In the aftermath of the Great Recession, the value of college degrees has come under fire. Costs are skyrocketing at a time when labor markets are unable to absorb every college graduate! In 1973 college degree holders were relatively rare, with only 12 % of Americans holding a college degree. Now? Some 33 % of Americans hold a degree.
Getting a good education can be essential to achieving a high paying career. The U.S government certainly still believes in the value of a degree with
numbers from the U.S. Burea of Labor Statistics suggesting that overall, the United States will need 18 million new college degree holders to cover job growth and replace retirees.
This infographic also contains some great survey data. Using a five point scale (5 being the highest), Americans tend to believe that traditional four year universities offer the best quality education. Nearly 80 % of respondents gave four year colleges a rank of 4 or 5. 54% of respondents also gave 2 year community colleges a rank of 4 or 5.
Online universities didn’t fair so well. Only 11 % of respondents gave them the coveted 5 point mark, while only 22% gave them a 4 point mark. 39% of respondents gave them a three point mark.
If your worried about your earnings after graduation, you should consider a skills oriented degree. For example, geological sciences, agricultural economics, and pharmacology all enjoy high earnings after graduation. Didn’t see my career, marketing, on the list, but I’m making out alright!
United States history and studio arts, on the other hand, suffer from high unemployment rates!
There’s a whole heck of a lot more information in this data stuffed infographic by MastersPublicHealth.net, so make sure you set aside some time to go through all of the charts and points!
