'Even With Debt, College Still Pays Off' By Gillian B. White

Supporters of getting a college degree often point to the statistics that college graduates earn more than their high school educated peers over a lifetime. Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau reports that since 1977, “Adults with bachelor's degrees in the late 1970s earned 55 percent more than adults who had not advanced beyond high school. That gap grew to 75 percent by 1990 -- and is now at 85 percent.” A gap of an 85% pay difference is a huge figure and a clear reason why college is a great option for some people. But there are problems with that figure because when the number of college graduates who are either unemployed or underemployed is taken into account it changes the value of the statistic. In an article by Businessweek’s Richard Vedder we get statistics to counter that argument. He tells of how the number of new college graduates far exceeds job growth in technical, managerial, and professional jobs where graduates traditionally have searched for employment. As a consequence, we have underemployed college graduates doing jobs historically performed by those with just a highschool education. He says we have “more than 100,000 janitors with

This week for PLN I read "Is College Worth It? Clearly, New Data Say" by David Leonhardt is about how college is worth it even with its cost. In the article, it describes how important a degree is. It said in the article that 98% of people with a degree made more money than people without a degree. There is nothing inevitable about this trend. If there were more college graduates the pay gap would shrink. The true cost of a degree is negative $500,000. The unemployment rate for 25 and 34 years old is 3%. That is from having a degree. The average hourly wage for a college graduates has risen 1% to 32.60.

A college degree is a valuable asset that could ultimately lead to a productive life in society due to the received education, but people without a college degree do turn out more than adequate in regards to societal success. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the forecasted 30 fastest growing jobs between 2010 and 2020, five do not require a high school diploma, nine require a high school diploma, four require an associate 's degree, six require a bachelor 's degree, and six require graduate degrees to get the jobs (College). In an article called “College Education” by ProCon.org,

They proclaim higher education is one of the best investments made, but explain not all college degrees are equal. For example, someone that works in the field of science, technology, engineering, and math that have a high school diploma will make more over a lifetime then someone with a bachelor’s degree in education. Another problem they have with college degrees is being able to find a job. People with degrees in education and health have very low employment rates, and people with degrees in architecture have high unemployment rates because of the decline in construction due to the recession. On average a college graduate with a theatre degree makes about $6,000 more than the expected earnings of a high school graduate. Someone with a mechanical engineering degree earns $35,000 more than that of a typical high school

College graduates, on average, make a whopping one million dollars more in lifetime earnings than those with a high school diploma. Those with a college degree now make $17,500 more per year than those without — a wage gap that's doubled in recent decades. Those without a degree are four times more likely to be unemployed.One of the biggest and most important reasons for anyone to attend college is the upper hand it gives with regards to jobs and career. A college graduate has a higher chance of landing a job when compared to an individual with a high school qualification. Further, a college graduate also has better options and opportunities to progress in their

Even with the fact stated earlier that about how many college graduates work in fields that don’t require a degree, more and more jobs are requiring a college degree even to the associates degree level. Though they can argue how the number of jobs requiring a college degree fell by 1.75 million, the number of jobs that require a high school diploma fell 5.56 million. Thus proving that having a college degree could provide more job security compared to their counterparts who don’t. Along with that is how many

As it is heavily believed and statistically proved by Document A, Earnings and Unemployment Rates Based on Educational Attainments (2015), the higher the degree earned, the more money attained, similarly the higher the degree earned, the lower the unemployment rate. This proves the worth of college by giving numerical comparisons of those who invested in it verses those who didn’t. The median weekly earnings of $1,730 from someone with a professional degree put up against the $678 from someone who only graduated from high school shows a very obvious difference. This information greatly supports the decision of going to college by displaying the “in the long run” advantage of college through the amount of money you can make in the future with the degree you earn

I owe $40,000, I owe $60,000, I owe $100,000. Isn’t that a lot of money for one person to owe? Graduates have been faced with a serious problem brought about by the constant borrowing of money to gain a reputable education. The debt of loans varies from person to person but the extreme amounts that individuals owe is something the media finds worth gossiping about. Little does the public know, in reality, all the commotion and conversation about these debts are not accountable for the majority of college borrowers. According to A Lifetime of Student Debt? Not Likely by Robin Wilson, she intrigues her targeted college audience by giving examples and providing

Many college students choose to also get more than one degree while attending college to earn more income and further their education. College graduates have the choice of get higher level degrees and training resulting in earn even more income based on the different higher level degrees earned and training received (this means the more degrees and training you have the more income you may receive). People with higher level degrees and training earn more money that those without degrees. In 1996, for example, workers with bachelor's degrees had median annual earnings of about $36,000, while college graduates with more advanced degrees earned around $40,000 (Mittelhauser 3). This is a four-thousand dollar difference in income; this is only one of several examples of how people who graduate college make more money than the average high school graduate and that of people with lower-level degrees. The median annual wage for a bachelor’s degree in 2010 was $63,430. While the median annual wage for a person with a doctoral or professional degree in 2010 was $87,500 ("Employment by Education and Training Assignment, 2010 and Projected 2020"). This is almost a twenty-four thousand difference income just based off of median annual wage of different degrees. The income difference from college graduates than to those of high school graduates is great. College graduates are getting better wages and job openings than those of high school graduates (“President’s Perspective:

Robin Wilson argues the the assumption that withdrawing student loans will potentially lead you to repay them for the rest of your life. In her piece “A Lifetime of Student Debt? Not Likely” Wilson mentions many stories from fellow colleagues regarding student loans. “Ms. Mccosker is among the silent majority of borrowers who are repaying their student loans without much complaint” (Wilson 259). Wilson gives plenty examples from students that are content paying their loan after they obtained the degree. If a student goes to college, proceeds and withdrawals student loans, finishes school and gets an amazing job with the degree she obtained with a loan: wouldn't they be right even though she owes payment on a loan? The topic then shifts to

The appeal to the character of the writer is known as ethos. Writers need to be informed, intelligent, honest, and respectful. Ethos is present in this essay through the writing technique of Kayla Webley. I would assume she is a credible source because she is published in Time magazine. Also she did her undergraduate work at University of Washington studying political science and journalism. Her graduate work was done at Northern University in new media. Webley is informed because she gives solid evidence that support her validations and main argument. I would consider her to be intelligent because she has detailed reasoning and uses successful tactics to persuade her readers. Honesty can be seen through Webley’s realistic point of view. She does not try to beat around the bush she gets straight to the problem in Applebaum’s proposal. Finally, she challenges peoples in a respectful way,

Although college tuition is a lot nowadays, graduates are “far less likely to be unemployed than non-graduates.” (D) A college degree gives you a higher chance of getting a job to assist in securing the future of you and your family while also helping paying off your financial obligations. A college degree not only helps you obtain a job, but it also increase your income. “Construction workers,police officers… make significantly more with a degree…“(D)

In Stephanie Owen’s and Isabel Sawhill’s article “Should Everyone Go to College” the return on the investment in college is briefly broken down. The article “Should Everyone Go to College” opens up with a widely known claim that a college degree is necessary to enter the middle class. Owen and Sawhill test this claim by comparing the return on an education of general types of degrees and colleges. The article states that on average high school graduates make around $15,000 less a year than graduates with a bachelor’s degree. To further the prove the return on your investment in education the articles states that by the age 50 a person with a bachelor’s degree makes around $46,500 more a year than a high school graduate. This accumulates to

Barbara Ehrenreich in her essay “College Students, Welcome to a Lifetime of Debt!” characterizes the transition of teenager to adult as they acquire mature responsibilities. Ehrenreich’s purpose is to convey the idea that although colleges and universities are supposed to empower young minds and expand their horizons, students are often left with an outrageous amount of debt and student loans at the end of their degree. The author adopts a humorous tone to appeal to the realities that young adults of this generation are facing. Ehrenreich’s essay adopts a satirical tone which speaks to how colleges are meant to encourage students to learn and mature but burden them with a plethora of unnecessary fees and skyrocketing tuition.

Our question is, “Does the level of education you receive affect the amount of income you will earn?” Currently, it is said that you need at least a college degree to earn a decent income. This question is often important because in todays society, the amount of money one makes is important to the quality in which one wishes to live. By looking at data we have found through our research it seems as if the higher your level of schooling, reaching anywhere from a high school diploma to a phD, generally leads to a higher average income. In an online article posted on dailyedventures, a close look is taken at five different segments which include, high school diploma or GED, high school diploma, training in vocational schools or associates degree, bachelors degree, and lastly a graduate degree, and specific occupations within those segments. The lowest reported salary came from the first segment, high school diploma or GED. At an average income of only $17,700 a year were waiters/waitresses. The average income increased with the amount of school and the occupation in which you chose, yet this article proved just what we were looking to prove. At an average income of $166,400+ surgeons chimed in, proving that the longer you go to school, the more money you are likely to make. Another article looked at similar information, this time it was against the unemployment rates in the United States. In March 2014 the Bureau of Labor Statistics looked at the earnings and unemployment rate