For most the journey into adulthood often revolves around having a good job, and while the choices vary from person to person your own ambition and commitment to your goals determine your ability to achieve the best station in life.

It is universally agreed that a good degree is an important tool in the right hands for realizing and reaching those ambitious heights. However many young adults soon find out that their preconceptions of higher education, good or bad are severely challenged. Without going into the state of a particular country’s higher education governing body (HEGB) there are some facts and myths that should be clarified before you decide for or against opting for higher education.

1. A degree does not guarantee a great job: As curt as it sounds, a degree is in the end just a piece of paper, its value is ratified by the following factor.

 1.1 The prestige of the institution.

 1.2 The value of the degree in the job market.

 1.3 The vocational experience you’ve extracted from it.

For many a degree is just the beginning of a long journey, it requires patience, skill, and most importantly a consistently strong work ethic. Just having a degree won’t instantly land you a job let alone a good one.

The rise in substandard institutions in the world is largely to blame. Such as in Korea where during 2011,15% of the universities were shut down for substandard training techniques or in India wherein, 2016 up to 800 engineering colleges were closed by the AICTE.    

2. Most institutions aren’t as well funded as we believe: While privatization tends to support institutions and students when done correctly, in most cases as in India funding for Higher education institutions is suboptimal, due to its low priority status in both private and public sector funding. This, in turn, affects not only affects the growth of the institution but also the livelihoods of professors, as is often seen in the cases of American professors, where “substantial salary raises occur for a small portion of senior staff while overall average full-time salaries remain stagnant”

 3. Administrative bloating is a real issue: While professor’s salaries stagnate, unchecked, excessive administrative expenditures in effect swallow up millions, affecting life and learning on campus. 

4. Student debts