What’s something that’s so undervalued yet so valuable at the same time? Something that expands your personal horizon further than you ever could have possibly imagined, and increases your self-worth indefinitely?
Your education is something that many would argue is one of your strongest personal assets, one that can separate you from the major sea of people our world consists of. But why is that? Why should education be so valued? What underlying factors truly separate educated people from the rest?
For starters, the average salary rates of educated individuals only increase with time.
Analyzing the annual rates, the national average salary of someone entering the workforce with just a high school diploma is around $40,612 per year, while those with an associate degree earn around $48,776. For those with a bachelor’s, the price jumps significantly to around $67,860, and, finally, master’s degree holders average at about $80,340.
So, while a couple years of school may seem like too much, it would quite literally mean the difference between tens of thousands of dollars in yearly income in the long run.
Furthermore, there may be many different variations of the American dream, but would you call having no extra money after paying for living expenses each month a fulfillment of it?
In 2022 alone, the cost of living for a single person averaged out to be about $44,312. For most average workers with no college education that is more than their entire paycheck.
But obviously education isn’t free, it’s going to cost some money initially. It is now when the saying “if there’s a will there’s a way” comes to light in the sense that there are endless amounts of opportunity for individuals wishing to be educated.
For example, the average in-state tuition for Del Mar College in 2023 was around $4,880, which is significantly less than most universities.
At the same time, even if that might be too much, there are even DMC assistance programs such as emergency aid funding, which pays for qualifying students’ tuition along with living expenses.
At the end of the day, the only one stopping you from becoming educated is you. The only one stopping you from becoming your best self is you.
There are two different workers in corporate America. There’s those who live to work and those who work to live. One can mean an increased quality of life, while one leads to never-ending stress.
Now, I ask you truly, which one would you rather be?
