In: Economics
Need an academic response to this post of a fellow student
The cost of getting your degree includes tuition, fees, transportation, housing, course materials, economic factors, etc. A potential student must first take into consideration how much everything will cost all together because receiving a formal education isn’t cheap at all. Steps they can take into choosing if a formal education is worth the cost is knowing what they will do with their degree once they have it. Setting a versatile career goal that they fully plan on sticking to. This will ensure all the hard work and money that went into this education will be put to good use. A student must also take personal living costs into consideration. How much will they spend on food, gas, rent, clothes, etc. I think getting a formal college education is worth the opportunity costs because you could come out very successful in the end. It’s a big risk worth taking.
This is main topic discussed
Define the opportunity cost of getting your degree by analyzing what steps and economic factors a potential student must make when choosing to pursue an education. Given your answer, is getting a formal college education worth your opportunity costs? Why?
Thank you
Opportunity cost in this case is essentially the loss of other alternatives such as doing a job, or starting a business when one seeks to opt for an education.
Thus a potential student should consider aspects such as whether his/hers earning power will increase and they will earn a substantially higher salary after the degree. Economic factors regarding tuition costs, prices, inflation, the employment rates, job availability in that sector, and the interest costs on loans sought, the repayment schedule and whether the person will get a sufficient return by gaining an education.
Getting a formal education is worth the opportunity cost as one constantly moves up the ladder by seeking an education, if one doesn't gain a degree, then the person opts for an unskilled job which doesn't have the earning capacity and there are chances of the job becoming redundant, as in the case of the current scenario in the pandemic, when several unskilled workers have been laid off, where as skilled workforce has continued to work remotely and companies can't easily lay them off as this workforce has the earning power and the capacity to raise concerns and question companies. The future stability improves and the ability to improve standard of living as the more educated the workforce, the potential student will have more opportunities and thus by foregoing an income earning opportunity doing college years, which is the opportunity cost, the person is able to earn much more and have a stable job.