by Empress Djata

Created on: July 13, 2009   Last Updated: July 19, 2009

The world is continuously evolving, while borders are becoming transparent and employers are becoming scarce; a technology driven world, where soon, even to work at a fast food restaurant, it will require an associate degree. This is the future world high school graduates will have to enter into. As a career developer counselor creating a clear understanding of what a future without a college degree or vocational training will embody is a task that must incorporate clear information and strategy for the student's future. The bottom line is that college life is vastly different than the carefree halls of high school. Careful planning is vital to the student's success. This planning should start before entering college and continue throughout the educational career of the student.

The changing financial climate that exiting high school students are entering into is a highly competitive marketplace, which gives rise to the vitalization of a college degree. High school students can decide to join the labor market upon completing school, although with the minimum wage under ten dollars an hour; it would be difficult to support themselves or a family, without living at home with their parent(s). Schools are changing as well, implementing real-world application into the curriculum and outright changing the structure of schools according to an article by Berkeley, CA, in 1998.

A college degree allows the opportunity for furthering future advancements, because of an expanded education gained by the individual. The individual's knowledge and skills will expand; speech and writing skills will become more sophisticated, critical and abstract thinking will increase and diversity will start to form outside of their own culture; a growth process often seldom achieved in one's own neighborhood. This is a pathway to their financial future, as well as independence in philosophy. The global economy has changed the world around us; borders are becoming transparent, thus taking away jobs. Firms have more options than just local employees, the higher the qualifications, the better the opportunity according to Clark's 1998 report.

Students must also learn that the college environment is far different than that of high school settings. They create their own structure and there is a higher level of competition. Class sizes can be overwhelming. In large colleges and universities the lecture halls can have upwards of two to three hundred students at a time. This may make them feel invisible and give limited access to the professor.

Although, the transition to college allows students to find hidden creativity and potential they can nurture in an environment that embraces such qualities. An opportunity to become anything desired, as long as the effort is placed on their dream. The social benefits of a college education are that these individuals have a direct effect on their community; stimulation of the economy occurs when students graduate and find a job. There is an increase in earning and spending power, decline in their need for assistance from the government, as well as in criminal behavior from those individuals. They become productive members of society. The transition may not be an easy one, but a very beneficial one for students to embark on.

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