With prices of college tuition skyrocketing even faster than inflation, mounting student debt, and a workforce over-saturated with college graduates, whether or not college is still a good investment has become a popular topic of debate.

But what exactly is an investment?

When people invest in a business, invention, or otherwise, they can expect annual returns simply from making that investment.  College is different because you can’t just get annual returns by going to college.  Just because you have a degree doesn’t mean you’ll be able to land a job that pays well enough to be a worthwhile investment.  Furthermore, the extent to which college will be a good investment for you is unmeasurable because projections about the future will not match up with the past.  The workforce is a dynamic place, changing every day, influenced by countless circumstances around the world.  So is college even an investment at all in a classical sense?  Apparently not.

Employers hire and promote people who are productive and skilled in the context of the workplace.  A degree alone cannot ensure how qualified a graduate will be in the workforce, but work experience in similar situations does.  A combination of both is ideal because with a degree you can get a foot in the door for a higher starting salary, and then grow as a professional because of your productivity and excellence as a member of the workforce.

If you have some schooling and a lot of work experience but no degree, the only thing standing in between you and upward economic mobility is that initial foot in the door.  But if an expensive college is an insecure investment – if even an investment at all – is it really worth it to take on all that student debt just for a foot in the door?

The punchline is, there’s a third option.  You can get an evaluation of the education you’ve already completed as well as your work experience and convert your education and training – both inside and outside of the classroom – into a degree.  You’ve already earned it, you’ve just got to make it official.  We can help.

Find out how!  Visit us online at thecareerpeople.com.

 

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