The Value of Higher Education

As the average yearly cost—books and living expenses included—of attending a public four year college nears $13,000 a year, some people question whether or not a college degree is worth it. Add to that, the rising percentage of college students that leave school deeply in debt, and an education begins to seem like a risky venture.

Typically, individuals attend college in order to have access to greater employment opportunities. However, due to the fast-past changes that are appearing in many job markets, and the acute-specialization that some careers demand, the idea of attending a college or a university in order to prepare for a specific career may be out-dated. Along these lines, Christopher Caldwell writes for the New York Times:

“If you’re not planning on becoming, say, a doctor, the benefits of diligent study can be overstated. In recent decades, the biggest rewards have gone to those whose intelligence is deployable in new directions on short notice, not to those who are locked into a single marketable skill, however thoroughly learned and accredited. Most of the employees who built up, say, Google in its early stages could never have been trained to do so, because neither the company nor the idea of it existed when they were getting their educations.”

That being said, it is still very clear that individuals with a college education earn more money over the course of a lifetime than individuals without. In addition, the BLS reports an increasing demand for a number of jobs that demand acute specialization from applicants.

The BLS reports that careers in healthcare, education, and finance will be among the fastest growing careers over the next 7 years. These careers all demand that applicants be specialized in a target area.

BLS Projected job openings (in thousands) between 2004-2014

Summary

Although some speculate that the value of a degree will decrease as a greater and greater percentage of the American population obtains a college-level education--for now the numbers still say a college education is worth the investment.

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-Sources

The Bureau of Labor Statistics

Caldwell, Christopher; What a College Education Buys; The New York Times; February 25th 2007