We’ve all heard the classic claims: Work hard, study hard, go to college, and you’ll be just fine.  It sounds nice, easy to follow, linear and rewarding, right? Possibly. But with around 20 million currently enrolled in college, more people are arming themselves with a bachelors degree than in the previous generations.  While this increase in education is a positive statistic, it does pose a few problems for post-grad job prospects. There seems to be a growing perspective that a college degree is now a dime a dozen and no longer of the same value to employers at it might have been in the past. Coupled with the staggering cost of tuition putting students tens of thousands of dollars in debt each year, students are beginning to question the fiscal soundness of their education.

As real as these fears might feel for the millions that are currently investing in a degree, it’s important to investigate the extent to which these perceptions are actually true.  The verdict: they aren’t.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment gap between those with a college degree and those without is at an all time high.  Those with a Doctoral Degree only have 1.5% unemployment rate, those with a Bachelors Degree have 2.2% unemployment, those with only a high school degree…almost 5% unemployment rate.  That’s right. Even with more people earning a degree, those with a degree are more likely to be employed than ever before.  The standard has changed, due to the high number of degree holding applicants, jobs that used to be held by those with no higher education are now filled by those with a basic bachelors degree.  In other words, a bachelor’s degree is now required by many employers for basic entry level positions, decreasing the number of positions and earned wages for individuals with only a high-school diploma.

These statistics, of course, do not ease the financial concerns for the millions of graduates who are drowning in debt just to land an entry level position earning close to minimum wage.  That being said though, the numbers don’t lie, the outlook for those with a college degree is much better than for those without.  Still, there’s a lot to consider before making the major investment: Do you qualify for any scholarships? What do you plan on majoring in? Are there any less-expensive state schools you’re interested in? Do you plan on continuing your education with a master’s or doctoral program? College is important, and it’s definitely still worth the investment, but it’s still an investment, and a costly one at that, so stay informed and do what’s best for you in the end.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. (March 2018). Unemployment Rates and Earnings by Education Attainment, 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.bls.gov/emp/chart-unemployment-earnings-education.htm

National Center for Education Statistics. (2018). Back to School Statistics – Fast Facts. Retrieved from:https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372

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