Most of us have all heard the often expressed opinion “college is not for everyone.” By the same token, we have seen the statistics that show that those with a college education are more likely to have lifetime earnings far in excess of those without one.

The average impact of a college degree on a person’s lifetime earnings is well over $1 million - and growing, according to any number of studies. A person with a college degree is only half as likely to be unemployed compared with those who have only a high school diploma and 3½ times less likely to experience poverty, and the benefits of education accrue not just to the individual but also to the broader economy and society in general. One recent study estimated that every additional year of schooling for a country’s adult population resulted in per capita gross domestic product growth.

Certainly, we can all point to exceptions - family members or friends we know who are college graduates but who are struggling to find a job that matches their education preparation, but, in reality, these are not the rule.

My immigrant mother was laser-focused on her goal of making sure that her three children had an opportunity to get a college education, and she was prepared to make any sacrifice to make sure this happened, but only if that’s what we wanted.

Although she had just an eighth-grade education and always regretted her father’s decision not to allow her to continue her education when she arrived in the United States from Italy, she always told my brothers and me that education would open doors for us to enhance our lives. It was certainly true in my case.

I cherish the education I received from East Stroudsburg University where I received my undergraduate and graduate degrees and where my vistas were broadened to the wonders of the world around me and to the people in it.

Today, we have begun to see a shift in how society values, or perhaps I should say devalues, the worth of a college education. A number of governors, including Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, have taken steps to loosen educational requirements when applying for certain state jobs. They no longer require a college degree to be eligible for the position.

To underscore how strongly he feels about this, on Jan. 18, his first full day in office, Shapiro signed an executive order that did away with the requirement of a four-year college degree for 92% of positions in state government, or roughly 65,000 jobs.

As college semesters have come to a close across the country, some college presidents have sounded the alarm during commencement addresses. One of these, Seth Bodnar, president of the University of Montana, said he fears for our country’s long-term economic competitiveness “as we experience a widespread devaluing of education and the erosion of the educational advantage that we’ve held in global affairs for the past 70 years. He labeled it the most serious long-term national security challenge facing our country. “Our competitors are certainly not advising their youth, ‘Don’t get an education.’ They’re playing a long game, and they’re playing to win.” Bodnar said.

During his inaugural address last month, ESU President Kenneth Long reminded the community that “education is a fundamental right that should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their background, ethnicity, gender, religion or social and economic status.”

One of the things that has propelled the notion that maybe a college education is not really necessary is the dramatic increases of wages at the bottom of the economy, especially with minimum-wage jobs. This occurred primarily because of the dire shortage of workers many businesses and industries experienced that were brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A recent survey of high school students found that the likelihood of their attending a four-year college or university has dropped about 18% during the last eight months, down to 53%. The report involving the polling of more than 1,000 high school students found that high school students are emphasizing career training and post-college employment.

One of the big deterrents for many prospective college students is high tuition that leads to long-term student loan repayments. This has been a turnoff for many prospective students who are finding alternatives in the job market now, rather than postponing it for four or more years. As inflation and the Fed’s monetary policy tightening take hold, will this rosy job market prevail next month or next year?

By BRUCE FRASSINELLI| tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.