Should Students Go to College to Make Money, or to Gain a Meaningful Philosophy of Life?

Zheng Li

28 October 2015

Should students go to college to make money, or to gain a meaningful philosophy of life?

One of my friends in China told me a story about how some of his classmates were materially oriented. They chose the subjects of business and management, which were helpful for them to make money. They had no interest in classics or philosophy. They put a lot of attention on internships, but they did not care about their homework and academic papers. They thought receiving college education was to get a well-paid job. Although they got rich after a few years, they did not feel happy and could not find the direction of their lives. They got lost and reflected on what they have pursued in college. They regretted having the wrong priorities in education in being practically oriented. If they could have another chance of going to college, they would take advantage of these opportunities to find the meaning of their lives. The reason why these people got into such a situation is that they did not figure out what they should do during college education. This story leads one to wonder whether students should go to college to make money, or to gain a meaningful philosophy of life?

In the article “Making College ‘Relevant’” written by Kate Zernike, the author claimed, “In 1971, 37 percent responded that it was essential or very important to be “very well-off financially,” while 73 percent said the same about “developing a meaningful philosophy of life.” In 2009, the values were nearly reversed: 78 percent identified wealth as a goal, while 48 percent were after a meaningful philosophy” (2) More and more students believe that the purpose of college education is to make money. However, universities are not tools for the students to reach the targets of becoming millionaires, but places for the students to find their goals. Students go to college to gain wisdom and live a meaningful philosophy of life because they need to find their true purpose and direction to be happy.

As being happy is people’s ultimate aim, people need to find the eternal source of happiness. The students who want to become rich should think about what is the distinction between earning money and enjoying their lives. Although being rich can make people consume more, the joy brought by consuming is temporary. If students can’t find their true purpose of lives and direction to happiness, they will take more pressure and burden from their infinite desire for materials. The mission statements of the universities stress that students should find out the truth of their lives. For example, the mission statement of the University of Minnesota is “all people are enriched by understanding, is dedicated to the advancement of learning and the search for truth; to the sharing of this knowledge through education for a diverse community; and to the application of this knowledge to benefit the people of the state, the nation, and the world”. Since students need to find their true purpose of lives, college education offers the time and places for them to study and explore the meaning of their lives. Students put too much attention on the results of their future life, like wealth and status, which are meaningless in the process. What the students really need to think about are their dreams and careers, which are helpful in guiding them to do what they are interested in. As no one wants to live in a society which is full of materialism and consumerism, people should care about the value of nonmaterial activities, like charity and environment protection. In the article “The Sandra Bullock Trade” written by Kate Zernike, the author stated, “In short, modern societies have developed vast institutions oriented around the things that are easy to count, not around the things that matter most. They have an affinity for material concerns and a primordial fear of moral and social ones.” (3) If students don’t have broad views or great wisdom, they will just care about short-term interest.

If some students have the wrong priorities in education in being practically oriented, they are more likely to choose business as majors because they assume that studying business improve the opportunities of finding well-paid jobs. While if students just learn job skills, they may lack of learning other aspects, like history, art, classics and philosophy. In the article “Wealth or Waste? Rethinking the Value of a Business Major” written by Melissa Korn, the author made a point that students who choose business as majors don’t develop thinking and analyzing abilities because they don’t get enough training in these aspects. For example, the business students need to learn and recite financial and accounting terms. If they don’t memorize the fixed curriculum mechanically, they will not be able to pass the professional qualification certificate examination, like ACCA. In the past, business is only opened for the people with work experience in the form of MBA because business courses are teaching professional knowledge to students. In order to apply the knowledge, students need to take part in the internships. Business students enter into the working environment too early and they don’t have enough time to learn nonbusiness materials. Learning nonbusiness materials is critical for students to get to know and recognize themselves because if students don’t contact different subjects, they can’t find what areas they are interested in or they have potential on. When students find their interest or potential, they will put more effort on these and at last they are likely to succeed in these areas. Students go to college to learn various kinds of knowledge and develop different abilities, which can bring more benefit and happiness than learning business.

Some would say the economy is so weak in some countries that if students don’t learn how to make money in the college, they will not find jobs to support themselves, for example the nominal economic growth of Japan is 1.7% and the real economic growth of Japan is 0 in 2014, which means the economy in Japan doesn’t grow at all and Japan can’t create more jobs. But this should not affect the students’ objectives of college education. The economy does not always depress and there will be recovery in the future. Even though the economy is so weak that not all the graduates can find jobs, there are always some aiding programs to help people meet their basic living needs. In fact, students should worry about whether the jobs that they are looking for are fit for them or not, instead of the economy and job market. College education is not a kind of training to make students get prepared for working. However, college should guide the students to ponder on what kind of people they want to become. Many students don’t like their jobs because they don’t find the meaning and goal of their lives. College is a precious time for the students to find out what they want to do after graduation. For example, one of my friends, whose name is Jimmy, was worried about the weak economy after the 2008 financial crisis. He put most of his energy into preparing for finding a job during the undergraduate and he succeeded in getting a job. However, he got rid of his company and quit his job after working for one year. He returned to college to do a master’s degree. This time he focused on learning knowledge and thinking about his target. Finally, he got interested in protecting the environment and found the goal of his life was to make the earth a more beautiful place for human beings to live in. He made plans and put them into practice to reach the target. After graduation, he joined an environmental protection organization and became a volunteer. He was happier than before because he found his life’s target and worked on the right direction to his target. Students who go to college to pursue for wisdom and goal of life face little risk of being unemployed because they know what kind of job fit them and they get prepared for their working life.