How does a College degree affect the average american’s economic standpoint?
By: Kristopher JohnsonIn today's conversations regarding college, we often hear about the debate, “is going to college
worth it, especially with increasing debt?” Unfortunately, we often hear less about the benefits of
college and how they affect your earnings, and more about the negatives. As previous research
has shown, and continues to show, an increase in education level contributes to an increase in
income.
Despite these results and the staggering difference between each level of education, why does
only a third of Americans have above an associates degree? For one, as previously mentioned,
debt. The common assumption is that not going to college is beginning to be a better, more
affordable option than attending, however this isn’t the case. Although many are believed to
enter college only to enter a low paying job, only 20% percent of college graduates enter a low
wage job right out of college. This may seem particularly high, except when you consider that
half of those working low wage jobs with a college degree eventually obtain a high paying job,
leaving only 10% of college graduates with low paying jobs. This is in stark contrast with
workers with only a high school diploma, since out of that group of people a staggering 70%
have a low paying job. Furthermore, the group of people that have some college or less in
education level make up over 65% of unemployment in America, which is a significant amount.
From this data it is easy to conclude that a college education is worth it. An easier way to think
about it is in the long term. It has been proven that on average a person with a bachelor’s
degree or higher will earn approximately one million dollars more by retirement than someone
without a college degree. This is a substantial amount, as I’m sure anyone wouldn’t mind having
an extra million dollars in their bank account. It has also been shown that Americans with a
college degree are more likely to have a retirement fund that will support them (due to the
increased pay), as well as make better financial choices leading up to retirement. Having
enough money for retirement in college is a major problem among Americans, and contributes
to why a lot of elderly have to work low end jobs to make ends meet. The college degree can
help a lot in this instance.
Going to college is a privilege that everyone should have a right to access. The benefits it brings
are substantial, and incredible, so go get a degree!
https://youtu.be/rhiuBqwdlaA
This is a good video for a more in depth look at this particular topic, as well as how college
degrees can help your health as well.
Works Cited
“Measuring the Value of Education : Career Outlook.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics,
https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2018/data-on-display/education-pays.htm.
Osborn, Peter. “Do College Grads Really Earn More Than High School Grads?” Cornerstone
University,
https://www.cornerstone.edu/blogs/lifelong-learning-matters/post/do-college-grads-reallyearn-
more-than-high-school-grads.
Reporter, Dailymail.com. “High School Graduates Earn $1MILLION Less over a Lifetime
than College Grads.” Daily Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 10 May 2015,
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3075189/High-school-graduates-earn-1-
millionlifetime-graduate-college-new-report-finds.html.
“U.S. Student Loan Debt Statistics for 2019.” Student Loan Hero,
https://studentloanhero.com/student-loan-debt-statistics/.
Especially in high school, we start to hear all the money that we're going to have to spend to acquire a college degree. It may seem like a smart financial move to start working after high school to start receiving an income. But in the long run, it pays off to have a higher education. I'd rather live frugally in the upcoming years than have to continue to work well past my 60th birthday. Taking steps like eating out less, maybe living in a crappy apartment and investing could all be effective in gaining more for after retirement. That way I can reward myself after a life of hard work by traveling and spending money on things I want to.
ReplyDeleteI really like this topic actually. We're told our next steps in life after high school is higher education, a gap year, travelling (which is expensive), military, or work force; however, joining the workforce immediately can prove to be a heft challenge, as seen in this article. The numbers of unemployment and low paying jobs was pretty astonishing to me. Although I knew that college graduates have better chances at getting higher paying jobs, I also have seen a lot of jobs open to anyone with training on the job, so I never thought the difference would be the staggering 50%-60%. It seems like getting higher paying jobs with only a high degree requires a lot of perseverance and motivation, but as someone who has no idea where I want to go or do It is probably not the best option for me. The explorative options at college would probably be more beneficial for me. I feel a little more confident going into college now and facing the large and intimidating debt/loans after seeing this kind of data.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you covered both sides of this topic. You talked about how some people do not go to college because of the debt they will have after or they believe it is not worth it. You also said how although most college students get out of college with a lower paying job, they will mostly likely get a higher paying job after they get a little work experience. I also like how you mentioned how if you get a college degree you will most likely have a million dollars more than someone without a college degree.
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