This is logical route with lesson number two, a vote for college. One of the most important decisions that a high school student has to make is whether or not to go to college. There are several complaints against college. Number one, college takes too long. Second, college costs too much for the debt burden is too high. And fourth, the return on college investment is poor.

To be sure, these are all valid complaints. Luckily, there are ways to overcome them through smart college financial planning. But there are enormous benefits in going to college. today. A post secondary credential has never been more important. Higher Education is no longer a luxury for the privileged few, but a necessity for individual economic opportunity and America's competitiveness in the global economy.

At a time when jobs can go anywhere in the world, skills and education will decide success for individuals and for nations. So, as a high school student, what are the benefits of college? One, college graduates experience lower unemployment. college grads earn higher salaries. This fact is well documented in 2013 Americans with four year college degrees made 98% more hour on average than people without a degree. Over the course of a lifetime, the average worker with a bachelor's degree will earn approximately $1 million more than a worker without a post secondary education.

Since the 1970s, the benefits of both a bachelor's degree and an associates degree still tend to outweigh the costs with both degrees earning a return of about 15% over the past decade. The third reason is common sense. We see this trend everyday around us with automation and outsourcing taking many traditional jobs away from us, College is a must to meet changing employment trends. There are 216 occupations, which will show some kind of job growth in the next 10 years. Of these 162 occupations, that is 75% of all good jobs require some kind of posts Secondary credential meaning one has to earn a college degree of those 162 occupations. 91 careers will require at least a bachelor's degree and 47 will require a master's degree or PhD.

This trend is playing out even in our factories, which historically have been friendly to people with just a high school degree. In our factories. There is a computer about every 20 or 30 feet says Eric Steele, who recently retired as president and chief executive of Siemens, USA, people on the plant floor need to be much more skilled than they were in the past. There are no jobs for high school graduates at Siemens today. Over 95% of jobs created during the recovery have gone to workers with at least some college education while those with a high school diploma or less are being left behind of the two Five fastest growing occupations in the greater Dallas area. Only one accepts applicants with some college and no degree.

So the key takeaway from this lesson is that college education remains the best investment a student can make in his or her future. If you have any questions, please let us know.