What is college to you?

With more and more careers requiring advanced education, a college degree can be critical to your success in today's workforce. Research indicates that earning a degree can have a significant and expansive impact on your life. It also has the potential to help you positively impact your family—and the world.

Here are 7 reasons why college could be important for you.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) notes that workers with a postsecondary degree typically earn more than those with only a high school education. The median weekly earnings—or the middle amount in a set of data—for people with an associate degree was $963 per week in 2021. That's an increase of $154 per week or over $8,000 more per year than those with only a high school diploma.

Workers with a bachelor's degree earned a median of $1,334 weekly—$525 more per week than workers without a postsecondary education and an increase of more than $27,000 per year. A master's degree helped workers earn even more at a median of $1,574 per week, $765 more weekly than those with only a high school diploma and almost $40,000 more per year.

According to this data, if your professional career lasts 40 years, for example, you could have the potential to earn $320,000 more with an associate degree, over $1 million more with a bachelor's degree or over $1.5 million more with a master's degree than a worker without a postsecondary education.

It's not uncommon to see "bachelor's degree required" on job descriptions or listed as a preferred qualification. A 2020 survey, done by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in collaboration with Hanover Research, found a growing number of employers deem college a good investment. Of those surveyed, 87% cited college as "definitely" or "probably" worth it (AAC&U PDF source).

An undergraduate program, which includes associate and bachelor's degrees, offers a combination of general education courses and specialized learning in a discipline that interests you. With these degrees, you'll develop both broad-based and field-specific knowledge.

You may also have a chance to grow important hard and soft skills by participating in experiential learning opportunities, which are relevant, hands-on experiences you can translate to the professional world. Experiential learning takes many forms and may exist both in and out of the classroom.

For example, if you're earning a cyber security degree, you might join your college's National Cyber League (NCL) team to test your working knowledge of cryptography and other concepts you might encounter while working in a cyber security role.

Additional types of experiential learning you might take advantage of in college include project-based assignments that partner with real organizations, internships and student clubs and organizations. You can leverage these valuable experiences on your resume, in your portfolio of work and during job interviews to show employers that you are a competitive candidate.

Earning a college degree could also lead to greater career stability. According to BLS data, 3.5% of workers with a bachelor’s degree faced unemployment in 2021 compared to 6.2% of workers with only a high school diploma.

A college degree can be the extra credential you need to land the dream job you've always wanted. Getting your bachelor's degree may also allow you to view your work as a career and not just a job.

A 2016 Pew Research Center report states that 77% of workers with a post-graduate degree and 60% of workers with a bachelor's degree believe their jobs give them a sense of identity, versus just 38% of those with only a high school diploma or less.

This idea still holds today. The Lumina Foundation and Gallup noted in The State of Higher Education 2022 Report that 61% of students enrolled in higher education are getting their degrees to find more fulfilling jobs (Lumina PDF Source).

An example of this is recent graduate Victoria Meuse '22, who was able to advance to a teaching position with the help of her bachelor's degree. Meuse is a military spouse, and during the pandemic and her husband's deployment, she homeschooled her oldest daughter. This experience inspired her to continue teaching, and now with her degree, Meuse is starting a new role at her children's elementary school.

Meuse knows her bachelor's degree in psychology has helped her better understand her work, and she now wants to earn a master's.

"Right now, I love working at my kid's school. I think that the background in psychology has helped me a lot in understanding the students," said Meuse. "I'm deciding if I want my master's in psychology or my master's in education, but I'm not done."

While working in your degree program, you're choosing to study something that interests you in a field you desire to work or grow in.

You can also gain practical life skills as a college student. For example, you will need to meet regular assignment deadlines for each class. The discipline and time management strategies you learn along the way can be applied to all aspects of your life, whether you're navigating projects at work or your family's busy schedule.

A college degree can also impact your family members and their futures. For Tarah Theis '22, earning a bachelor's in communication meant setting an example for her sons. She said they all want to go to college now after seeing their mom do it. "That's the biggest success to me ... starting a legacy and showing them a good path to follow," Theis said.

Since your earning potential is typically greater as a college graduate, your degree may lead toward financial stability for you and your family. Your school's finance counselors can walk you through more than just how to pay for college. With their tips and advice, you may discover helpful budgeting techniques and learn more about financing options and processes that may be relevant to future investments—such as purchasing a car or a home.

Homeowners are increasingly more likely to be college educated. Point2, an organization that reports on real estate market trends, analyzed U.S. Census data to find that 70% of homeowners in 2020 had some college education. Forty percent had at least a bachelor's degree.

Marilynn Hymon-Williams '22 sees her education as a stepping stone to a better future—and a better retirement. After completing her bachelor's in healthcare administration, she was already thinking about a master's degree. "I'm invested in (the) future because a lot of people think that when you get older, it's over," Hymon-Williams said. "It ain't over. Uh-uh, nope. It's just started."

College can be more than just an education;  it can be a place you build all types of new relationships. Initially, you may establish a connection with an academic advisor—someone who will be there to support you throughout your college experience by scheduling classes, providing direction to university resources, and encouraging and mentoring you for personal success, and more. Faculty—your course instructors—also can provide help with understanding your assignments and what's expected of you as a student.

Once classes begin, you'll be surrounded by peers. Engaging with your peers through activities like group work or class discussions can be a great way to start a professional network, meet your future partner and make lasting friendships.

When Lydia Alonci '18 was offered a full-time position while attending the annual Grace Hopper conference, she told her prospective employer that she would only accept the job if they gave her friend from SNHU, Patricia Odani Mukuka '18, '21G, a chance too. This led to the organization offering Odani Mukuka an internship.  That experience later turned into a full-time job, illustrating the power of the friendships you can make throughout your collegiate journey.

The relationships you build in college can go on to become the foundation of your professional network. You may connect with alumni during your time in college. After you graduate, from a you'll also become part of an alumni association. An alumni association is full of graduates, known as alumni, who play a major role in a university's community. They give back in a variety of ways including community service, participating and organizing events and mentoring current students, among other ways. Alumni work in a wide range of fields, and establishing a relationship with others in this network could lead to professional opportunities.

While your degree can have many perks for your professional goals, finishing college can be an important personal goal, as it was for John Reck '22.

Reck is a 1% survivor of a rare infection called septicemia. He's also suffered a heart attack, been in a coma, undergone 18 surgeries and lost the ability to walk and talk.

"Life goes on around you," he said of his time in the hospital during his health scare. "It's lonely." Once Reck was on the road to recovery, he knew his next goal. After 30 years, he would go back to school and this time it was for him.

"School came upon me like a bell," Reck said. "I'm going to go finish my degree, and here I am, alive." He now holds his bachelor's in graphic design. In achieving his personal goal, he has also attained a professional one. He secured his dream job as a graphic designer for a Boston law firm.

In a recent survey*, 500 people were asked what the greatest benefit was in achieving their degree, and 57% said it was accomplishing a personal goal for themselves. For first-generation college students, achieving a degree is a major personal goal for themselves and their families.

Recent graduates Marlene Riley '22 and Michael Riley '18, wife and husband, walked across the stage together. Marlene is an immigrant from Peru, and Michael is a veteran, and both are first-generation college students. Finishing their degrees was a personal goal they were able to achieve together, and it was even more special sharing the stage at Commencement.

"He is my team, and we did it together," said Marlene.

Earning your college degree can improve the lives of those around you, too. The College Board's 2019 report on the benefits of higher education for individuals and society notes that college graduates are more likely to donate money to charity organizations, volunteer and vote (College Board PDF Source).

Some colleges encourage students to give back by organizing volunteer opportunities. SNHU holds an annual community service initiative, Global Days of Service. Over 1,200 students served 135 organizations in 2022. A new nonprofit even formed as a result. A project's site leader, Cassi Key '22, who recently graduated with an online English degree from SNHU, was so inspired by her involvement with Global Days of Service that she started Bee Buddies, an organization focused on planting seeds and promoting environmental education.

Like Key, you might be galvanized to make a difference in the world after graduating from college. Many students learn about topics like social change or environmental sustainability throughout their degrees and go on to make an impact in an increasing number of ways.

A TIME magazine article notes that higher education is rapidly working to improve climate education in many fields, including architecture, economics and law. As a result of this new emphasis on ecology and sustainability in higher education, graduates from various areas of study are now applying their knowledge to improve sustainability practices and address climate change in several sectors. You can also get a degree focusing on these issues directly. For instance, SNHU offers a degree in environmental science and a degree in geosciences with opportunities to prepare for a career in sustainability and conservation.

Higher education can give you the chance to make a difference in other ways, too. You can get a degree in a field that will help you improve people's lives.

Some programs of study focused on helping others are:

College can also broaden your horizons by introducing you to a diverse range of perspectives. A chance to engage with other viewpoints can lead you to better understand people who are different from you and situations you have never personally encountered. This may lead to heightened empathy, improve your communication skills and help grow your confidence as you strive to make the world a better place.

But despite the potential benefits and opportunities available to college graduates – and the potential challenges faced by those who lack a college diploma – Americans have somewhat mixed attitudes about the effectiveness of traditional four-year colleges and other higher education institutions. On a personal level, many college graduates describe their own educational experience as having a generally positive impact on their personal and professional development. Roughly six-in-ten (62%) college graduates with two- or four-year degrees think their degree was very useful for helping them grow personally and intellectually, while roughly half think it was very useful for opening up job opportunities (53%) or for providing them with useful job-related skills and knowledge (49%).

Yet even as many college graduates view their own educational experience in positive terms, the public as a whole – including a substantial share of college graduates – expresses reservations about the extent to which various higher education institutions prepare students for the workforce more generally. Just 16% of Americans think that a four-year degree prepares students very well for a well-paying job in today’s economy, and 51% say this type of degree prepares students “somewhat well” for the workplace. Some 12% think that a two-year associate degree prepares students very well (46% say somewhat well), and 26% feel that certification programs in a professional, technical, or vocational field prepare students very well (52% say somewhat well).

Americans’ views of what a college education should be tend to prioritize specific, workplace-related skills and knowledge rather than general intellectual development and personal growth. Half of Americans say that the main purpose of college should be to teach specific skills and knowledge that can be used in the workplace, while 35% think its main purpose should be to help students grow and develop personally and intellectually and 13% volunteer that these objectives are equally important. The public’s views on this issue have shifted slightly in favor of skills development since the last time Pew Research Center asked this question in 2011. At that point, 47% said main purpose of college should be to teach specific skills and knowledge and 39% said it should be to promote personal and intellectual growth.

Americans who have engaged in additional schooling beyond a bachelor’s degree are especially likely to say that the main purpose of college should be personal and intellectual growth, rather than the acquisition of specific skills and knowledge. Some 47% of those with a postgraduate or professional degree think the main purpose of college should be personal and intellectual growth, while 35% think it should be teaching workplace-relevant skills.

In contrast, those with limited college experience (or no college experience at all) are more likely to prioritize the development of specific skills over general intellectual improvement. For instance, 56% of Americans with a high school diploma or less say college should be primarily a place to develop specific work-oriented knowledge and skills, while just 31% see it primarily as a place for personal and intellectual growth.

There is also a partisan element to these views, with Republicans and Democrats expressing highly differing opinions on the purpose of college. Democrats (including Democratic-leaning independents) are about evenly split on which of these objectives is more important: 42% say colleges should prioritize personal and intellectual growth, while 43% say they should prioritize the development of workforce-relevant skills. But among Republicans and Republican leaners, 58% say that the main purpose of college should be teach specific skills – while just 28% feel that the main purpose should be general personal and intellectual growth.

These partisan differences hold true even after accounting for differences in educational attainment. Democrats and Democratic leaners with high levels of educational attainment are more likely to prioritize personal and intellectual growth relative to Democrats and Democratic leaners with lower levels of educational attainment.

But Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents at all educational levels are more likely than Republicans and Republican-leaning independents with similar levels of education to believe that personal and intellectual growth should be the main purpose of college.

Along with Democrats and those who have progressed beyond a bachelor’s degree, younger adults (those ages 18 to 29) are more likely than older adults to feel that personal and intellectual growth should be the primary purpose of college: some 43% of 18- to 29-year olds feel this way, compared with roughly one-third of those in older age groups.

In addition, Americans who themselves work in the education field tend to place a greater emphasis on personal and intellectual growth as the primary purpose of college: 46% believe that this should be the main purpose of a college degree, while 35% believe that college should mainly be a place to develop specific skills and knowledge (19% of those who work in the education industry consider them equally important).

When asked to assess certain aspects of their own educational experience, about six-in-ten (62%) college graduates (including those who graduated from a two-year degree program) feel that their time in college was very useful in helping them grow personally and intellectually. About half say their college experience was very useful in helping them access job opportunities (53%) or in helping them develop skills and knowledge they could use in the workplace (49%).

The further people have progressed in their college career, the more likely they are to consider their experience very useful. Those with a postgraduate or professional degree are more likely to say that their college education was very useful in each of these respects compared with four-year degree holders, who are in turn more likely than those with a two-year associate degree to say that their education was very useful across each of these measures. For example, while two-thirds of those with a postgraduate or professional degree say their college education was very useful in opening doors to job opportunities, 56% of those with a four-year degree, and an even smaller share (40%) among those with a two-year degree, say the same. And while 57% of those with more than a bachelor’s degree say college was very useful in helping them develop marketable skills, about half or a smaller share among those with a four- or two-year degree hold this view (49% and 43%, respectively).

When it comes to helping them grow professionally and intellectually, majorities of those with a postgraduate or professional degree (77%) and those with a bachelor’s degree (64%) say college was very useful, compared with 46% of those with a two-year college degree.

When asked a broader set of questions about the impact of college more generally, the public expresses somewhat mixed views about the extent to which a college education prepares students for success in the workforce.

Two-thirds of Americans (67%) think that a traditional four-year degree prepares students for a well-paying job in today’s economy at least somewhat well, but just 16% think it prepares them very well, and 29% think it does not prepare them well. A somewhat smaller share of Americans (58%) think that a two-year community college degree prepares students for a well-paying job either very (12%) or somewhat (46%) well, while 38% think that these programs do not prepare students well.

Interestingly, Americans with a four-year college degree are generally no more positive – or negative – than those with less education about the relationship between a four-year degree and a well-paying job: 13% of those with a bachelor’s degree or more education say a four-year degree prepares people very well, as do 11% of those with a two-year associate degree, 12% of those with some college experience but no degree, and 17% of those with a high school diploma. Among those who did not complete high school, however, 40% believe that a four-year college degree does a very good job of preparing people for a well-paying job.

When it comes to assessments of a two-year college degree, about one-in-six (16%) Americans who hold this type of degree say it prepares workers very well for a well-paying job. This is considerably larger than the share of those with at least a bachelor’s degree (7%) who say a two-year degree prepares people very well, but not necessarily more positive than the views of those with less education.

Blacks and Hispanics are more likely than whites to say four- and two-year degrees prepare people very well for a job in today’s economy. For example, about three-in-ten (29%) Hispanics and about a quarter (24%) of blacks say this about a four-year degree, compared with 12% of whites. And while about one-in-five blacks and Hispanics (18% each) say a two-year associate degree prepares people very well, one-in-ten whites share this view.

These findings are consistent with previous Pew Research Center surveys that found that black and Latino parents view college as more essential for their children’s success than do white parents.

A substantially larger share of the public has positive attitudes towards certification programs in a professional, technical or vocational field in the context of workforce development. Some 78% of Americans think that these programs prepare students well for a job in today’s economy, including 26% who think they prepare students very well. Just roughly one-in-five (19%) think they do not prepare students well. It is important to note, however, that respondents were not asked about the effectiveness of certification programs instead of a college education.

Positive assessments of certificate programs as a way to prepare workers for jobs in today’s economy are particularly widespread among those who did not complete high school; 44% in this group say these types of programs prepare people very well, compared with about a quarter (27%) of those with a high school diploma and a similar share of those with some college, but no degree (22%), a two-year degree (28%), or a four-year degree or more education (22%). Certificate programs are also particularly well-regarded among Hispanics, 39% of whom say they prepare people very well for a good job in today’s economy. About a quarter of blacks (25%) and whites (23%) say the same.