Witham, Lindsey: Credentialing

            “Our elaborate, expensive system of higher education is first and foremost a system of stratification, only secondly—and very dimly—a system for imparting knowledge.” This statement is from the article “Death by Degrees” and it is a very true one. College has turned into more of a “have to do” thing in life than a just “want to do” thing for higher education. Yes, college is still for education, but nowadays it is more for getting a better paying job to support your future life and family. People do not see it as higher education anymore. They see it as a way to make more money and be able to live life at an easier pace without the stresses of not having enough money to pay bills.

            College is an expensive system of higher education and it is mainly a system for building layers upon layers of jobs in our economy. People believe that college is there to help them get a better paying job in our dying economy. In my generation, there are many parents that did not go to college. They did not foresee the economy becoming like it is today. They graduated high school and got full time jobs and started families. Most parents today regret not going to college because they are now having hard times paying for the bills required to have a normal life and support their children. This is how my parents are. Neither of my parents went to college. My college education right now is being paid for by scholarships. Without these scholarships there is no possible way my parents would be able to pay for me to attend college.

            I wanted a higher education, but I also wanted to be able to get a well paying job to support my future family in ways my parents never could. I would love to share with my parents my success and help them out with bills and things in the future. College was never actually a yes or no question for me. I had to go. I have to get a well paying job to support my future family. This is what our life and economy has come to. The next step is college, and then what? Will my education be enough to get that well paying job I tried so hard to get and paid so much for throughout my education? I will not know until I graduate and get that great job. The price of college increases and it causes us to be in more debt throughout life. Will the jobs we get help us to afford these expenses, or by the time we get those jobs, will it just hurt us more? College can definitely be the death of us.