3 Ways Higher Education Helps You

Most kids grow up hearing from their parents that they need to go to college when they graduate from high school. Stereotypes run rampant about those who don’t have a degree from a university. Still, just how important is it to get a post-secondary education in the current world we live in?

Most jobs that pay six figures are still positions filled by those who have gone to college. There are also other benefits, both financially and otherwise, that suggest getting a degree could help you live a better life. Car insurance and occupation have been linked to getting discounts on the former with a degree. We’ll discuss why that might be. 

We’ll also talk about the ability to maintain a job with a degree, and whether having an education will help you with some of the non-traditional ways people are making money during the pandemic. These are some of the main ways higher education helps you in your adult life. 

#1 – Getting car insurance discounts

One of the main benefits you wouldn’t normally think of when it comes to getting discounts for having a degree is car insurance. Studies show that college graduates have a lower insurance rate on average than the person with only a high school diploma. 

Why is this? Insurance companies usually only care about whether a customer presents a higher risk of filing a claim. They want customers who are less likely to cost them money in the long run. 

Perhaps those who are college-educated will be more likely to get jobs that present discounts for insurance customers. Teachers, doctors, and scientists all can get discounts from car insurance companies because of their occupation, and these jobs require a college education. 

Having money and coming from a family that can help pay for college is out of a person’s control. This means those who are richer are getting discounts they might not need. Those who work hard-labor jobs without a college degree could benefit from having car insurance discounts. 

This is something the insurance industry needs to evaluate in the future. In the meantime, we can say that having higher education gives you more insurance benefits. It’s something to keep in mind when you get out of school. In fact, you can even benefit from distant student discounts while in school as well.

Many companies also allow students to receive discounts if they have a certain grade point average in both high school and college. Make sure you look into this if you are in school because young people sometimes get a raw deal on insurance. 

Teen drivers and under-30 drivers are sometimes seen as being careless and inexperienced. Having a good GPA combats this stigma. 

#2 – Having a Good Reputation

There is no stat or concrete number to back up this benefit. Still, there is a belief that getting a degree will help the way people look at you. Society deems you unintelligent and lesser than others if you don’t have a college degree.

Think of many of the jobs that are being defined as “unskilled labor” during the pandemic. They are employment options that are forced on people who didn’t go to college. This can consist of working in a grocery store, taking the money at a fast-food drive-thru line, picking up waste, and recycling for a sanitation company. 

These jobs are all essential to allow our society to exist. People need food service, and they need city streets to be clean and void of waste that can cause illness. Sanitation and service jobs are the positions somebody has to fill. 

Despite this obvious importance, some people are treated poorly by their bosses and the customers they work with. They are sometimes subjected to disrespect and hateful comments that are not directed toward those with college degrees who work traditional office jobs. 

A large portion of the hurtful comments made by these workers is surrounding their education status. Comments usually fall along the lines of “if you don’t want to work here, get an education and get a real job.” People believe the jobs associated with having a degree are the ones that deserve time and respect. 

This needs to change as soon as possible, but if the pandemic isn’t going to teach compassion toward non-college-educated workers, then nothing will. Higher education helps you avoid the derision that is unfairly thrown toward so many workers. A degree lets you move up beyond the jobs that are typically thought of as menial labor.

As already mentioned, certain college-educated jobs get respect from many different sectors of society. Jobs in science, medicine, engineering, computer technology, and finance all require college degrees. If you get one of these careers, you won’t be as likely to have to settle for a job that delivers disrespectful customers and unappreciative bosses. 

Having a degree also gives you more versatility to change careers if you run into problems. People who get computer science degrees can go into a variety of careers in technology. Folks who major in mathematics can go into several different fields in engineering, accounting, or marketing and analysis. 

Having one of these degrees on your resume diversifies your skill set compared to someone who goes from one service job to another. And until society starts respecting these manual labor positions, your reputation will improve by avoiding them as much as possible. 

#3 – Easier Time Making Money as an Entrepreneur

One of the ways non-college-educated people have been able to make money without a job is through online avenues. Freelance workers, bloggers, and people who take surveys have all been creative in their pursuit of success without traditional college or employment. 

The worst-kept secret of this entrepreneurial era is that college graduates have a leg up in these endeavors, too. You start to establish yourself as an entity online. You give your resume to contractors who are looking for freelancers, and they are going to prefer those with a college education. 

This is partly because so many folks who have a higher education have lost their jobs and are looking for these creative outlets to make money. They are swooping in and taking territory from people who used to have online money-making all to themselves. 

If you have a degree, don’t think you have to go the traditional employment route. There are so many unusual ways to earn a living, and you will look attractive to potential business partners and associates if you have a degree in your past. 

Hopefully, we have given you some food for thought if you are on the fence about going to college. Not everyone can afford it, and the society we live in certainly hasn’t made it easier to move ahead without college. If you have the means to go to a university, you should still strongly consider it. 

Most of the money to be had in the United States is still skewed heavily toward people with an education. Find your passion and what school fits your goals, and get started on the path to a higher upside in life. 

Shawn Laib writes and researches for the car insurance site, CarInsuranceComparison.com. He cares about giving people information about how different aspects of their personal lives affect their insurance rates.