Achieving Academic Excellence Wanting to get a good job is an important factor in my decision to embark upon a college education, although a college degree does not guarantee a student a 'good job' upon receipt of his or her diploma. This fact is manifested in the many recent college graduates who have prestigious degrees from top universities, who have had to move home with their parents because they cannot find work, or who are working in positions vastly below their level of capability. However, despite this fact, I am still persevering with my college education. Although college cannot guarantee me a high-paying job, I do believe that when I find work, the employment I secure will be more meaningful than what I could obtain, if I did not graduate from college. In short, I seek a career, rather than 'just a job.'

I would hate to have to go to an office everyday for the rest of my life, where I merely performed rote tasks, rather than have employment that seemed meaningful. Ideally, I would like what I do everyday...

Of course, every job has its dull moments. But with a college degree, I feel that there is a greater chance that whatever work I perform will be interesting and engaging.
I know that work after college is not guaranteed. Even many graduates who do find work have to work in entry level positions in jobs where they do not use their degree. In 2011, 1.94 million graduates under age 30 were employed in jobs that did not require a college education (Cancino 2011). However, once the economy improves, college will give me the necessary, critical thinking skills to find work that challenges me, rather than simply is fills the hours between eight and five, before my real life begins. And "experts say earning a college degree is still the best way to avoid unemployment...The value of the degree is still there, it is just not returning as much in investment as it would a few years ago" (Cancino 2011). Like all investments, the…