All through elementary school, middle school, and into high school, this generation was told that all you needed was to go to college. That a four-year degree was enough to find a stable job and potentially support a family. We were lied to. In this time, a bachelor’s degree is more than likely not enough. We have striven through high school to only have four years left post-graduation, only four years of student loans and student debt to pay off. Just to realize it most likely won’t be enough. The idea that aiming for a professional school or a graduate school is the new norm. With our millennial generation, there is more emphasis on higher education to depict a person’s ability to do a job, and your chances of getting a competitive position with a bachelor’s is low, in comparison to a person with a professional or graduate degree. If you aren’t qualified with a Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Arts, you must get a master’s or a Ph.D.

There are multiple reasons why a bachelor’s degree is not going near as far as it once did. Academic inflation plays major role, as the number of jobs that require some sort of higher education has significantly increased. The job market is difficult, and with only a four-year degree, a recent college grad could have a tough time finding a job. The amount of students going to college has risen as well, and though this is typically a good thing, more graduates means a more saturated market. Another reason is the idea of unconventional learning, or online learning. A person can easily obtain an entire four-year degree while in the comfort of their own home, but is the quality of education the same? Is the student receiving the same education as a traditional classroom student? The answer is no. Generally, a traditional student will have received a better form of education and learning than an online student. Employers now must begin to weed out those who are not qualified based on their type of education.

In the end, a bachelor’s is something to be proud of, and no college graduate should ever feel bad about completing something so many have not. From researching and trying to understand what it takes to be successful after graduation, I have found that it's the experiences that matter, and the other things that set you apart from the other applicants. For sure, getting a master’s degree could help in the process, but would that be worth the money? Who knows? That changes by major and by person. Success is not defined by a piece of paper you can show to an employer, it is defined by what you can do with it. You spent four years slaving away to get a piece of paper, right? Wrong. You spent those years learning how you can be a successful human being. You spent four years developing vital skills and gaining knowledge so that after graduation, you have something to offer employers.

In this generation and in this year, it is no longer about being "good enough." We, as a generation, to be successful, must go above and beyond. If you go above and beyond with a four-year degree, you are bound to be successful.