Times Have Changed Essay, Research Paper

Times have changed dramatically in

the past thirty years. The style of living, the sizes of families,

and education have all changed dramatically. During the

fifties, sixties, and most of the early seventies teenagers

were thinking about going off to war or starting a family.

Very few teenagers coming out of high school were

thinking about college. Slowly as times started to change,

more and more people were going off to college. Today at

the end of the nineties, very few people do not go off to

college. Instead of high school students thinking about

starting families or going off to war, they have a bigger

decision to make. What college to attend. This decision will

affect one’s entire life; how they live, where they work,

what size family they are going to have, and sometimes

whom they will marry. Today, choosing a college is almost

one of the biggest decisions one would have to make. The

answer to this question will affect them for life. Finding a

good job in the workforce is getting more difficult as time

goes on. Employers are looking for individuals who are

smart and can add something to the company; the

competition is fierce. They are no longer accepting

teenagers right out of High School. They are looking for

people in their mid- twenties with a four-year degree,

sometimes even a graduate level degree. Many hypothesize

that this is because companies are paying their employees

more. Another hypothesis is that they are trying to move

forward. These companies are trying to expand on what

they already have. There is a race to become the biggest

and the best. Therefore, they are looking to college

students who are specialized and know about the field.

They are willing to pay college graduates a lot of money

because they have faith that they will earn it back. During

the fifties, sixties, and early seventies companies were

happy to be getting anyone. With the wars going on and the

protests for peace, most fresh workers were occupied.

These companies were willing to pay and train anyone that

might have been interested. Their selection was not as great

as it is now. The selection of workers today is enormous.

Therefore, college students today have to work harder to

appear better than the next person. They need to sell

themselves on paper. It is hard to do this without a good

college name on one’s resume. One should keep in mind all

that has changed in thirty years. Imagine what can change in

four years. The difficulty of getting a job could increase.

With that, the amount of people applying for the same job,

with the same qualifications can also increase in difficulty.

The power of a good education should not be

underestimated; in many cases, it means a good future.