According to the U.S. Department of Labor, by 2016 only one-third of the jobs that will be created will require a college degree.

This statistic leaves many students and potential students questioning why they are earning a degree.

“Some people get a college degree and get a job that doesn’t require one,” UNA Director of Academic Advising and Retention Services Laura Hardin said.

“Research shows there is a correlation between education and happiness,” she said.

Hardin said people are more satisfied with their lives the more educated they are.

“A college degree makes you promotable,” Hardin said. “Companies are more likely to promote someone with a better education.”

According to Hardin, a college education teaches students strong written and oral communication skills.

“People need to have strong written and oral communication skills, and a college education promotes and provides this,” Hardin added.

“We are an open institution that gives students an opportunity to get a bachelor’s or master’s degree, and the opportunities are there,” she said. “It’s up to each individual student to make the most out of the opportunities they have been given.”

Hardin said students need to value a college education to be successful in any job or trade.

UNA public relations major Alison Lee says she went back to school after going to trade school to have a more stable job. Lee said the main reason she went back to school was to get health insurance and benefits.

“I did not want to do manual labor for the rest of my life,” Lee said. “I wanted the college experience and wanted to go back before I got later in my life.”

Lee went to trade school to get a cosmetology degree. After gaining her cosmetology degree she said she figured out that she needed to go back to school to get more out of her career.

“I think getting a trade first makes you much more marketable when applying for jobs,” Lee said.

Lee said she appreciates college much more now being able to see the benefits from a four-year college degree.

“Unless you are married, to someone who has insurance, a 401k, you can’t make it on your own without a degree,” Lee said.

“Having a degree shows employers that you do what it takes to get the job,” she added. “I had to do it for myself.”