White, Jerlyn: Credentialing

   

            With a failing economy and a sinking work force, jobs are becoming scarce. The unavailability of work has led people to seek degrees to get an upper hand in the competition for survival. In China, people born during the first meritocracy were rewarded for their success and that led more people to want to be successful. Today, most people are struggling to provide for their family and self. In order to succeed, a person has to become well educated. Some people are forced to become credentialed, but most want it for themselves. Having credentials leads to a better life. Although some may disagree, education is what separates the rich from the poor. As mentioned in the article many students face a lot of debt after graduating from colleges or professional schools. I have many friends who have taken out huge loans just to pay for college. They may have to repay them for the rest of their lives. Is it worth it? The more credentialed people become the better opportunities they will have in the job world. The thought of success, a better life, and fewer struggles is what drives people to want to have credentials. In the article people faced many downsides when trying to get their credentials. Sometimes blood was even shed. That shows just how important education is. Despite the cost, college is a very wise choice. If people don’t further their education they may experience many economic problems; life will not be easy. If they decide to further their education, they will experience economic problems for a while, but they may find a great job. Having credentials doesn’t guarantee success; instead, it promotes a greater probability of becoming successful. Clarence Thomas graduated from Yale Law School and still faced problems in the job market! So why do people want to become credentialed? If a person without credentials and a regular person both applied for the same job, the person with credentials would get the job 99% of the time. In today’s society everyone is fighting for each and every job available so it would only make sense to want to be credentialed. The alternative to becoming credentialed is to work at an undesirable job and live paycheck to paycheck. For many people today, earning credentials is the only option.