There’s more evidence of the point I’ve been making for some time, i.e. that the benefits of higher education for most people are greatly exaggerated. From the Foundation for Economic Education:
There has been mounting evidence that the financial payoff from the traditional bachelor’s degree is declining, particularly for men. For example, the Census Bureau data suggest that from 2005 to 2016, the average earnings differential for male workers holding bachelor’s degrees compared with those holding high school diplomas fell from $39,440 to $37,653 (in 2016 dollars)—at a time when college costs were rising.
Other evidence from the New York Federal Reserve Bank confirms that a large portion of college graduates are underemployed, working jobs traditionally held by high school graduates.
When you take other factors into account, like opportunity costs and indebtedness, the presumed benefit of higher education narrows even farther.
I have always believed that the benefit of higher education depended too much on a fairly narrow group of very highly compensated professionals and that when those were excluded from the calculations and the other factors mentioned above taken into account there was little if any benefit to higher education for most people. The recent findings may reflect slowing earnings for professionals.
Not everyone is destined to be a physician or a lawyer working for a large law firm. We need a better balance between higher education and what used to be called “vocational training”. When baccalaureates are flipping burgers while companies are begging for people who can weld suggests there’s something seriously wrong.
Who are the advocates and facilitators of college for all?