Written By: Tim Johnson
ESL + Business Instructor | Aston American University
When I was in high school, I had no idea what I really wanted to do with my life. All I knew being an athlete was that I needed to go somewhere to play sports and I had many schools that made me offers to play soccer and/or baseball for them.
My first semester was not easy. I had no idea what I was doing, and all I knew was that I should attend class on certain days at certain times. After soccer season was over, I considered even leaving school, but my father convinced me to see how the semester played out. So I stayed, and in the end, I had fair grades – I decided to stay another semester. My grades slightly improved in the second semester. However, even then, I still wasn’t fully convinced to stay in school. I wanted to leave school again in the summer between my freshman and sophomore years. But then again, my father convinced me to stay.
During my second year, I decided to just buckle down and get it done! I was now a little behind after attending a second school for a semester, and I needed to catch up – it was going to take quite a push to finish on time in four years. But in the end, I made it. I had to take a whopping 19.5 semester hours in my final semester, but it wasn’t too hard, honestly. I also worked part-time in my last two years of my studies while I was pushing through school to finish on time.
After I finished my bachelor’s degree, I started my master’s degree two months later with my father’s advice, and of course, he did push me a bit to do it. I finished it in only 13 months, which is well above the normal pace, and with almost perfect marks. Nine years later, I finished a second master’s degree on my own with nearly the same grades as my first master’s.
What is the point of this story?
Well, since that time, I can clearly see just how many times my degree has gotten me a job. I can’t even imagine what I would be doing now if I did not go for my higher education. Here in the Czech Republic, it’s now required that teachers and translators have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree by the Ministry of Education. This was not the rule before I came here; anyone who finished high school could teach English. Therefore, by having my degrees, I didn’t have to worry about the new rule. I would also not be at Aston American University had I never finished school. I can say that I have never had a problem finding a job from the start after finishing my bachelor’s degree.
What would I be doing now had I not gotten my degree? How much would I be earning?
Check out this article to read more on just how much a degree is worth and how much you can be earning in comparison with others.
