Workers with less education can often make more than workers with more education; higher levels of education do not always result in higher student loan payments
Many college degrees look and sound alike, but the rewards from them are very different. In “Buyer Beware: First-Year Earnings and Debt for 37,000 College Majors at 4,400 Institutions,” the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) uses data from the College Scorecard to demonstrate the vastly different outcomes in expected earnings and debt payments for graduates.
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The analysis shows stark differences in earnings by graduates of different colleges with the same degree in the same field of study. For example, earnings for students with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Mitchell College are $20,900 compared to $100,500 at Bismarck State College. Earnings for students who attain a master’s degree in educational administration and supervision from Mercy College in New York are more than triple the earnings associated with the same degree from Valdosta State University in Georgia.
In general, graduates from more famous, selective colleges have higher earnings, but that is not always the case. For example, graduates of Santa Rosa Junior College in California with an associate’s degree in nursing have higher first-year earnings ($89,700) than 12 different graduate degrees from Harvard.
The data show that workers with less education can often earn the same or more than workers with more education. While 22% of workers earning from $30,000 to $60,000 have a bachelor’s degree, 27% have only a high school diploma.
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The report also finds that 27% of workers with an associate’s degree earn more than the median for workers with a bachelor’s degree; 35% of workers with a bachelor’s degree earn more than the median for workers with a master’s degree; 31% of workers with a master’s degree earn more than the median for workers with a doctoral degree; and 22% of workers with a master’s degree earn more than the median for workers with a professional degree. For example, 44% of bachelor’s degree programs lead to first-year earnings between $4,000 and $8,000 per month ($48,000-$96,000 per year), but so do 10% of associate’s degree programs(Georgetown University).
“Some of the best bargains for students are community colleges and other colleges without the big brand names,” said Anthony P. Carnevale, lead author of the report and CEW director. “Some two-year degrees can pay off more than four-year degrees. This kind of consumer information is just becoming available, and we hope it will help consumers make better decisions.”
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