The Paradox of Higher Education - Part 2

The Paradox of Higher Education - Part 2 http://www.cistudy.com/photo_galleryIn Part 1 of this article, we reviewed the benefits of Higher Education for both the individual and society.In this post â€" The Paradox of Higher Education â€" Part 2 we will discuss the demerits or disadvantages of Higher Education.No Guarantees of EmploymentevalDuring the early 1960s only a handful of youth , There is also a huge mismatch between the jobs of recent graduates perform versus their obtained degree â€" also known as underemployment. Many of the millennials attended university with the hopes that their Expensive degrees would directly translate to guaranteed employment and higher income.2. Inflated Education CostsRecently Ronald Nelson made the news when he turned down admission from 8 American Ivy League Schools. Ronald Nelson had one of the most envious positions a high school student could ever imagine. He had numerous achievements Do you know why? Ronald did not want to incur the financial strain from the higher cost of education from the Ivy League Schools.A recent article by Bloomberg shows the cost of education from the 6 Ivy League schools â€" ranging anywhere from $43000 to $63000. The cost of education has soared about more than 500% since 1985.On the contrary the average household income has only doubled We have all heard the scary statistics about the risks of entrepreneurship â€" about 95% of businesses fail within the first 5 years. For venture-backed startups the success rate hovers around 7%.Despite the stats and the odds of success â€" more people are venturing into entrepreneurship â€" more than 500000 small businesses are started each month in the United States. With the democratization of the Internet and Globalization, more people are starting to strike it on their own because of the upside potential.Today almost anyone can be self-employed. Companies such as Etsy,Ebay,Amazon,etc. make it is easier for anyone to start and run a business. Many individuals are ditching their corporate jobs an d degrees to venture on their own.In 1996 Thomas J Stanley and William Danko published a book- The Millionaire Next Door. An interesting finding from the book was that close to 70% of self-made millionaires were either self-employed or Entrepreneurs.The traditional path of going to college, getting a degree and gaining steady employment â€" does not correlate to financial business success.evalWe have discussed the two sides of the coin. We learnt about the benefits of Higher Education for the individual i.e. Higher Income Potential; and the benefits for the society is a lower crime rate, stability and progress.We also discussed the disadvantages of Higher Education â€" increased unemployment among millennials, underemployment, ballooning education costs and the mismatch between success vs education.My personal opinion about Higher Education.Is it mandatory?My answer is that it totally depends on the individual. If someone has the mettle to be an Entrepreneur â€" it is best not to g et deep into student debts obtain a graduate degree.For such individuals it is in their best interest to become self-employed. In this case, higher education is not necessary.If someone is risk-averse, wants a stable career over the course of his/her lifetime â€" then it is imperative to obtain a college/university degree follow the traditional path.Before making the decisions â€" today’s youth must take a step back to learn more about their motivations strengths. Based on that they can make the best personal decision whether to pursue Higher Education or not.Feel free to share if you found the article insightful !!