By Joshua Corcuera
Studying is still important—I have said this because, based on emerging sentiment in social media, studying and finishing academics seem to be belittled. Some people argue that having a college degree is not essential to succeed in life. Others say that being street-smart is more crucial than learning topics in school that have little to no practical application. They may have a valid point but finishing college—especially if you have the means to do so—is something I would argue as very important.
First, if obtaining a college degree is not essential, then what is the point of educational institutions offering college degrees? Why do they still waste their time offering such degree programs if a college degree is not important at all? Plus, tuition in higher education or in college per semester can reach as high as P 50,000 in certain universities. Furthermore, we have to remember that in applying for most decent-paying jobs, completion of higher education is a requirement. Though there are also many jobs which do not require a college degree, it cannot be denied that having one allows for more job opportunities, larger benefits, and higher chances of job retention, regularization, and career advancement. Do not make any mistake, those who did not finish college should not be belittled—we have to acknowledge that they may also possess valuable skills and talents that college graduates do not have. However, there seems to be nothing wrong, even better it appears, to be both skillful or talented and highly educated at the same time. Thus, it is imperative to try to get that lofty degree.
Second, our society needs professionals in order for us to move forward. And professionals can only be created through formal higher education. Imagine a society without lawyers, without doctors, without accountants, without engineers, without architects, without teachers, without nurses, and so on. Then ask yourself: what kind of society would there be? Without doctors and nurses, medical problems would most likely be unattended; without lawyers, aggrieved parties would find it difficult to find justice and closure; without teachers, there is no bright future for the youth; without engineers and architects, our infrastructure would be crumbling. Thus, it is clear and obvious that we need to produce more professionals to keep our society progressing forward. There is only one way to create professionals who are competent and possess important values—through education. Formal education, not education in social media such as Facebook, TikTok, or YouTube.
Third, higher education allows us to master a certain field. Unlike in basic education where we learn a little bit of all subjects—which make us kind of a jack of all trades—college helps us master a certain field of study that we chose—making us a master of one. Basically, college enables us to improve ourselves, especially our mental understanding of difficult subjects. Thereafter, such understanding of a particular field opens a wide variety of opportunities to advance in one’s job, earn better on average, and other benefits.
Altogether, formal education is important, learning is something which we must value as long as we live. Lifelong learning can help us solve the problems we face, improve ourselves, and resolve the issues that society faces as a whole.
