A college degree is an essential life accessory. Without it, the chances of getting a job are dramatically lower. The goal for most is to gain an education that will provide a significant salary. No degree will be an instant cash ticket, but it is true, some degrees have a higher-end profit. That, however, does not mean any degree is useless.

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A college degree is an essential life accessory. Without it, the chances of getting a job are dramatically lower. The goal for most is to gain an education that will provide a significant salary. No degree will be an instant cash ticket, but it is true, some degrees have a higher-end profit. That, however, does not mean any degree is useless.

Recently, I was told my English degree was, in fact, useless. How is my degree any less legitimate than a science degree? They are in the same college and, in a sense, the same liberal concept.

It is easy to assume that English majors do nothing except read and write about what they read, but that is very far from the truth. Even so, isn’t that what they do in science? Read, interpret, absorb and create? How is that different than any other major? I do not believe that memorizing facts out of a textbook makes someone more of an intellectual than it makes me.

Each degree is completely different and yet entirely the same in their own ways. They all follow a basic school-mandated curriculum. Each class is designed in such a way to teach concepts and understanding.

The overall idea behind college is to gain knowledge for the real world – to have the skills and expertise to be whatever it is one set out to be. So, how is my spending my college years mastering the written word any less real than someone else conquering knowledge of parasites? Why does it have to be a competition? It doesn’t, because it isn’t. They are two separate fields. We both want very different things out of life. Am I not going to achieve the goals I set out to because I chose English over something concrete? No. The only way I won’t reach my ideals is if I do not try.

Regardless of the degree, the education is essentially the same. Everybody is learning and doing work. Sure, I do not log eight hours a night memorizing for ScanTron sheets. My classes are not lectures, but rather a discussion. I am, however, mastering a skill. I am conquering my degree one word at a time. English is not going to make me a millionaire, but I never said that was my goal.

The real difference isn’t about the majors at all. In reality, the difference is about personal objective. Maybe some people do choose English because they want to be the next Jack Kerouac. Maybe someone else is a science major because he wants to save the world. The reasoning and the amount of work put fourth is different for each person. A degree does not equate a bright and well-paid future.

It boils down to one thing: ambition. I have insatiable ambition. It’s the driving force behind all I do. Maybe there’s a better, more work-friendly degree out there, but with the right amount of ambition, positivity and a driven mindset, there is nothing that cannot be conquered.