It seems pretty obvious that (x and y axes of this graph state), people with higher rates of education have lower rates of unemployment. You don't need me (or this graph) to tell you this, you're already here at college. That's why when I found this chart yesterday I thought it was too simplistic to post. But I found myself coming back to it throughout the day, both enlightened and amused by its content.
According to U.S. College Search:
In today's dreary economic environment, it's good to see statistical proof that investing in higher education will not only help get the job I want but will also help me keep it. As unemployment in Michigan begins to hover around 15%, it's reassuring to see that by the time I graduate, my chances of loosing a job will dropped by almost 7%. As they say, knowledge is power."The Bureau of Labor Statistics has found that people who finish degree programs in college earn much more over the course of their lifetimes than those who only earn high school diplomas or drop out of college. Sometimes the difference can be over a million dollars before retirement. But even more interesting, it was noted that people with undergraduate and graduate degrees manage to stay employed for longer periods, but also find jobs they qualify for more quickly.They spend less time searching and more time working."
I agree that it is reassuring to people going through college and getting a higher education to know that when they get out of college they will be less likely to be unemployed and have a successful life. Also when you climb the ladder of higher education, there is less unemployment as there are less people reaching that level of education and those people deserve that job security due to their hard work.
ReplyDeleteThis relates back to the blog entry on procrastination. Some people may skip the college route because at the time work seems more beneficial, and certainly has a more immediate payback (you get paid, rather than having to pay tuition). However, in the long run they would have been better off had they gotten a higher education, because they would have a higher possibility of getting a good, steady job. It's like the principle involving tradeoffs--it's up to a person to decide whether to get instant gratification in the short term but have an uncertain future, or have a better possibility of steady work.
ReplyDeleteFor certain people who have been working since they were in high school, making quick money may have being of greater appealing than going to college and have no money to spend. Although at the time, working after high school may have been the solution after a couple of years of getting tired of a low paying job where education is not required the individual will noticed the importance of college and its benefits. “According to a report released Thursday involving 24 college systems, including the University of North Carolina, about 45 percent of low-income and minority freshmen in four-year schools graduate in six years, compared with 57 percent of students who aren’t poor or aren’t a minority race.”
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fastweb.com/student-news/articles/1907-study-finds-low-income-and-minority-students-attending-college-arent-graduating?page=1
This make me wonder about how the current state of the economy will affect the later earning potentials for today's young adults. Many people who might have gone to college 5 years ago are finding that their families can no longer afford it. Does putting off college for a couple of years, and potentially forever due to the economic crisis mean that we are going to have an ever shrinking average income in this country?
ReplyDeleteThis was a rather encouraging post. I know that as a college student it is easy to get discouraged and stressed out. Its really nice to see that, statistically, my hard work should pay off.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, I know, at least in Michigan, that there are a lot of people who are underemployed. I don't mean to be a pessimist, but that is pretty scary to think about. It would be a real bummer if someone went to college, paid thirty thousand a year, got a ph.D and got stuck working in a job that was way below their level of ability and intelligence. But, I suppose that it a gamble that we have to take with the economy as it is these days.
This post was based on fact and experience.
I agree with Ali that this is an encouraging post. It's nice to see that pursuing higher knowledge will payoff in the long run. The fact that people with undergrad and graduate degrees manage to stay employed surprised me at first but once I thought of it I felt like a moron for being surprised. Clearly people with a higher degree are more likely to get a more stable job than someone without such higher learning.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how much our media influences every day talk. Whenever I talk to my mom and dad (who happen to have a PhD and Masters degree respectively, they keep talking about how 'no one is safe' and how 'everyone is at risk, no matter what position one is in', it is nice to see an article that simply states it is not true. Granted my parents don't truly believe everyone has the same risk of being unemployed (otherwise I wouldn't be in college), however I'd say due to the the media's pessimistic attitude towards our economy, we may not clearly see the obvious. It is reassuring that there are articles like these that are optimistic/ truthful for once.
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ReplyDeleteSo if I get a degree I'm more likely to make more money. But I'm skeptical that the extra money I make will even be able to cover the education that helped provide that money. What's the overall benefit of getting that extra money if I'm still paying off college when I'm dead?
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I like the visual aid provided. I'm pretty much going to jump on the banwagon and join the others in saying that this is some good news to hear. I mean obviously we are all here to avoid being the low statistics on that chart you provided, but its really nice to have a solid peace of mind about it.
ReplyDeleteMy mother went to school and enrolled in programs for years to be qualified and keep her job at JP Morgan Chase Bank. But two years ago, her title was eliminated, completely cut out of the company. She spent 25 years devoted to the bank and is still now searching for a job. Contrary to the study and the post, it seems now that because of my mother's focus in school for the job, she cannot find one now.
ReplyDeleteAlso in contrast to the study, my father is a very skilled man and has many odd jobs over the years in combination with the 30 years he spent as a police officer. He is also having trouble finding a job.
From my family's history and struggle with unemployment, I fear that I will graduate with a degree so specific that I will not be able to invest in a career.
I wonder what this chart would look like with more current stastics on it. It consits of 2008 stats as it stands and im not sure how remarkebly relevant it still is. Undoubtably the trend is still the same but in the current situation I wonder what the new marginal benfit is of so much education. Mostly because i plan as much, after earning my undergrad degree im sure that wont be the end of the line...
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting chart and numbers. I think that some other good knowledge to know is the employment availability for certain work fields. For instance, a career in finding alternative fuel sources will probably be in even greater need over the next few years. It is important to look at overall job availability in a field you are trying to pursue. If there is little employment in a particular career field once you graduate, unemployment might be very probable for a while. This is the one thing that worries me as well.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it seems obvious that there would be a correlation between recieving a higher level of education and being able to find employment, I would have to agree with some of the other comments that have been posted in saying that it is always reassuring to see that a choice you have made, such as going to college, has proven rewards.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to see a statistic like this one that is from last year. Then you might be able to see if this trend still applies during increasingly difficult economic times.
I think part of my problem with the chart is how far sweeping it is. It works in generalized percentages without looking at specific areas of study for college and graduate programs, and also seems to leave out things like career training programs. With a closer inspection, you would probably find that my mom is more likely to lose her livelihood than her auto mechanic is. I've seen similar charts before in terms of income, where the further one's education goes the further one makes; but an adjunct professor and a high end consultant both earned their Phd's yet one of them is paid about the same as a high school teacher.
ReplyDeleteI believe that most of us already had previous knowledge that pursuing a higher education heightens the chances of a job, and more successful lifestyle. My question is, with so many people going to college now, what will a bachelor's or associate's degree mean in 5 to 10 years? The 2009 high school graduating class had the highest college enrollment ever recorded. With this said, I believe people with bachelor's degree's or associate's degree's will begin to see an increase in unemployment rate because more people are going to college today. With more people going to college, I think in 5 to 10 years, a bachelor degree will have the same weight as a high school diploma has today. My uncle is a primary case of this. He has a bachelor's degree in communications, but struggles with unemployment because the companies he has worked for are hiring kids right out of college that have higher degrees in his field. I think if we take a look at this graph in a couple of years, I believe we will already see an increase in unemployment rate for people with bachelor's degrees or less.
ReplyDeleteAll of us made the decision to go to college rather than go straight to work, so I'm assuming all of us weighed the benefits and drawbacks of doing so. By deciding to go to college we decided the benefits of going to college outweighed the costs (financial or otherwise. This is a prime example of when Mankiw explains that rational people "think at the edges" and compare marginal benefits and costs to make decisions.
ReplyDeletethis article made me thinking about one of the 10 principles, the cost of something is what you give up to get it.
ReplyDeleteLike people decide to go to college, the opportunity cost. Comparing to the tuition fee and all the expense for living, the wage after graduate will be more than the expense.
we made these kind of decisions everyday.
Like this chart in the article!
Being versatile is always important; I want my education to be. When I graduate, the degree I have should be bendable and applicable to the potential jobs I will have.
ReplyDeleteThere's always room for one more really good one. If I can excel at what I do I will feel secure and even like I'm some "hot commodity" in whatever professional work I go into. This education is meant to help me along in my striving for excellence. However, like Ethan, I am tentative about the cost of my education being so tall.
I feel that achieving higher education will be beneficial to life after graduating. It is almost assured that you will be employed upon achieving that degree. It is also apparent that people recently have been deciding against pursuing a higher education, and thus provided more job possibilities for those who decide on getting a degree.
ReplyDeleteSo my parents werent just messing with me? I think this is so obvious yet still so overlooked. The past decade when people have been complaining about finding jobs i know my parents who both have degrees have both changed jobs quite easily and found work readily. It's a no brainer degrees get you jobs
ReplyDeleteI've never thought about this point, it makes sense to me. Receiving higher education provides people more advantages in pursuing a well-paid and stable job. But we can't deny there're still some people who attained success without attending college. As there're more and more people with higher education, we need to care more about our personal qualities instead of degrees only.
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