This debate keeps coming up every year, whether college is still worth it in this age of technology and the internet, where someone can spend a few weeks or months learning a skill and start making money faster than someone who spends four years on a bachelor’s degree, then a master’s, and sometimes even a Ph.D.
As a writer, let me state my position clearly: I support college 100%. Whether we like it or not, society still depends on trained professionals. We need medical doctors. We need lawyers. We need surgeons, economists, scientists, dentists, nurses and teachers. These are not professions you learn on YouTube in three months. Without college, how do we train these people? How do we maintain standards? Just this alone is enough reason to defend the relevance of college.
Beyond that, there is something people like to ignore: credibility. College gives validation. It gives structure. It gives discipline. Smart people do not just go to college to sit in classrooms. They go there to build networks, to access resources, to shape ideas and to position themselves for bigger opportunities. College is not just about books; it is about exposure. Let us be honest, college will always be relevant, no matter how much we try to downplay it.
In developed countries, especially here in the United States, student loans are a serious issue. People graduate already in debt, and that pressure is real. That is where the real conversation should be: how to reduce that burden, not whether college itself is useless. I also agree that college is not for everyone. But let us not twist that into saying college is not worth it. That is two different things.
Some people thrive outside the system, yes. But even many of these so-called dropouts passed through college. They experienced the system, built connections, used the resources, and then left. College still added value to their lives, whether they finished or not.
Even today, many trade schools are offering diploma and degree programs. What does that tell you? It tells you education still matters. Structure still matters. Certification still matters. And not everything in life should be reduced to money. Education is also about building the human being, how you think, how you reason, how you engage with the world.
That matters just as much as income. The real issue we should focus on is not just finding jobs after college, but creating them. That is where the next generation must think differently.
At the end of the day, it comes down to one question: What do you want to do with your life? If you want to be a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, then you cannot turn around and say college is not important. It does not work that way.
So be honest with yourself. If college aligns with your goals, go for it. If it does not, find your own path. But let us stop this lazy narrative that college is a scam. That idea itself is the real scam.
Because one thing is clear, we do not need empty minds occupying sensitive positions in our society. We need educated, well trained individuals to lead our institutions and industries.
Categories: Opinion
