“College is more about an experience compared to people who jump right into the workforce who don’t have that experience.”

Payton Green, 20, is an undergraduate and student-athlete at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Born and raised in Fox Lake, Ill., she’s majoring in Nursing in hopes of becoming a registered nurse. As a college student, she knows the benefits of a college education and the higher paying jobs that can come from it.

Jaci Merchant: Why do you think that college is important?

Payton Green: I feel like college is important because it teaches you how to manage time while not having guidance from others, like your parents, who have always been there to check on you when you’re doing your homework and also building relationships. I enjoy the close atmosphere of classes and being part of the college collective.

Q: How do you think college will be an important factor for future generations when it comes to finding a well paying job?

A: Talking about the pandemic and how it plays a big role in job openings and where we are in society at this time. I think it’s important in how I view my kids going to college in the future. Giving them a better life and everything, I think it’s important to go to college to build that independence to build and set you up for your career. I think that college is that thing that sets you up for your future. I think that college is an accomplishment, and it’s kind of upsetting in a sense where people don’t get a degree and still get the same job that people who go to college get.

Q: What are the benefits of higher education compared to entering the workforce straight out of high school?

A: They make money faster, but I think overall college statistically leads to having more higher paying jobs. I think that college is more about an experience compared to people who jump right into the workforce who don’t have that experience. People in the workforce learn as you go and don’t have classes they need to take in college, but it also is a negative to not have that experience of college and get a degree at the end.

Q: What are your opinions of the list of most expected job openings in Wisconsin and those percentages?

A: I think that the pandemic has a lot to do with the weaning out of job openings. Things like farming is more of a generational thing, and is something people grew up doing. People see it as something where you don’t have to go to college because why would you want to go to school for four more years after you’ve already been to school for your whole life? People who do want to go to college and who do want that college experience see those jobs opening up because there’s a lack of it. There’s not as many people searching for those jobs and wanting to be those things because they are manual labor and they do require physical labor.