The essay, "Death by Degrees," discusses today's
ideology that a person must be credentialed to become anything in society. Over
time, the importance of the blue-collar work force has been replaced by the
importance of earning a degree. As emphasis is placed on white-collar jobs,
billions of dollars out of students' pockets are going to institutions for
certification in various fields. It is almost to the point where the baccalaureate
is obsolete, compared to the master's or doctorate degree. As the essay states,
our society has become, in essence, a gold sticker system.
As a current college student, I see the emphasis placed on a
college education. Sure, people go straight from high school into the work
force, some into the military. Although, if someone wants to have make a decent
living and be well off in society, a college degree is one requirement to
achieve this goal. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule, but the
typical McDonald's worker does not live luxuriously. Most employers nowadays
require some sort of college degree. The higher the degree earned, the greater
the chance a person has of snagging the position, especially in a related
field. It even states in the essay that the result of today's system of
accreditation is "to enrich the accreditors and to discredit those who
lack equivalent credentials."
The problem is that "systems of accreditation do not
assess merit." A college education, in a sense, has just become a status
in our "pay-to-play" society. Many students are in debt from student
loans. The cost to be well off has become ridiculous. "Our elaborate,
expensive system of higher education is first and foremost a system of
stratification, and only secondly—and very dimly—a system for imparting knowledge." A college degree has
become the dividing line between what society deems to be the educated and the
remainder. It has become the "leg up" needed to reach the top rung of
the social ladder. It seems as if social rank has become more important than
the actual knowledge itself.
In today's society, a college education has become essential
to make a decent living to supply for one's family. Not just because it is
deemed a necessity, I chose to attend college because I do not want to live
paycheck to paycheck or live under financial stress. I chose college because I
want to be able to provide a comfortable living for myself and my future
family, not for "social status."
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