A Look Into The Purpose Of College By Brandon Busteed

A Look into The Purpose Of College

When thinking about the purpose of college, most people tend to lean towards either job-driven or life-driven. In the article “What’s The Purpose Of College?”, Brandon Busteed looks deeper into the meaning of the purpose of college. Instead of looking at college as solely preparation for a good job, we can also look at it as a way to prepare a person for a successful life through broad education. After reading this article, I agree with the author that the purpose of college is equally preparing students for jobs while also assisting them in ways to thrive throughout their life to be successful with a purpose.
Summary
In “What’s The Purpose Of College?” Brandon Busteed argues that the purpose of college

In the article, the author states, “Make no mistake, many of us see the purpose of college as both a job-driven and a life-driven purpose. But our dialogue is horribly stuck in the muck of an either/or debate on these two fronts” (Busteed, 2019, para. 2). Throughout my experience of learning about the purpose of college, I have been given a wide array of answers to why people should or shouldn’t attend. I think the purpose of college should be both to expand your knowledge in whatever you are pursuing and to gain helpful life skills to be more successful in life. He continues to state in the article that, “College is about both preparing people for a job (and helping them advance their careers and earnings) and to thrive in their overall lives” (Busteed, 2019, para. 3). Most people tend to hear college and view dollar signs, but that shouldn’t always be an issue. The number of people who don’t explore options in receiving financial help miss many opportunities, especially if college is something they feel they need to do to expand their employment options to be happy in their

Technical schools that teach trades and certain jobs that require a short amount of training with certifications are also options. In my opinion, certain people succeed in many different ways; one person who does well in textbook-based classes may not do well in technical classes that are more hands on. I think both options are helpful ways to get a good job though. They are both work-driven, just achieved differently. I also agree with the article that students who learn how to be reflective can be more successful in jobs, as the author states, “And it tells us that a classically liberal arts element of college (teaching students how to be reflective) is powerfully linked to their job success” (Busteed, 2019, para. 4). I believe this is more likely to be taught throughout the course of college opposed to work experience