Essay 367 – University or college is the best route to a successful career – IELTS General Training

GT Writing Task 2 / Essay Sample # 367

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Some people believe that studying at university or college is the best route to a successful career, while others believe that it is better to get a job straight after school.

Discuss both views and give your opinion.

You should give reasons for your answer using your own ideas and experience.

Write at least 250 words.

Model Answer:

Many people believe that obtaining a university degree is the key to unlocking the golden door of an illustrious career, yet others believe landing a job immediately after finishing school is a better deal. I agree with the first viewpoint and will show that despite there being successful college dropouts, a university degree is a step on the success ladder.

Many often argue that going straight to work after school is a far better choice because it impacts how successful individuals are in their careers. This is because they do not have to devote many years to higher study. In simple words, instead of spending several years in college or university, they can invest their time to broaden first-hand experience and competence in some particular domains, which in turn can lead them to a distinguished career. Tiger Woods, for instance, left college early and carved out a niche in golf sport. Similarly, Bill Gates, Goerge Clooney and Mark Zuckerberg are examples of university dropouts who have enviable career success.

However, obtaining a bachelor’s or master’s degree contributes towards individuals’ phenomenal success in the professional domain. It teaches them how to extract knowledge from the existing body of knowledge and how to generate new knowledge. This equips them with far more critical thinking ability and analytical reasoning competencies than their counterparts. In consequence, people with tertiary education can cope with the changing working environment and thus can solve any issue. A case in point is a recent study, which investigated how many of the richest and most influential persons graduated from university. It reveals that 76% of these remarkably successful persons have a university degree. For this reason, I believe universities are the Launchpad for achieving career success. Moreover, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg as successful people despite being university dropouts are not examples, they are exceptions.

To conclude, although it is true there are a few successful individuals without a university degree, I argue that having tertiary education is the path to success in a successful career because higher education equips students with skills so that they can adapt to change and contribute more effectively.