Ever since the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (known as the GI Bill) was signed into law, earning a college degree became the ticket to American prosperity. By 1956, nearly half of World War II veterans had taken advantage of the education and training available through the benefits, which included assistance with tuition, books, and even housing. The U.S. workforce was on its way to achieving the highest level of education in its history and the earning power that can help create.
Nevertheless, we are still a majority nation of workers without college on their resumes. More than 60% of adults over 25 do not hold four-year college degrees, according to 2022 U.S. Census data. Reasons for skipping higher education are varied, as are levels of success and job satisfaction. It’s a tough decision, made tougher by the fact that you attend college with a certain degree of faith—not proof—that it will pay off for you in the end.
There’s no question that, statistically speaking, a college degree leads to dramatically better outcomes for employment and earnings. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rates for non-college grads is significantly higher than that of college grads. According to 2021 analysis by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, graduating from a four-year college means you will earn, on average, $1.2 million more than your high-school graduate counterpart in a lifetime.
Yet the decision of whether to pursue a college degree is just about as unique as the number of people who ask it. “None of us are average; we are individuals,” notes Ron Lieber, columnist for The New York Times and author of The Price You Pay for College. “So I think it’s only healthy to ask, ‘What is the point of this exercise?’ If you don’t know what you’re shopping for, it’s hard to evaluate whether you stand a good enough chance of getting that return.”
Lately, higher education has come under fire by many critics. The average price of a four-year college degree in 2025 for an in-state student at a public university is $108,000; that total literally doubles for private education. The news cycle carries cautionary tales of students who spent thousands of dollars earning a degree only to discover they were unable to find a well-paying job afterward. Meanwhile, the loan payments keep coming. In a 2023 survey by the Federal Reserve, nearly 4 in 10 Americans who pursued higher education took out loans to help pay for it. Most students come out owing between $20,000 and $40,000, and it can take 20 years for the average borrower to pay it all back.
The case for pursuing a college degree
Despite the price tag, a four-year college degree carries with it an intrinsic value that will pay off in ways both specific and nonspecific. Likely the biggest payoff is in its longstanding position as a key indicator of job readiness: The vast majority of employers offering professional and white-collar career paths still ask for an undergraduate degree, if not a master’s degree. This is particularly true in fields like finance, technology, health care, education and science.
College graduates continue to have an edge over non-college grads in terms of job opportunities in fields that offer the highest pay. Not only do starting salaries tend to be higher but the benefits can increase dramatically over time. According to one study, college wage premiums more than double over a worker’s lifetime, from 27% at age 25 to 60% at age 55.
When it came time for Kareem Abdol-Hamid to think about college, it wasn’t a matter of going or not going. “It really wasn’t ever a question for me,” he says. He attended Virginia Tech and earned a degree in computer science. Today, the 27-year-old works as a senior solutions architect at AWS and says he was able to pay off his $20,000 student loan debt in one year.
The wonders of a bigger world opening up on campus, particularly in a city or state that is unfamiliar, can be a profound and life-changing experience. “The most important part of a college degree is the way that you understand the world you live in, and to be a contributing member of society, you need to understand the world,” says Sara Stout, assistant dean of student affairs at the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University.
Pursuing a degree takes time and money but if you’re in it, finish it. One of the worst scenarios is dropping out of college and facing thousands in student loan debt without a degree to show for it. “Our tours have tripled from last year to this year,” Stout says. “[Kids] are doing a lot more investigating and researching. They’re figuring out what they are going to get for what they are investing.”
The argument against a college degree
Things are changing dramatically within higher education. After decades of high favorability within most sectors of society, colleges and universities now face a diminishing reputation. Consider a recent Gallup poll: just 36% of Americans have a high level of confidence in higher education versus 57% 10 years ago. The cost of a four-year degree is under more scrutiny, and in some ways, it’s a buyer’s market as colleges struggle to fill classrooms. Even so, the expenditure of both time and money might seem excessive to someone who doesn’t feel that continued education will help them achieve their goals.
Tristan Anderson went off to community college while most of his friends set out for four-year universities. “My family [and I] believed it was in my best interest to continue at Orange Coast College, then transfer to a four-year college… to pursue an easy degree like anthropology,” the 22-year-old says. But after his sophomore year, something clicked. “I… realized I had no plans of getting a job with the anthropology degree I was working towards,” Anderson continued. “With that, my drive to finish my college degree diminished completely.”
An avid photographer since middle school, Anderson realized his experience surpassed that of many of his peers. “I have spoken with film and photography majors and have noticed that I have more knowledge and experience than the people who are going to school for it,” he says. He says his sports photos recently caught the attention of the UFC, and he hopes to become a professional sports photographer and run his own business.
Alternative sources of education are vying for the attention and dollars of would-be students. Someone interested in the trades has a host of training options that can help them learn valuable skills and land a good job. Trade schools teach specific skills in automotive mechanics, cosmetology, culinary, nursing, graphic arts, plumbing and welding, to name a few. Industry-driven apprenticeship programs within private and public companies offer free training along with wages; they culminate in portable certifications and two- or four-year degrees.
Amanda Monreal received her automotive certification just before the 2008 housing crash. With almost zero jobs available, she pivoted to factory work as a laborer making wires and cabling. Soon, she saw an opening for a maintenance mechanic. “I told [my boss] I had experience working in automotive and would [he] take a chance and let me try out working on machinery,” Monreal recalls. “My boss said, ‘You know, that sounds like a good idea; let’s go ahead and do it.’” Monreal progressed very quickly, and in a few years moved on to electrical maintenance. Today, the 37-year-old is an electrical and instrumentation technician for a large energy company and makes a six-figure salary.
People who bypass college and still find the career they want are those who study their fields and know what they want to do. Along with that, they should keep an eye on industries facing a shortage of trained workers. For example, a variety of factors have shrunk the pool of trained pilots, so most major airlines have dropped their requirement for a four-year degree, and at least one has its own aviation training program.
Is a college degree for everyone?
Perhaps the question of whether a college degree is right for you isn’t the right question. “I say college is something everyone should consider in the same way that everyone should consider enrolling in the U.S. armed forces and serving our country, in the same way they should consider pursuing an entrepreneurial idea,” Lieber says. “This idea that something ‘is for everyone’ but some things are not for certain people—I just don’t buy it.”
Photo by EduLife Photos/Shutterstock.
