[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by fravel

With all due respect, the data you provided was compiled in 2004 and would have had to have been the results of the previous 40 years (read: when college was cheap). For the modern college student without scholarships or outside funding, $80k-$100k in student loans just for a bachelors is quickly becoming the norm. Factoring in interest over 20-30 years and whatever supposed advantage one has over a high school grad goes out the window. Who cares if you make an extra half a mil over your lifetime, that half a mil just let you pay off your debt. All you accomplished was delaying your entrance into the workforce.

What you "earn" on paper doesn't matter...what you get to keep is what determines your quality of life.



Our country is desperate for skilled tradesmen, unfortunately our youth have been sold snake oil that a degree is their ticket to a better life.

Even the more recent data says the same.

http://www.hamiltonproject.org/paper...eir_lifetimes/

I'm discussing earning by educational attainment, not savings and efficiency. Overall, those that have a college education earn more. There are, naturally, outliers but the trend is unmistakable.

I completely agree that more trades are needed. Desperately.