A college degree has been measured in many ways – in intellectual enrichment, in years in school, in number of papers, in tuition and student loans. However, a new report has now measured it in the way that everyone is wondering, in how much more money it can earn you over a lifetime. Despite declarations that a college degree no longer has any value, and the costs of schooling far outweigh the benefits, the report by the American Community Survey has discovered a college degree is probably worth more than you think.
How They Made the Report, and Why It is “Synthetic”
The new report was entitled, “Education and Synthetic Work-Life Earnings Estimates,” and attempted to estimate the dollar amount of a college degree. It asked a sample population with a wide set of demographics and ages to indicate their yearly earnings. They then compiled the information together and made a graph that projected how much money any specific demographic made at any specific age (the reason it is “synthetic” is because they didn’t measure the same group of people over 40 years). The report is therefore not definitive but gives eye-opening insights into the value of a college degree.
So How Much is a College Degree Worth?
The report stated, “The results of this analysis demonstrate that there is a clear and well-defined relationship between education and earnings, and that this relationship perseveres, even after considering a collection of other personal and geographic characteristics. When synthetically expanded across 40 years of a working life, the implications of varying educational levels can be quite large – literally millions of dollars in variation.”
The statistics show that those who graduated from college earned 23,000 dollars more than those without a college degree. That means in a little less than 44 years of working the college graduate’s earnings can add up to a comfortable retirement fund – about one million dollars. Graduate degrees, over a lifetime, make even more money. Graduate degree holders typically earn an additional 500,000 dollars.
There are gaps and differences between demographics. Women on all levels make less than men, and white men make more money than any other demographic. However, across the board, educational levels coincided with salary – the higher the education, the higher the salary. Professional degree holders earn the most and those without a high school degrees were the lowest earners.