As higher education becomes increasingly popular worldwide, debates about its true purpose become more common. With the rapid development of artificial intelligence and the changes in the job market, people started to question the benefits of universities and the possible profit for undergraduates. People do not seem to reach a consensus on whether the aim of post-graduate formation is to get better career prospects or there are overlooked benefits behind it.
On the one hand, some people believe that higher education offers a greater range of positions in the global job market. It cannot be denied that typically the initial purpose of receiving education in universities is to find a compelling and satisfying job in future. In a contemporary society with a very competitive environment it is very challenging and almost impossible to find a good position without having a reassuring portfolio and background. Therefore, the initial aim of having a post-graduate formation in the first place is to be well occupied in future. Moreover, many people find it naive to believe that there are other benefits of education. Apart from this, if someone invests in higher education it takes a great sum of money to afford it. Consequently, it is expected that they will be provided with a good job with satisfying wages and conditions.
On the other hand, universities may have a different angle to look at them from. There are advocates of another point of view that there is a wider range of benefits to be seen in education. First and foremost, there is always room for improvement. Perfection is very hard to reach and a person cannot be educated to the degree that there is no new knowledge to be gained and received. For instance, during school toddlers can study for good grades and not for the sake of self-development. The same works for university, if students work hard only for future employment and money profit, they will never succeed in becoming knowledgeable at all. University does open a lot of doors, but the effort that is done is what determines who is allowed to walk through them. However, what higher education promises with the right effort is intelligence, connections, new encirclement, ability to adapt to certain circumstances and simply broadens people’s perspective. Moreover, when adolescents just finished high school their mental and physical world reshapes entirely. They do not know how to take responsibility for their actions and how to act in certain situations. The place where all the skills of an adult are to be learned is the university. It helps them to learn how to be mature, how to set boundaries, how to be self-organised and act with dignity. They eventually think two steps ahead before making a decision because there is always a high chance of being kicked out of university. Therefore, there are much more strengths to be gained from universities that simply unpredictable future employment.
Overall, both points of view are valid. However, I strongly believe that there are diverse underestimated benefits of having higher education, such as valuable knowledge, essential skills and understanding of global issues. Apart from this, educated individuals are more likely to contribute to society to social progress and economic development.