Posted on 02/11/2014 10:43:56 AM PST by Red in Blue PA
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The earnings gap between young adults with and without bachelor's degrees has stretched to its widest level in nearly half a century. It's a sign of the growing value of a college education despite rising tuition costs, according to an analysis of census data released Tuesday.
Young adults with just a high-school diploma earned 62 percent of the typical salary of college graduates. That's down from 81 percent in 1965, the earliest year for which comparable data are available.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
I am sure we will see a law from obozo to deal with this.
Gap would be a lot larger if it wasn’t for all the XXX-studies degrees and diplomas given for Underwater Basket Weaving.
I would like to see a comparison of median salaries for the standard B.A vs high-school graduate with trade skills.
I see the value in getting a 4 year degree, but some degrees aren’t much better than a high school diploma.
There are so few jobs and so many applicants that employers are hiring people with degrees for jobs that don’t require degrees because they can.
Gone are the highly rewarded union jobs for high school grads, or those with GEDs.
I remember my first car in 1970s was a Ford Pinto picked out by my parents and it broke so often that repair costs over lifetime added up to more than the original new car price.
And Ford dealer repair sometimes broke stuff and gave the car back in worse condition.
They were like my local Comcast cable.
Agree with that 100%. There is a shortage of people with trade skills such as plumbers and electricians.
.
It’s a sign of the growing level of delusion amongst employers in this country.
There, fixed it.
“It’s a sign of the growing value of a college education”
Not education. A degree.
You’ve identified the misconception in an otherwise excellent article.
It’s not a matter of high school diploma vs. college degree, but rather limited education that ends with basic skills in 12th grade vs. post-high school training (university or trade school).
The obvious answer, as stated in comments above, is that one must exert themselves in order to prosper.
Life 101.
Don’t confuse correlation with causation.
Right now, the government is basically paying everyone with a pulse to go to college. Most of those who don’t go to college are brain dead (yes, I know there are many fine exceptions, but my point still stands).
Therefore, by foolishly diverting those who won’t benefit from college and didn’t need it to earn a good living, it makes it look like college CAUSES the economic advantage, when it probably doesn’t.
The brand is so toxic here they go by an alias now: "Xfinity"
I’d tend to agree with your assessment.
With “Big Education” soundly entrenched as a major Democrat campaign funding source, the media is going to promote it at all costs.
I remember many years ago being in a bar in NYC and some arrogant jerk giving the bartender a hard time,belittling him because he,the customer,was an engineer and was so much more intelligent and important than a mere servant.Without missing a beat the bartender replied that he made 84,000 dollars the year before,tax free,and slept with a different woman every night.I’m not bashing a college degree,but you can pay your bills without one.
My brother tended bar. Had a hard time giving it up as when he got his MBA and took his first job using that degree the result was actually a pay cut.
Trade skills are useless here in Central NC.
American tradesmen have to compete with illegals.
I have a bud who’s a self-taught computer repair/debugger, though, who’s making 50% more than me.
/He got his math degree when I did, and taught high school for ten years.
Usually, college is better than no college, depending on the degree and how much debt one goes into to obtain that degree. I am sorry to hear about the situation with tradesman in your area. I know that in the area of unskilled or semi-skilled labor illegal immigrants often cause depressed wages. I think in large segments of country, there is a demand for skilled tradesman that illegals cannot fill. Hvac repair has a lot opportunities in the South. There are also a lot jobs to be filled in IT, cable companies, etc. Wages are not that great at times, but it sure beats working at Starbucks or the convenience store.
what’s really amazing is how little it takes to graduate from most high schools...show up most of the time...they don’t learn anything but are graduated so as not to hurt their self esteem....
“I would like to see a comparison of median salaries for the standard B.A vs high-school graduate with trade skills.”
With student loan payments subtracted out of the BA median salary.
That would be interesting data.
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