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The Daily OrangeStudy affirms college degree leads to higher future income
By A.J. Donatoni
Posted: 11/2/06, 10:55 PM EST Section: News
It turns out that a college education does lead to a more successful career, according to a report released by the College Board earlier this year.
The report pinpointed the growing rate in the differences of median incomes by adults who have college degrees versus those who have high school diplomas. The report is an update to a similar publication issued in 2004 that analyzed the benefits of earning a college degree.
The median income of college graduates is 63 percent higher than the median earnings of high school graduates, said Mike Cahill, director of Syracuse University Career Services.
Although it's a wide gap, he said it's important not to jump to conclusions.
"One of the things that we have to be careful of is making gross generalizations," he said. "Statistics will give you the averages on a large population, and within those populations there are always wide ranges. There could be (high school graduates) out there … who are still making more money than those that graduated from college."
The College Board gathered statistics for its 2006 edition that estimated how much more money adults with diplomas in different age brackets were earning compared to adults without degrees, the difference in the gap between adult men and women and how the lack of a college diploma affects unemployment in various states.
"I think as we're seeing more and more of the population go on for more advanced degrees," Cahill said. "We're at the point where most of the professional and knowledge-based opportunities are unavailable to those without a college degree."
Another issue that the College Board reported was the difference between men and women when it came to pitting the median incomes of college graduates against high school graduates.
Sandy Baum, senior policy analyst at the College Board and a professor of economics at Skidmore College, addressed this issue among others.
"The real issue here is that at every level of education, women earn significantly more than men," she said. "However, female high school graduates have particularly few options for reasonable wages. The male/female gap is greater for high school grads than for college grads."
The report pinpointed the growing rate in the differences of median incomes by adults who have college degrees versus those who have high school diplomas. The report is an update to a similar publication issued in 2004 that analyzed the benefits of earning a college degree.
The median income of college graduates is 63 percent higher than the median earnings of high school graduates, said Mike Cahill, director of Syracuse University Career Services.
Although it's a wide gap, he said it's important not to jump to conclusions.
"One of the things that we have to be careful of is making gross generalizations," he said. "Statistics will give you the averages on a large population, and within those populations there are always wide ranges. There could be (high school graduates) out there … who are still making more money than those that graduated from college."
The College Board gathered statistics for its 2006 edition that estimated how much more money adults with diplomas in different age brackets were earning compared to adults without degrees, the difference in the gap between adult men and women and how the lack of a college diploma affects unemployment in various states.
"I think as we're seeing more and more of the population go on for more advanced degrees," Cahill said. "We're at the point where most of the professional and knowledge-based opportunities are unavailable to those without a college degree."
Another issue that the College Board reported was the difference between men and women when it came to pitting the median incomes of college graduates against high school graduates.
Sandy Baum, senior policy analyst at the College Board and a professor of economics at Skidmore College, addressed this issue among others.
"The real issue here is that at every level of education, women earn significantly more than men," she said. "However, female high school graduates have particularly few options for reasonable wages. The male/female gap is greater for high school grads than for college grads."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
fake diplomas
posted 10/16/08 @ 7:19 AM EST
I agree with that everyone needs a college diploma if they dream of having a successful career. The problem is that there will be many people using fake diplomas to get these types of jobs, fake diplomas that are hard to spot. (Continued…)
max
posted 2/26/09 @ 11:55 AM EST
Great post.People do not realize that education is the best investment...:)
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