Hello,
First time poster long time lurker
First of all thank you to the team here and the forum members, everyone is incredibly helpful.

Please review this essay of mine. Do not hold back

Prompt: Educational institutions should actively encourage their students to choose fields of study that will prepare them for lucrative careers.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most
compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position.

My write:
It is reasonable for educational institutions to actively encourage their students to choose fields of study that will prepare them for lucrative careers. A student that ends up in a lucrative occupation after graduating from an educational institution will benefit themselves and society, which ties back to the mission of any educational institution — to educate people that will improve the world we live in.

First, the benefits for the students themselves are evident. Regardless of whether one lives in a system that is primarily capitalistic or socialist, financial resources are important. Money can be used to sustain basic personal needs and not be a burden on others. Furthermore, money can save one’s life. Healthcare and nutrition costs are through the roof almost everywhere on Earth, and the people suffering the most are the people earning less. For example, although there is much merit in being an artist that is pursuing their passion versus being a big law lawyer, between these two only one can reliably and consistently cover medical bills.

Moreover, the personal benefits of having a lucrative career and thus earning money extend to society too. The ability one gains through income allow them to participate in the economy through consumption of goods that create income for other people. It would be hard for housekeepers to make a living if none of us were ready to pay and delegate to others. Beyond this basic level, people in lucrative careers also help society by paying more taxes thus funding a bigger share of social services. The cost of government aid is funded by taxes and the more people earn generally the more they pay.

Finally, lucrative careers eventually benefit all of us because they allow for the development of the next generation. People in those careers tend to fund the education of their offspring, and to orient said offspring towards similarly lucrative career thus compounding the social benefits aforementioned.

A reasonable rebuttal would be about the cost for one to pursue a lucrative career over one they are truly passionate about. Lucrative careers tend to come with a lot of stress and the risk of burn-out. It is also true that we tend to give our best at the things we love. But this assertion is often ignoring or minimizing real constraints. As mentioned before, basic needs such as food, clothing, healthcare, lodging need money to be met. And often minimum wages fail to be sufficient. Conversely, although a lucrative career might not be a student’s first choice it will cover their basic needs and might even give them the agency through financial means to pursue their passions.

In spite of the cost of lucrative careers, when weighed against their advantages the logical conclusion is that educational institutions should encourage students to pursue them. The benefits whether personal or societal make these careers the most beneficial outcome for those students. If the institutions want to deliver on their mission to educate the next generation so they can have a positive impact on the world, it is their duty to lead it along path that will achieve that outcome.