As the senior class heads toward graduation, it’s worth asking the question: what is the ultimate goal of our education? For some of us, it may be to teach, to write a breaking news story, to perform at the Benedum, to build skyscrapers — the list of dreams and passions goes on and on. Some of these jobs come with extensive schooling after high school, but there are others that do not necessarily require college to be successful in. So, is college really worth it?

From a young age, we are often asked where we want to go to college, followed by the question of what we want to do when we’re older. Lots of students know right out of the gate what they want to do and where they want to go, but there is even a larger number of students that deep down have no clue what they are doing and are just going with the flow. However, sooner or later, high school ends, and students feel pressure that they NEED to get into college and that they NEED to know what they are doing — but truly, that does not have to be the case.

I have had friends and family come up to me to talk about my future, and I get all different types of options of what I could do and what other people want me to do. The typical choice is to go straight into college the semester after high school and spend at least 2-4 years studying to become another pawn in the game of life. Yes, a college degree is great and all, but what I am struggling to figure out is why someone would want to go to a college and bury themselves in almost $100,000 or more of debt?!

Yes, some state colleges may only be $20,000 dollars a year, which is on the low end, but in the end, you’re still going to pay around $100,000 — and honestly, for what? Partying for four years straight? A degree that will allow you to start yourself off in a job that pays you an average yearly income? I do understand that you have to go through college to become bigger, better things, like a doctor, an engineer, an architect, etc., but just think about how much money will start coming out of your paycheck right after you graduate college with that beautiful degree of yours.

There are other places one could go, like art school, trade school, or honestly, no school at all. There are a multitude of successful people who never went to or never finished college. For example, Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue Magazine, attended high school but never went on to any higher education. The one and only Ellen DeGeneres was enrolled in the University of New Orleans and dropped out after one semester. From then on, Ellen worked different odd jobs and then made her breakthrough on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show.

There are all sorts of different jobs out there right now that are looking for young, bright adults, like the students coming out of North Allegheny, who will pay you way more than minimum wage to work for them. It may take a little digging to find them, but they are definitely out there. Another option is going into the real estate business. Real estate does require you to take a six week course and a test to gain your real estate certification, but in the long run, the $600 dollars I’ll have to spend to gain that license is a small price I would rather pay than the $100,000-$200,000 dollars I’ll be paying back for the rest of my life.

After looking at all the different people in the world who have “made it,” while also looking at the financial statements from the colleges I was thinking about attending, considering the three dollars to my name right now, I’m throwing away those statements. I’m going straight into the workforce because I personally would rather start at the bottom, work my way to the top, and save my money — without the extra stressor of making sure my student loan payments are on time for the next twenty years.