If you're someone who has just graduated from high school, are currently attending college somewhere, or even if you've been out of the educational game for a while then the following considerations may be just what you need to hear. Perhaps you're one of the people out there that despises the education system in the United States and sees little value in what you can learn at an overpriced, poorly structured college institution with underpaid instructors; most of who have little real world experience due their complete immersion in the educational world.

To Eat Cake or Learn?

For many of these people teaching is a "cake eating" job which provides a paycheck and allows them to basically cut and paste information in lecture presentation without the fear of plagarism because the material is being used for "educational purposes."

Other instructors use teaching as a podium to promote their skewed political views or simply to use the attached research facilities. These activities and thought processes leave little room for you to actually learn anything of value! Aside from the minority of instructors that teach solely for the joy of teaching, most of what you learn at school is learned on your own.

The "Good Experience" vs. Saving Money

In addition to a poor real-life learning system, most students go off to college because "it's a good experience," which is a foolish reason to drop tens of thousands of dollars on a bogus education. Ask any college-aged student why they've chosen to go away to school and the "good experience" excuse is often the reason given. The good experience often times consists of underage drinking, drug abuse, joining fraternities, and the like.

Visit practically any college campus today on the weekend and you will be amazed to find thousands of intoxicated, under-aged students partying till the cows come home. The good experience just isn't worth the expense in most cases and can put you in debt for the rest of your life.

The Real Cost of College

According to The College Board's Annual Survey of Colleges the annual cost of college for the 2006-2007 acedemic year was $12,796 for public 4-year schools and $30,367 for private 4-year schools. If a student finances that amount, the minimum cost over a 4 year period is over $50,000! Although this can be slightly reduced with grants and scholarships we still must include the phrase… "Holy Schnikes!"

Unfortunately, to become successful in our society taking on this burden is a necessary part of life for most people and the magic piece of paper so called a diploma is a must have. Here are some things to consider when making the decision for a higher education:

At a community college you will get just as poor an education from equally poor instructors and it's much less expensive than a 4-year school. The average cost of a 2-year college for the 2006-2007 acedemic year was only $2,272 (see link above for reference). That's a minimum savings exceeding $10,000 compared to a 4 year university!

After completion of the 2 year program you can easily transfer to another school to finish up your degree and receive a diploma from any major university that you are accepted to. Keep in mind that school should solely be considered as a means to an end. All that matters in reality is the piece of paper you get when it's all over.

Are you fit to be an aggressive salesman or do you like to stay out of sight and do paperwork all day? Do you consider yourself a people person or do you despise the thought of conversing with others? There are quite a few questions to ask yourself when selecting a career.

You can get more information about suitable careers based on your personality type by taking simple tests like the Career Quiz from the Princeton Review or the Jung/Myers-Briggs Typology Test.

Today there are just too many students that blindly attend college with no direction at all. Consequently, these students also end up getting low paying jobs and worthless degrees. What exactly is it that you can do with a history degree? The obvious answer is, "not much."

The point here is to get a degree for a job in high demand that will actually allow you to pay off the exorbitant cost of you education. You can find out more about a jobs that make your education worthwhile in the Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Don't get stuck paying loans off for the rest of your life!

If your family is important to you… that is more important that the job of your dreams, then please get a job that is available in your area. In spite of the fact that the US has consistently low unemployment rates, it does not mean that you will immediately be employed at the location of your choosing.

Anything in the medical field or jobs in areas like accounting and law can be found just about anywhere. On the other hand, well-paying jobs in fields like engineering and finance can only be found in limited areas nationwide. We'll refer you again to the handbook mentioned above for more info.

Many major corporations, retail outlets, and other nationwide companies will help you pay your way through school. You may not even have to commit to working for them in future. The employer that you have now may even offer educational assistance, so take the time to ask and find out if any programs are available.