In recent years, the acquisition of high school education has been the topic of heated debate. Some people claim that furthering education at university plays a pivotal role in having a better career path, while others support an idea of immediate entry into the workforce after graduation of school. There are contrasting views on both sides, which I will discuss below before reaching my own conclusion.
Undoubtedly, higher education brings numerous benefits. One of the obvious advantages is that after the completion of university courses, graduates are mostly bound to have a wider range of job opportunities. It is a fact that almost all job recruitment processes highly emphasize the academic qualification of candidates. Occupations such as doctors and lawyers serve as prime examples. They are not hired unless they have obtained academic degrees with relevance to the chosen field. By contrast, if tertiary education is not pursued, and then the job hunting may become a painful experience due to immensely selective features of the job market. Furthermore, during the university years, students would enhance their soft skills, including teamwork and interpersonal skills, by participating in various collaborative coursework and research with groupmates. By doing so, students would overcome potential challenges in their future jobs, especially when their job is related to working with customers in which communication skills are important. It is, therefore, essential to undertake university studies to get succeed in job career.
Nevertheless, proponents of finding a job just after school argue that studying 4 years at university is a waste of time and money. Thus, it is more important to get practical experience than formal education. This can be further explained by the fact that spending years to get academic qualifications delays career progression compared to those who started a job earlier. By commencing a career early, individuals can acquire more practice-based knowledge – essential elements of the workforce, as a result, they would have more chance to get climb the ladder of promotion as much faster. However, in the case of people who graduated higher education, they may spend a long time to get practical experience and industry specific skills in their job. On top of that, most people can not afford to obtain tertiary education as tuition fees are generally expensive for middle-class people, which trigger schoolchildren to get a job as soon as possible after completing school. Such thought encourages the tendency of getting a job earlier than studying at institutes.
In my opinion, both choices seem advantageous to some extent depending on the curiosity of individuals and also financial situations. However, it is crucial for some professions to acquire academic degrees, such as doctors and lawyers, because these jobs are directly linked to working with human’s life, yet apart from these jobs, others may not guarantee thriving career path. I should admit that there are some types of jobs that do not require any advanced education, including carpentry or auto services.
In conclusion, opinions differ as studying at university is the only way of getting a successful career path or not. I still feel that studying at university would provide numerous benefits, but it does not mean a better career choice. Also, getting a job early would not be beneficial in all circumstances.Therefore, individuals should reason about their future career depending on their academic interests and financial situations.