Employment Benefits of Higher Education
- Today employers want workers with abilities such as communication
skills (verbal and written), analytical and research skills, computer and
technical literacy, interpersonal skills, and problem-solving abilities
that can only be obtained through continual higher education. Because of
this, today’s workers need more education and specialized training to
increase his or her chances of management and earning potential. Source
- According to the U.S. Census Bureau the average income for a full-time
year round worker with a bachelor’s degree is nearly $20,000 more than the
average income for a full-time year rounder worker with just a high-school
diploma. Source
- Median incomes in 2003 ranged from $30,800 for high school graduates to
$49,900 for people with bachelor’s degree to $59,900 for those workers
holding a masters degree.
- Over an adult’s working life, high school graduates earn an average of
$1.2 million; associate’s degree holders earn about $1.6 million; and
bachelor’s degree holders earn about $2.1 million, nearly doubling that of
someone with a high school education. Source
- Average Earnings by Educational Status According to the U.S. Department
of Commerce:
High School Dropout
High School Graduate
Associate’s Degree
Bachelor’s Degree
Master’s Degree
Doctoral Degree
Professional Degree$19,000
$26,200
$33,400
$42,200
$52,300
$70,700
$81,500 - Unemployment and weekly earnings for workers 25 and older by educational
attainment in 2003.
Unemployment rate Education attained Weekly earnings 8.8% High School Dropout $396 5.5% High School Graduate $554 5.2% Some College $622 4.0% Associates Degree $672 3.3% Bachelor’s Degree $900 2.9% Master’s Degree $1,064 1.7% Professional Degree (lawyer, judge) $1,307 2.1% Doctoral Degree $1,349
Source
Job Stability and Higher Education
- Unemployment rates for bachelor’s degree holders in 2001 were 2.2%.
That same year the unemployment rate for high school graduates was 4.5%. Source
- College graduates have less than one-third the overall poverty rate of high school graduates. Source
Individual Benefits of Higher Education
- A 1998 report published by the Institute for Higher Education found that
college graduates enjoy higher levels of savings, increased professional
mobility, improved quality of life, better consumer decision making, and
more leisure activities.
- According to a report published by the Carnegie Foundation, the
non-monetary benefits of higher education include the tendency for
postsecondary students to become more open-minded, more cultured, more
rational, more consistent, and less authoritarian. Source
