Education Is the Best Investment Ever

All of us have some inherent talent and deep potential. A good education brings out the talent within us and helps us uncover our hidden potential. It builds our character and builds in us a respect for our fellow men. It teaches us patience and humility. A good education develops our thinking prowess, and teaches us to think. Critical thinking will enable us to analyse any problem from various angles and come up with different solutions, and thus help us solve the;problem. A good education teaches us to learn and how to access the knowledge we need. This is important since learning should not stop at school, it should be life long. When we learn how to learn we are better equipped to face life.
A good education would of course equip us with the knowledge and skills needed to embark on a chosen career and earn a living.While we should not confuse between a good education and a good degree, it is a fact that getting a good degree from a good school can open the doors to getting a high paying and satisfying career. Today a graduate with a sought after degree such as computer science, engineering, law, management etc from a highly esteemed (by the corporate world) school can start a career with a pay several times that of a ‘plain’ graduate from a lesser known school.
Getting such a degree would entail a significant investment of time and money. Such an investment may even be beyond your reach. But this is an investment that can pay very rich dividend, if you consider that you might be able to earn so much more. In my part of the world for instance a ‘plain’ graduate might get a job as a clerk in an office or retail counter at say Rs. 5000 to Rs. 7000 or so per month; but if they were to undergo the sacrifice needed to invest 3-4 years and several lacs of rupees as course fee for a ‘professional’ degree, they might start out with a salary of Rs. 25000 upwards. If you consider the difference in what you can earn in life-time, you will see what a wonderful investment it is.
Of course it is not enough to merely make the investment. You have to work to get the best of it. You will see that in any graduating class the difference between the top placed candidate and the bottom could be significant. IT is not uncommon to see a top salary of say RS. 50,000 and a bottom one of say Rs.20,000. So you need to work hard on your investment to get the best return.
Remember, also education is a safe investment. There is no risk of ‘default’. You can lose all your money, your job or even your house in very bad times (may they never come!). But no one can take away what you have learnt. Your education always remains with you.