Is college education still worth it? This is the question more and more American households are asking, especially with how high tuition costs are soaring.
The opinion given by some of the experts in the field strengthens the American household argument, with these professionals admitting that a degree doesn’t hold the value it once did.
It has also been established that the starting salary for fresh graduates has registered an increase of below 1% for the past couple of years, stagnating at approximately $50,000.
It Gets Worse
It can’t get any worse than this, can it? Unfortunately, it can, and already has. Studies show that 10 years after graduation, over 1 in every 5 graduates work in jobs that didn’t require any bachelor’s degree in the first place.
However, don’t dismiss the idea of a good education. A report by Georgetown dubbed The College Payoff shows that obtaining that certificate almost always delivers the goods, so it’s better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Makes sense, right?
Naturally, those with a bachelor’s degree earn more than those with just a diploma from high school, with the Georgetown report placing their difference in earning at 84%.
Everybody knows that all things considered, the higher your level of education, the more you earn, and the report confirms as much.
The same applies among degree holders, with those that major in STEM disciplines earning more than their counterparts.
Next come those with majors in business and health, with these guys earning a higher entry-level salary than other graduates, and earn significantly more over the course of their careers compared to those who majored in liberal arts and humanities.
Looking at entire careers, majors in top-paying disciplines on average earn $3.4 million more than their counterparts who majored in low-paying disciplines.
However, we can’t only look at income as the only determinant as to how well a college major pays off, right? There are lots of other factors at play where your job is concerned, including career opportunities, stress levels involved, and job satisfaction.
According to ZipRecruiter, Americans that regret their major in college studied mostly sciences and arts. Hard to believe, right? But the job site has proven to be a reliable source of information in the past, so why should this time be different?
The Major-regret List
Law, biological sciences, communications, and English all featured on the major-regret list, and this was after ZipRecruiter surveyed over 5,000 graduates who were actively in search of a job.
Education majors were also regretting their decision to pursue the course, saying that it was difficult to find employment before furthering their studies.
Other reasons for regret brought forward included the available opportunities being either too general or limited, with others also citing low pay as being a contributing factor to them wishing they majored in something different.
ZipRecruiter CEO, trying to explain their survey’s findings, argued that the current generation is more interested in jobs that offer them a sense of purpose. If they feel that an opportunity is too general, they’d rather forego it.
Ian Siegel, the CEO, also says that these guys are interested in what their peers are up to, and in a bid to try and keep up with them, they become more selective in the specific type of jobs they want.