City College Of New York
El Hadji Lam
Freshmen composition ENGL.110
Professor Alcala
04/12/24
Cover Letter
Have you ever wondered that it is just so easy to write what is on your mind than just based on someone else’s word? Although it isn’t that hard just write a long essay in a length of 4-6 pages just based on your words, especially if you try to persuade people. Isn’t that confusing? Maybe it’s true that two minds is better than one. My Research paper was very challenging. Once I heard about the research paper I worked on beforehand and researched the topic I wanted to write but it was just hard to stay with the facts and have enough evidence to back up my argument. The topic I chose first was how College education was better than Trade School. Unfortunately, I realized that most of this fact isn’t enough to make my argument and using my idea would just be biased. Most of the evidence I found was expressing how trade school is better than college which is the opposite of what I wanted to do. I end up changing the topic and make it both ways college and trade school. The opportunities that it opens to the students and how it benefits them in their life. Maybe I felt like I needed that process to understand my topic very well so it would be hard to utilize the source in order to avoid plagiarism.
At first I was struggling to find the evidence like I said but it was kind of very challenging. However, working with my peers helps me a lot. I work with my introduction and ask four people their thoughts in it. But the best part was their kindness coming from them giving me feedback in a polite way and their questions. Their questions help me have an idea about how I’m going to write my paragraph. Honestly, starting a paragraph was tough for me because it came to a matter that I felt like whatever I do might be plagiarism. That’s why I was too scared to use the source. However, they helped me digest my research and break it down piece by piece and told me based on this idea you could summarize it and have a lot of ideas to make up my argument. On the other hand, there was my teacher who is very kind, who is so down to earth and all she does is help her students to advance to another level within their education. My research would not be if it wasn’t for their help to process it to utilize my research and put it in good use. Sharing ideas and opinions helped me overcome my struggles and made my writing easy. Moreover, I realized that it’s the feedback coming from my peers that makes my arguments very strong. Although it was very challenging to write, I did anyway with the help of my classmate. I did appreciate their help so much.
Seek And Pursuit Knowledge
There is no shortcut to achieve your goals and knowledge is much more important than money. Is he crazy? What’s he thinking? I am not saying that money isn’t important but knowledge is above it. You kind of say this in your mind while you are studying to get a job and make money. Yet, if you want to have dignity, do your job properly by being very skilled at it. As a result, no one can disrespect you because you are not doing a poor job. If you are, you better study and have infinite knowledge on that career. Some people think that a trade school is the fastest way to pursue their goal and achieve it quickly, while others choose to go to college. If you are looking for job-specific skills, trade school is no doubt the better route, particularly when you factor in the cost of your education. However, if you’re interested in research or a general pursuit of knowledge, you may go to college. Trade school and college have lots of benefits which are part of the research pay and the differences and the opportunities that they open up to you. Other people might be against trade school or college for their own reasons but it’s better than dropping out anyway.
Before I talk about college or trade school I would like to talk to you about the importance of pursuing your education. Education shows us the importance of hard work and, at the same time, helps us grow and develop as people. Thus, we are able to shape a better society to live in by knowing and respecting rights, laws, and regulations. Knowing these laws and regulations help you to stay out of trouble. Education makes a difference in communities that are fragile or forced to rebuild and can help with emotional growth, aiding people in overcoming trauma due to established discrimination, conflict, war or natural disasters by providing not only stability but hope. Educating women and girls has particular benefits, such as better jobs, later marriages. In some cases where marriages later turn into divorce if they still have their diploma they will still have a chance to provide for themselves due to their knowledge in that field. Moreover, that brings me back to my topic that students should pursue their education whether it’s to choose college or trade school.
Students have been arguing between one to other in the choices of going to college or trade school. While others think that there is nothing good about such short term- education and even being skilled at your job. On the other hand, others argue that choosing college will just benefit you. Moreover, you will have the opportunities of choosing another career if you second guess if that career is best for you or not. It’s kind of ironic when both sides of the argument have the same goals which is to profuse their education and have their degree. It’s not a question that that one is better or not, but only a person can know what’s best for him/her. Additionally there is no right or wrong choice about it but the only thing that matters is you value your knowledge that it makes you do whatever it takes to achieve your goals.
Now let us look at trade school. Many students chose college because their parents want them to and all I want is to choose trade school. Trade schools, also known as vocational schools, are viable opportunities for anybody looking for something different that leads to a real career. College is not for everybody because not everybody wants to spend 4 years on learning others want just a diploma and trade school is a great opportunity for that. Some of the trade schools are and you will be able to learn more about your career and even be skilled at it. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, “Traditional-college enrollment rates in the United States have risen this century, from 13.2 million students enrolled in 2000 to 16.9 million students in 2016. This is an increase of 28 percent. Meanwhile, trade-school enrollment has also risen, from 9.6 million students in 1999 to 16 million in 2014.” For some people who questioned why trade school and it’s a waste of money, that increase of result doesn’t look like it’s not real as some people say. According to this increase, trade school is a really good place for those who are looking for specific skills in a job and it is worth it to try.
Moreover, trade school has more opportunity than people don’t give it credit for. Trade school offers hands-on training and professional development, which prepare learners for entry-level jobs in their fields such as Electrician, plumber, Architecture, cyber security…. . Students learn by doing and can often begin their careers without extensive on-the-job training. Some trade school programs include internships or apprenticeships for the students to know more about his career. Trade school programs focus on career-relevant skills and training. Considering this, one can make the assumption that it does not contain general education courses like college. You do not get that overwhelming work like college students do. A major benefit for trade school is that students can typically complete their education in two years or less. In trade school with a small class size you will be able to go one-on-one to the teacher and have all the help you need.
The most interesting thing is that trade schools cost less. According to Serigne Lam, a student . indicates that he is paying $8,000 and then spends one year and half to learn all he needs to know about cyber security. After his degree, he is mostly likely to be paid $100K a year. There are other jobs like electrician, plumber, architecture etc… Electrician and architecture is another thing, my major is Electrical Engineering. Based on my Knowledge what I learned from my math department teacher in high school is that a college degree pays more in this salary. Because the course requires a lot of courses and knowledge which trade doesn’t take. On the other hand, you can still make a good salary in trade school if you are majoring in Electrician or Architecture. The annual salary would be mostly like $50,000-$82,000. So, if you are asking , is it worth going to trade school? You know what, I’ll leave you that choice.
It’s a tricky question because you have many reasons for not going to college but trust me, nowadays a world where knowledge is everything you should be into before your life is meaningless. Over the years people’s interests might change, or they may simply want to pursue many different career paths. College is a great option for people to take different subjects to pursue many jobs. For instance, a college professor at CCNY named Di Raimo is majoring in two careers. At First she wanted to major in nursing which she is still doing and also she is a teacher. College gives you the possibilities of having multiple careers you want to pursue and learn in your life. Thus, it might be very challenging to major in two careers but once you finish it you will see the big impact that’s going to have later in your life and what a bright future is in front of you.
It’s true that college is expensive and lots of students; end up having debts that they weren’t able to pay until they got their degree and paid it off. College has enormous benefits, job opportunities, especially if you are a bachelor. According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, the jobs with the most job openings between 2019 and 2029 will require at least a bachelor’s degree. While it is possible to hold positions with a high school diploma or associate’s degree, a bachelor’s degree will widen your job opportunities the most. In more cases than not, a college degree is different to some who don’t hold one. Someone with a college degree no matter the degree you have will be placed ahead. Additionally, It signifies that you are persistent, determined, and able to reach goals. Moreover, College students earn more income than people who didn’t attend college. Graduates usually have access to jobs that pay higher salaries that require knowledge and skills. However, having a college degree does not guarantee a high salary in every job. According to the United States Census Bureau who gathered strong positive data, correlation between degrees level earn and salary indicates that “ PhD,Doctor who earns $84,496, professional degree, $89,960 and Master, bachelor,Associate is between $69,732-$41,496. Compared to someone who doesn’t have a degree or has only a high school diploma their earning income is less than to someone with a degree.’’ Moreover, according to Douglas Webber, PhD, “direct financial rewards of a degree are enormous, and don’t even begin to capture the many other dimensions that attending college can positively impact one’s life.” Considering the amount of money you can make when obtaining a certain level of degrees, it appears to be more promising to attend college as opposed to not attending college. The more you learn in college, the more money you will end up making.Generally speaking, it’s never too late to pursue your education at either college or trade school as long as you are on the road of seeking knowledge and focusing on your career. Most jobs require advanced education and you don’t want to rush and end up with half knowledge or empty head of the career you poursuiting. For people who just want the high school diploma and say I’m done with school, well that’s just stupid idea. You don’t want to waste all these years that you spend in school to seek knowledge and one day you just drop it because you got tired of it. Giving up school is not good, especially when you did it at a young age. The consequence is more likely, a lack of intellect and skills needed to succeed in the field you are in. prioritized knowledge is the biggest key to succeed in your life and mostly in your career to have a well paying job. Climb your way to college or trade school to require the knowledge that you need to be successful in your life. Although, it’s not going to be an easy road but whatever the struggle, think about your future and how much you can achieve with a degree.
“Benefits of Continuing Education for Career Advancement” University of Cincinnati Blog, no date.
https://sfdhr.org/stigma-choosing-trade-school-over-college
“The stigma of choosing trade school over college”City & County Of San Francisco, no date.
Webber, Douglas. Is College Worth It?: Going Beyond Averages. Third Way, 2018. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep41693. Accessed 8 Apr. 2024.
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