(University of Southern California campus. Photo by Reut Cohen)

Studies show that 86% of college students apply for loans and most graduate with an average debt of $27,000. Further research also reveals that most of the underemployed with bachelor’s degrees end up working in fields that don’t require a college education. According to the Huffington Post, “student loan debt [now exceeds] credit card debt.” 

The disparity between graduation day and finding the perfect job is rather glaring. It’s even more discouraging when there are plenty of college dropouts that have gone on to become billionaires, most notably, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. 

Advocates insist that today’s job market still favors the college graduate. People with higher education earn $72,000 more annually than people with just a high school diploma and are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs. 

However, college degrees are getting more and more expensive as budget cuts force universities to raise tuition.  And realistically, an average college student probably graduates with a much larger debt than the average $27,000. The mixed messages and clashing statistics circles us back to the burning question: is your college degree worth it?

Yes, it absolutely is. While the state of the economy is discouraging, it does not negate the value of a college education. Simply because the job turn around is slow doesn’t mean that people should make the assertion that graduating college without a job is comparable to  graduating high school without a job. Searching for a job at 17 seems much more bleak than searching for a job at 21. 

Certainly, college is an expensive investment considering the possible unlikelihood of employment, but in that case many people are missing the point of a college education. The specialized education that a college degree provides, whether or not it is a STEM based degree, is invaluable in the working world. A college degree is what you make it and to dismiss it as an accomplice of joblessness is much too short sighted. If you’re looking for blame, don’t blame the one thing that’s trying to help you. The larger issue in this case would be the lackluster economy, the increasing unemployment rate, elevated interest rates and the complete lack of support for newly graduated students. 

A college degree matters. Drowning in debt should not make anyone regret the privilege of an education.