Education is important for everybody. Often, education is mentioned as a way for somebody to change his or her life. With good education, people can escape from unemployment and become competitive in the job market. However, there is an opinion that is against the willingness of graduates to prioritize their future, since they believe educated people should give back to their community first. They are expected to be selfless, giving what they have for the betterment of society.
I do agree that educated people should contribute to their society. The society has complex social and economic issues that demand intellectuals to take part in solving these problems. There are various systemic issues, and education helps people to understand the root issues, so the solution tends to be sustainable rather than just a temporary matter. To add more, people who contribute to society are happier because they can be useful; it is not true that people do not like to help each other, even based on Freud’s theory, helping people is an actualization process for somebody, so they can be at the peak of their happiness. Lastly, it should be understood that civilization is all about working together. Educated people should not question if they need to help or not, since in the end, helping people is part of their role in society.
Nonetheless, there is nothing wrong with thinking about ourselves. People who pursue education and paid a lot of money for that, have rights to enjoy their success. There is a famous saying if you want to help others, you should help yourself first. It should not be part of debate whether people needs to improve the quality of life first or not since when people are getting prosperous, they can help people easier.
In the end, both are not contradictory, it is just a matter of process. People should help themselves and then do their best for their society since the civilization is always about the best people work together.