As too many young people today have discovered, the money sunk into a college education does not always result in a decent—or any—return on that investment. Despite hundreds of thousands of dollars in college costs and multiple degrees, many students discover that they cannot find a job in their career field after graduation, and with the threat of student loan debt hanging over them, many return to low-skill or part-time jobs that they worked during college.
Despite rhetoric extolling a college education as the "ticket to the middle class" and describing the boost to income getting a degree provides, many students discover that they earn little more after graduation than before. The Wall Street Journal wrote, "A college degree's declining value is even more pronounced for younger Americans. According to data collected by the College Board, for those in the 25-34 age range the differential between college graduate and high school graduate earnings fell 11 percent for men, to $18,303 from $20,623. The decline for women was an extraordinary 19.7 percent, to $14,868 from $18,525. Meanwhile, the cost of college has increased 16.5% in 2012 dollars since 2006, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' higher education tuition-fee index."
At the same time, many jobs in the United States go unfilled, as employers struggle to find qualified and willing workers. Some of these jobs are considered "blue collar"—jobs more dependent on physical labor and on-the-job training and less so on skills obtained through a four-year degree program. Students, encouraged by older generations that college should be the pathway to a better life, are not always aware of what options they have through vocational training.
Are student loans at the root of this problem? Is the student loan market set to burst like the subprime mortgage market did in 2008? Is reform of how students pay for college at the root of how to address educating future generations for jobs of the future? Tell us your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter!
Infographic by David Pattinson’s American Future (dpaf).
a global affairs media network
Is College Still Worth It? [Infographic]
January 11, 2014
As too many young people today have discovered, the money sunk into a college education does not always result in a decent—or any—return on that investment. Despite hundreds of thousands of dollars in college costs and multiple degrees, many students discover that they cannot find a job in their career field after graduation, and with the threat of student loan debt hanging over them, many return to low-skill or part-time jobs that they worked during college.
Despite rhetoric extolling a college education as the "ticket to the middle class" and describing the boost to income getting a degree provides, many students discover that they earn little more after graduation than before. The Wall Street Journal wrote, "A college degree's declining value is even more pronounced for younger Americans. According to data collected by the College Board, for those in the 25-34 age range the differential between college graduate and high school graduate earnings fell 11 percent for men, to $18,303 from $20,623. The decline for women was an extraordinary 19.7 percent, to $14,868 from $18,525. Meanwhile, the cost of college has increased 16.5% in 2012 dollars since 2006, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' higher education tuition-fee index."
At the same time, many jobs in the United States go unfilled, as employers struggle to find qualified and willing workers. Some of these jobs are considered "blue collar"—jobs more dependent on physical labor and on-the-job training and less so on skills obtained through a four-year degree program. Students, encouraged by older generations that college should be the pathway to a better life, are not always aware of what options they have through vocational training.
Are student loans at the root of this problem? Is the student loan market set to burst like the subprime mortgage market did in 2008? Is reform of how students pay for college at the root of how to address educating future generations for jobs of the future? Tell us your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter!
Infographic by David Pattinson’s American Future (dpaf).
