Every year a huge percentage of young adults attend college. College in our current society is almost an expectation for young adults to attend. College is overrated as even though it is expected of many young adults, it is not necessary for many types of work/occupations. Now more than ever, Information needed to complete tasks is readily available through the vast resources of the internet.

More people go to college now than any other generation, but has changed to warrant that? Just like before, many jobs do not need a specific education to be performed. Take software development, a common and high-paying job, as an example. While software development can be self-taught through the internet, many employers look for qualifications in a degree. This fact pushes people towards college, as society has dictated that college graduates get better jobs, even if their degree is not needed. This leads to our young population going into massive debt paying for classes that they may never use, and have no practical use for.

College isn’t always over-rated though. There are still many professions where an undergraduate, or even further degrees are necessary. One such example of this type of profession is becoming a doctor. This job needs very specific training and tons of knowledge that can not be effectively learned through autodidactic measures. In this case, all associated classes, and degrees are completely necessary in order to complete the job well and know how to do it correctly. Jobs like this include medical professionals, teachers, professors, engineers, and many more.

To further this argument, college is overrated because of all the costs involved. College in the United States is very expensive, and it is far from uncommon for people to take out loans and go into debt in order to attend. These debts then take many years of working to pay off leaving young adults with a large burden. The societal norm in a lot of places around the United States is going to college no matter how much the debt after is going to affect life. The more we make college an expectation, the more we teach that this much debt and loans are normal.

Overall college is overrated because in society nowadays it is almost expected that young adults will attend. Although many professions do need special education or further to effectively perform such as being a doctor, teacher, or others, many lines of work do not need an education past high school. This expectation also causes a large part of this population to take out loans and go into debt in order to pay for this expectation. So while college should definitely be an option, it should not be a societal expectation for anyone to go.