The Value of an Education

An education is a priceless thing. Yet, there is a costly value to it. It represents our time, our money, our effort, our frustrations, our determination, and countless late nights of toil. The value of an education can not be measured in cold, hard numbers. It is something more than that, something intangible. It goes beyond what we know in that an education opens doors that we have not yet even dreamed about. These doors are not only external doors, doors which shape our lives, but these doors are also internal doors, doors within ourselves. These doors shape our hearts, our minds, our beliefs, and our attitudes.

Education is universal. A person can get a degree in one place and it still is received and respected in another place. The knowledge travels with you, so should the degree and the respect. Even before the degree is received by the student from the university, you can transfer credits from one institution to another institution. If someone gets their doctoral degree here, they can travel and still be referred to as "Doctor." The respect travels with the degree.

One clear result of an education is the whole point of an education: our mind grows. The inherent part of learning is that we become smarter, or educated. Not only do we become smarter, in that we learn specific things, but we become wiser, in that we learn concepts and new ways of thinking. We are learning how to learn, learning how to grow. This learning goes beyond school. This learning never stops. We are learning how to reach our potential. Our minds never have to stop growing, and in the course of learning all of these general concepts, we gain specific knowledge.

I have read that the average person uses only 6% of their brain. What is to stop us from using more? 20%? 50%? What needs to happen for us to be able to use 100% of our brains? What creativity would flow from that spring? What inspiration? What questions? What solutions? If breakthroughs in this area were developed, the world would be changed. I believe that learning to think differently and do things differently is key to achieving this, but it is only a start. Imagine what new concepts and developments would be birthed in our minds and implemented around the world when we are efficiently using our brains.

Getting an education is the first step on this journey, but the education doesn't stop with the degree. In fact, the degree is a milestone, like a baby learning to walk. The degree points us in a direction and sets the pace. We can speed up the pace. The final destination has not yet been determined. We can go from one plateau to the next, constantly increasing. We can choose to never close our minds, to never stop learning.

As we get our education, we gain a better understanding of ourselves, a better understanding of the world around us. Our minds open up to new cultures and new ways of doing things. At this point, we are learning from others and ourselves, as well as a professor and a textbook. We are learning about the world around us from the world around us. Efficiency in education has been achieved, as we are learning from every possible source.

As we learn about different people, we are able to interact with different kinds of people. We can speak to a wider variety of people and be accepted. With the degree comes a credibility that can not be bought. Your opinion is viewed as "more correct" because you have "been educated". More weight is placed on your opinions, your work.

Getting a degree opens up many doors for a person. One such door, an important one, is getting a good paying job. For some, this is the destination that they have worked so hard for. For others, it is a stepping stone to bigger and better things. Getting this well paying job is not a major concern for everyone. Some people are content to stay where they are at, to never excel and rise above the status quo. Then again, getting a degree is not for everyone, as well. A degree can be used to get this well paying job.

The value of this can be seen during a job hunt. If a person is trying to get a good job without a degree, this can be quite a daunting challenge. When you have a degree, you can get many more jobs. In a sense, you can virtually choose which job you want. You can work in the industry that you choose, even for a specific company. Many people switch careers often. I've heard that the average person switches careers six times in their lives. Six times, and that's not jobs-that's careers! I hypothesize that 85% of those people do not have a degree. With a degree, you can get into a career of your choice. You can even enter the industry at a much higher level.

With an education comes more money. Higher paying jobs are held by those with degrees. Companies do not want people in charge who do not have educations. They want an intelligent person to lead their company. These leaders create money for their companies. They are responsible for steering companies in the directions that they want to go. These leaders develop visions and goals for the future of the company and how to get it there. The education makes them more equipped to better deal with this. In addition, they make more money in the process. Hard work gets compensated.

With higher incomes, educated people enjoy a better quality of life. They can afford nice homes, comfortable clothes. They drive the fastest cars. They enjoy many other luxuries that are simply out of reach for many people. They live in the nicest neighborhoods, and they send their children to the nicest schools. For some, having a great job is the pinnacle of success. In fact, it's how most people refer to other people. "What does he do?" they ask. With these nicer jobs, they can also take more vacation time to spend with their families.

With more money, also, comes the ability to save and invest. Most Americans live "paycheck to paycheck." With the higher paying jobs that come with an education, we can provide security for our families. We can build college savings funds for our children. We have retirement accounts for ourselves and our spouses. We have large life insurance policies. We have mutual funds, stocks and bonds, and our T-bills. This is all protected with our accountants, our lawyers, and our stockbrokers.

With a degree comes the freedom of opportunities, possibilities, and choices. You can do anything, you can go anywhere, and you can become anything. Nothing can hold you back when you set your mind to it. A degree opens up all kinds of doors. For example, if you wanted to get into politics, a degree is almost required. In fact, most politicians have multiple degrees. Consider other areas of work. Unless you want to start at the bottom, you will need a degree to break into the industry at a higher lever. The degree gives you those opportunities. Without the degree, what chance would you have? The degree gives you that freedom.

For example, let's look at my little brother. He is now in his twenties. He got a degree when he was 19. Thankfully, he was able to find his dream job right away. Within less than two years, he owned his own home. He loves his job and gets paid well for it. The reason I bring this up is that he does whatever he wants, whenever he wants. He made goals for himself, and he worked very hard to achieve them. Now, he is reaping the harvest from the seeds that he planted of hard work and patience. If we all set our goals very specifically, outline them on paper as to how we will accomplish them and make our minds up that nothing will stop us, nothing will.

By contrast, I graduated from high school early, but squandered my extra years. It wasn't until I was in my twenties that I began to get serious about getting my degree. The value of an education means more to me now than it did 10 years ago. It may mean something different to everyone. I know that there have been countless studies into the relation between post high school education and income, crime, longevity, and many other factors. The results of these various studies have all been very consistent. Those with degrees live better, happier, and longer. I don't know why anyone would not want to have a degree. I know that for many people, the opportunity is just not there. Some people's schedules will not allow for that.

Let's take a look at my mother. She worked 80 hours a week for minimum wage at a hot dog stand outside of a grocery store. She was outside in the heat all day long. My brother and I were about 10 or 12. We lived in a friend's garage. For her, the opportunity was just not there. After about two years of that, she was able to get a job. She did not have any education after high school. When our dad left, she was left stranded. The job that she took offered more than double the pay, with tuition reimbursement. Suddenly, she had the ability to go to school. She attended night courses at the University of Phoenix. It worked for her, and it can work for you. Today, she is quite successful with her job. She lives a very happy life, with much thanks to the education for bringing it to her.

An education is an important thing. When people know that you have a degree, you are treated differently. They expect more out of you, but they place more confidence in you. They know that you are a capable person. More weight is placed on what you say, what you feel, what you believe, and what you defend. These are things that everyone would like in their lives, but for some reason, not everyone is willing to pay the price to get the education. With a degree, you will earn more money and enjoy a happier, healthier, longer life. You will be able to enjoy the security that comes with these things.

Getting an education is one of the most important decisions that one can make in their life. Everyone that is reading this has to make that decision for themselves in order to enjoy the benefits of life-long learning. The path to success is clearly before you. Are you taking the first steps of this journey? Let the journey never end!