Obama administration: College degrees are worth the investment
Despite the hard work and sacrifice involved, college degrees are worth the investment, according to a new report released by the Obama administration. The joint effort by the Departments of Treasury and Education looked at the personal and national perks that come with students earning a college degree. The report’s findings, according to the Treasury Department’s press release, "confirm that higher education is critical for socioeconomic advancement and an important driver of economic mobility."
One piece of notable data drawn from the report is the major impact earning a college degree has on one’s income. Median weekly income earnings for those who had earned a bachelor’s degree by 2011 was a whopping 64 percent higher than their counterparts holding high school diplomas. The disparity in median weekly earnings between the group can be seen in the $1,053 earned by college grads, compared to $638 seen by those with high school diplomas.
The earnings gap between college grads and those with high school diplomas has apparently grown steadily throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In fact, the gap between what is earned by high school diploma and college degree holders is the highest it's been since 1915, when data on the college wage gap started being collected by the government.
A college degree can also determine how well off one’s children and grandchildren will become, according to the data, which noted an effect on intergenerational mobility. If children born to parents in the lowest income bracket do not earn a college degree, they have a 45 percent chance of staying in that income bracket. However, if they earn a college degree, according to the report, they will be less than 20 percent likely to stay in that income bracket as adults.
