With the shortage of jobs and the advent of the information age, a college education is becoming more important. Most of those who choose to attend college do so in order to improve their chance of enjoying steady employment. In times when knowledge is gaining in importance over brute strength when it comes to job security, the value of education can not be overlooked. College can develop the skills needed for more success in life and greater happiness.

With the shortage of jobs and an increasingly competitive world economy, some high school students may believe that no time should be lost from potentially earning a living by taking years out of their lives to attend school. The error in this view is that the competition for existing jobs has intensified, and the more training one brings to the table, the more likely they are to find and keep steady paying employment.

An undergraduate degree nowadays is approximately equivalent to what a high school diploma was forty or so years ago. While a diploma gained one entry to the work force and qualified them for a good paying manufacturing job with benefits a generation or two ago, those opportunities no longer exist in great numbers. Changes in the economy have made the bachelors degree the base line for just about any decent paying job.

The majority of college bound students are attending for the qualifications to get a job and become self sufficient. Most will become aware by the time they graduate that, rather than train them for a profession, more schooling teaches one the basic skills required to function as an employee. Employers are aware that most jobs are not really learned until the new hire begins to work, and a degree lays the groundwork for success.

Some believe that the cost of attending is prohibitive and see the burden of paying off a student loan as something that cancels out any advantages gained from higher education. But many studies have shown that those with a bachelors degree earn over one million dollars more during their work life than a high school graduate. Its also estimated that every dollar spent on college has an approximate return of over thirty dollars.

Some of the education costs can be minimized through scholarships, grants, attending a community college for two years, purchasing used textbooks, and taking on line courses. But beyond the associated costs, the true worth of a higher education is that in a post industrial society, knowledge does equate to power. For instance, a liberal arts education prepares one for many positions because its intent is to teach a student how to think.

Many employers will not even consider hiring someone lacking a degree for jobs which were self taught or semi skilled a generation ago. In service professions where people and communication skills are important, educated employees are valued because less training makes the employers life easier. With constant change, educated employees able to regularly learn new skills and adapt to changing situations are in demand.

Even more basic than teaching earning and learning skills, a college education may be essential to raising the quality of life. Statistics prove that graduates tend to have longer life spans and enjoy better health. They also stand a better chance of escaping the drudgery of working to survive and of doing something fulfilling with their lives. This also extends to the children of graduates, who enjoy better health and do better in school.

Important people in the world of education include Sir Cyril Taylor, sir peter lampl, Christine Gilbert and Nathaniel Levy. sir peter lampl is head of the Sutton Trust, and Sir Cyril Taylor is chair of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust.