My dad went to college. My mom went to college. My sister went to college. When it was time for me to pack my bags for post-secondary education, they had already gone through a combined 15 years of college between the three of them. I stepped up to the plate and didn’t even question a different path.
I’m three years into college and I finally have time to reflect on the big-picture decisions I’ve made. I think about my friends in high school who decided to be mechanics or electricians, and about how much money they are making. It made me wonder: Did I make the right call?
According to US Census data, since 1940, the total percentage of people who have completed four years or more of college has jumped from 4.6 to 37.7%. Despite this increase in the social value of higher education, some polls say that people in the United States don’t have confidence in the utility of a college degree at all.
When you go to school for a trade, you can dodge college debt, enter the workforce immediately and work a well-paying, specialized job. That being said, the return for high paying degrees, like engineering and medical degrees, is equally compelling. Computer science graduates can make up to $7.1 million more than high school graduates in their lifetimes, according to Forbes.
But in the same article by Forbes, it’s made apparent that some lower paying jobs pay a similar wage as a trade. If the wage is the same, why spend several years in college?
“It’s about making yourself a more well-rounded person. You can’t really just distill it into, ‘What am I gonna do on the job?’” Brandon Bohling, a UCCS alum, said.
Bohling completed his master’s at UCCS in cybersecurity, but said his original motive for college wasn’t entirely academically motivated, as he began his undergraduate degree in Michigan with a passion for running. That passion carried over to the UCCS cross country and track teams, where he discovered an excitement for spending time in class.
Bohling said that if students are curious and dedicated, they can gain worthwhile knowledge for a career path at any college. “School is school, man,” he said, adding, “Your education is a lot more than what you learn.”
Bohling also said that being around people his age who are all in a similar spot in life and pursuing similar goals is a novel experience that shouldn’t be missed. He feels that looking at college as transactional cuts out part of the college picture, and he isn’t the only person who feels that way.
“I [wanted] to go in with the intention of meeting as many people as possible, and that I did,” said Mikey Hardesty, an ex-Digital Filmmaking and Media major. After two semesters at UCCS, Hardesty felt college wasn’t for him and dropped out. However, he feels that going was still the right move when he made it.
Hardesty feels that any approach to college should be filled with the right goals in order to maximize the benefit. He took a couple gap years to work before he attended UCCS to nail down his intentions with his education.
“If you go without knowing what you’re doing, you don’t always get what you want out of it,” Hardesty said. He added that he feels good knowing college will always be there in the future for him if he chooses to go back, and that there is no harm in waiting.
Hardesty now has his own production company called Mikey Hardesty Film, LLC that regularly shoots projects around Colorado.
Bohling and Hardesty gave me a lot to think about. For someone who came into college undecided, my course of action was cloudy. Research led me to a Britannica article that I thought would shed some light, but it just dimmed my confidence. It discussed the pros and cons of college, echoing some of Hardesty and Bohling’s sentiments, and saying that trades are debtless and immediately applicable, but that college gives you connections and job placements.
Continuing college is a calculated decision you make for yourself. But the initial act of going is like jumping into a lake: you won’t know if the water is freezing until after you’ve made the leap. Frankly, even if I dropped out after my first semester, I would have never forgotten packing up my bags and moving to Colorado for the college experience.
I didn’t drop out, and I’m not going to. I found my passion right here in college. I came in thinking I would become a devout chemistry student, and eventually discovered a passion for film, something I didn’t even know I could go to college for when I enrolled.
For the students deciding on whether to continue college or not, I wish you luck. Everyone is different, and there are an infinite number of factors that play into your college education. But be proud you tried in the first place. Maybe stepping up to the plate and taking a swing at college is just what you needed to get yourself on first base. If you end up missing, at least you know it’s not for you! And if you hit a home run, you’ll never stop thanking yourself.
Editor’s Note: Joseph Impellitteri is on the UCCS cross country and tracks teams, but Bohling graduated before he joined. Impellitteri is a Digital Filmmaking and Media major but has not had any classes with Hardesty.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash.