more about their jobs. Some college students are involved with sports on their campus or they try to stay in shape to attract others. High school graduates are more worried about making money that they will take any good paying job whether it’s physical or mental. They do not think about later on in life so that’s why college graduates are usually healthier later on in life. 83% of college graduates reported being in excellent health, while 73% of high school graduates reported the same as said by (ProCon, 2017). In 2008, 20% of all adults were smokers, while 9% of college graduates were smokers. The reason most people start smoking is because of what type of job they get. Smoking helps people remain calm or relax so if more high school graduates are smoking than college graduates than that must mean they have harder jobs or more tedious jobs.

A con to that is many people succeed without college degrees. You do not need a degree to be successful there are many examples like Bill Gates owner of Microsoft, Mark Zuckerberg creator of Facebook, and more. It’s not because they’re smart it’s because they were dedicated and determined to create things that would help people. If you have the will to be a success then you will be a success. Some of the best jobs in the world do not require a college education so why waste the time to go to college? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the 30 projected fastest growing jobs between 2010 and 2020, five do not require a high school diploma, nine require a high school diploma, four require an associate's degree, six require a bachelor's degree, and six require graduate degrees as said by (ProCon, 2017).

A pro to being a college graduate would be college graduates have lower poverty rates. The 2008 poverty rate for bachelor's degree holders was 4%, compared to a 12% poverty rate for high school graduates. That could be because they were worried about their loans, that they knew they needed to work. Most high school graduates are people who do not want to work or go back to school so they decide not to work or do anything. High school graduates are usually people who go into a trade such as: construction, automotives, and agriculture. College graduates would be chosen for a job first instead of a high school graduate because they have a degree. According to the US Census Bureau, 1% of college graduates participated in social support programs like Medicaid, National School Lunch Program, and food stamps compared to 8% of high school graduates in 2008.

A con that counteracts that pro is learning a trade profession is a better option than college for many young adults.
College graduates may have lower poverty rates but a graduate in a trade profession will have more of a chance at securing a better paying job than a college graduate. The high number of young adults choosing college over learning a trade has created a 'skills gap' in the US and there is now a shortage of 'middle-skilled" trade workers like machinists, electricians, plumbers, and construction workers as said by (ProCon, 2017). If more and more kids choose college over these skill jobs then what’s going to happen later on when all the workers decide to retire from the skill jobs which will cause openings and more trade graduates will have jobs than college graduates. There must be a balance in the working force, yes, we need more educated generations, but we still need skilled workers to maintain the structure of our cities. We must stay diverse so we can equal out the job openings for people to
work.

Going to college just depends on the person and what they’re going for. To me, I do not think it is worth it because the tuition rises every year and I do not think it’s worth the time and money. Not only is the tuition you have to worry about, the loans can put you in even more debt. You put yourself in so much debt for a job that will probably never be able to pay back your debt. A college degree is getting so expensive that it might not be worth the money anymore according to (Long H, 2015). Is going to college and more than likely ending up in debt until retirement worth it? I do not think so. Here’s a small paragraph wrote by (Bond C, 2015), ” I spent six figures on my college education, opting for a distinguished private school with a premium price tag instead of the cheaper state option. I cared about the prestige behind the name just as much as the quality of the education. And it wasn't worth it. At all.”. Now if that doesn’t say anything then i don’t know what does. This person spent six figures for a big college and it must have worked out in their favor. They could’ve went to school for a cop-out degree like social working and is now realising she wasted money and could’ve gotten a better job without the schooling. That is why I do not like the idea of going to college, if it was free I would gladly attend it but I just do not think it is worth going into debt for.