Despite the high cost of a college degree, the students who complete one can see great economic gains.
It’s no secret that many college students face a seemingly insurmountable pile of student debt, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that only one-third of jobs in the U.S. demand education beyond high school. The college crunch is on, and millennials have taken note.
Recent memes circulated on social media proclaim that “My parents lived better with a high school diploma than I do with a four-year degree!” Many college students echo that sentiment, struggling to justify their debt for the sake of obtaining a job they could acquire without attending college.
However, the Bureau predicts that the biggest growth in the next decade will be the number of jobs that require a bachelor’s degree, meaning that employees with a college degree will have a stronger job market. The Pew Research Center also reports that the disparity between potential earnings for those with a college education compared to those with a high school education has never been greater, refuting the popular meme.
Pew finds that, on average, college grads earn $17,500 more than high school graduates annually, and that pay gap was much smaller in past generations. College graduates are increasingly more likely to work full-time and are less likely to be unemployed.
“The answer is to gravitate towards higher education that is more customized and streamlined, where adults can obtain the training and credentials they need when they need them,” Frederick Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, told The College Fix. “Most everyone could benefit from education that extends beyond K-12.”
Pew also found that college graduates surpass their less-educated peers in regards to job satisfaction, economic stability, and career attainment, further proving that obtaining a college degree pays off. Literally.
