Overall, higher education still translates into better wages — those with a bachelor's degree, on average, earn more than 30 per cent
more than high school graduates.
Over their lifetimes, graduates with majors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) can expect to earn far more
than high school graduates with no college attendance, with an earnings premium of $ 1.5 million over and above the $ 1.73 million that high school graduates with no college attendance can expect to earn.
The economic cost associated with dropping out of high school is enormous: the average high school dropout in Massachusetts earns $ 10,000 less
annually than a high school graduate and $ 34,000 less annually than a college graduate.
This study found that someone who begins college, takes on student loan debt, and never completes their degree is 32 percent less likely to purchase a
home than a high school graduate with no debt.
According to a study from the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, in 2015, individuals with a bachelor's degree earned nearly $ 25,000 more per
year than high school graduates without one.1 Moreover, adults with a bachelor's degree found it a lot easier to find employment.
Without correction, the simulation showed that STEM majors could expect an even larger lifetime earnings premium: $ 2.2 million more
than high school graduates with no college attendance, instead of $ 1.5 million.
We already know that those with an associates degree make more
money than high school graduates, than those with bachelor degrees make more money than those with associates degrees, and that those with master's degrees earn more than everyone else... (or they should, but sadly is not always the case in this economy)
Arts and humanities majors can expect to earn about $ 700,000 more, on average,
than high school graduates with no college attendance.
Social science or liberal arts majors with a bachelor's degree in social science or liberal arts majors still earn $ 400,000 more
than high school graduates, but gaining an advanced degree in social science does not raise lifetime earnings substantially compared to a bachelor's degree in the same major, the study found.
This is a job that requires training on the job and does not need an individual to be more
than a high school graduate.