Conflicting Viewpoints Essay Part I Prewriting

Assignment 1.1: Conflicting Viewpoints Essay
Part I Prewriting
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Assignment 1.1: Conflicting Viewpoints Essay – Part I

I chose to write about College as my approved topic from the www.procon.org website. The topic asks the question, “Is a College education worth it?” My position on this issue is that obtaining a college degree is in fact “worth it”. I agree with many of the arguments that were listed on www.procon.org. College graduates make more money than their non-degree holding counterparts. The first argument states that on average a college graduate makes $30,000 more a year.

As time goes on, more and more employees are looking for that degree when they are making decisions about who to hire. A college degree helps sharpen skills that employers are looking for. Students that are hired out of high school obtain jobs that are task oriented, while college graduates obtain jobs where they have to think and problem solve. College graduates also have more advancement opportunities because of their degrees. For example, I was working as a server at Red Lobster. I lost out on an opportunity because didn’t have a college degree. They didn’t want to promote me to manager because I wasn’t a college graduate. Their reasoning was that I lack the knowledge to successfully run a restaurant. I found this unfair due to the fact that I ran that restaurant better than any new manager could.

Three premises listed under the Con section that opposes my position on the issue of whether a college education is worth it are the following:

“Many college graduates are employed in jobs that do not require college degrees. According to the Department of Labor, as of 2008, 17 million college graduates were in positions that did not require a college education. 1 in 3 college graduates had a job that required a high school diploma or less in 2012. More than 16,000 parking lot attendants, 83,000 bartenders, 115,000 janitors and 15% of taxi drivers have bachelor’s degrees. College graduates with jobs that do not require college degrees earn 30-40% less per week than those who work in jobs requiring college degrees.”

• Many college graduates are employed in jobs that do not require college degrees.
• Many recent college graduates are un- or underemployed. 
• Many students do not graduate and waste their own and their government’s money.

What’s interesting or helpful about this view?

One interesting point about this argument is that the statistics do show that it is indeed possible to make as much money as the college graduate. Another good and helpful point is that they included statistics that showed that 17 million college graduates were in positions that they did not need a college degree.

What would I notice if I believed this view?

If I believed in this view, I would notice the outstanding numbers of those earning a good life wage and the amount of graduates that are not placed in their desired fields of study.

In what sense or under what conditions might this idea be true?

This idea might be true but it does not point out other benefits that would make college “worth it”.

“Many recent college graduates are un- or underemployed. In 2011 50% of college graduates under 25 years old had no job or a part-time job. The unemployment rate for recent college graduates was 8.8% in Feb. 2013, down from 10.4% in 2010, but up from 5.7% in 2007. The underemployment (insufficient work) rate for the class of 2013 was 18.3%. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 44% of recent college graduates were underemployed in 2012.”

What’s interesting or helpful about this view?

One interesting point is that the statistics point out that the un- or underemployment rate of these students are high. Another good point is that the more time passes, the more of these graduates are left jobless.

What would I notice if I believed this view?

If I believed this was true, I would notice that the rate of college graduates is rising and that this is a problem.

In what sense or under what conditions might this idea be true?”

This idea might be true, if the study was done under the circumstances where these graduates where indeed applying for jobs and not getting hired.

“Many students do not graduate and waste their own and their government’s money. Over 25% of students who enroll in college do not return for the second year. About 44% of students at four-year colleges dropped out according to a Feb. 2011 study. The federal government allocated $176.83 billion for college loans, grants, tax benefits, and work studies in 2013. State governments spent $81.2 billion supporting public colleges in 2012. Students who started bachelor’s degrees in the fall of 2002 but did not graduate within six years accounted for $3.8 billion in lost income, $566 million in lost federal income taxes, and $164 million in lost state income taxes in one year. The government gets fewer tax dollars from non-college graduates than from college graduates who have higher wages. Students who drop out during the first year of college cost states $1.3 billion and the federal government $300 million per year in wasted student grant programs and government appropriations for colleges.”

What’s interesting or helpful about this view?

One interesting idea made in this argument is the amount of money set aside for these college students who do not graduate. Another is the loss of tax dollars due to their time attending these colleges. My problem with this argument is that the question is, “is college worth it?” At no time did we include the population of drop outs.

What would I notice if I believed this view?

If I believed this statement, I would notice the amount of money being allocated to support these students and the loss that the government inherits for the lack of graduating individuals.

In what sense or under what conditions might this idea be true?”

This idea may be true under the conditions that the government does take a huge loss for investing in these students who do not graduate.

References

ProCon.org. (2015, January 13). College Education ProCon.org. Retrieved from http://college-education.procon.org/