“Hard Times, College Majors, Unemployment and Earnings: Not All College Degrees Are Created Equal,” a research report recently released from the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce indicates that “Although differences remain high among majors, graduate education raises earnings across the board. The average earnings for BA’s now stands at $48,000 compared with $62,000 for graduate degrees. With the exception the Arts and Education, earnings for graduate workers range between $60,000 and $100,000.”
Report offers graduate degree advice
The Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce research report shows that not only is a college degree still valuable, but also a graduate degree holds statisically visible, economic worth. But, the analysis of the data offers further advice: “Today’s best advice, then, is that high school students who can go on to college should do so— with one caveat. They should do their homework before picking a major because, when it comes to employment prospects and compensation, not all college degrees are created equal.” The data-based report reveals that in today’s current, difficult employment environment, the major behind a college degree is a statistically significant factor in influencing the simple prospect of landing a job in one’s chosen field.
Research report based on data analysis
The “Hard Times, College Majors, Unemployment and Earnings: Not All College Degrees Are Created Equal” data-based report’s authors are Anthony P. Carnevale, Ban Cheah, and Jeff Strohl from The Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, an independent, nonprofit research and policy institute that studies the link between individual goals, education and training curricula, and career pathways. The report, its data charts, and its analysis were prepared with support from the Lumina Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The study confirms earlier Georgetown Center work that showed job seekers with a college degree (unemployment rate of 8.9%) definitely do better than those with only a high school diploma or high school dropouts (the latter with respective, catastrophic unemployment rates of 22.9% and 31.5%).
A high risk major in hard times
As the risk of unemployment among recent college graduates is influenced by their major, it’s important to parse the data by major. For example, the unemployment rate is highest among recent graduates for Architecture majors. The housing and construction crisis contribute to that 13.9% unemployment rate.
Improve your chances for employment
Technical degrees increase employment prospects. In general, unemployment rates are higher in non-technical degrees. In the Arts, the unemployment rate is a high 11.1 percent for recent college graduates. In the Humanities and Liberal Arts, the unemployment rate still registers at 9.4% with more skills-specific areas a bit better. Social Science majors have an 8.9% unemployment rate and Law and Public Policy majors have an 8.1% unemployment rate.
To learn more about how undergraduate major choices in college influence employment prospects, check out the Examiner.com article, “How college majors increase – or decrease – your chances of employment,” that examines the “Hard Times, College Majors, Unemployment and Earnings: Not All College Degrees Are Created Equal” report in terms of undergraduate majors.
Statistically visible influence of graduate degrees
Still, graduate degrees hold current and future value. The “Hard Times, College Majors, Unemployment and Earnings: Not All College Degrees Are Created Equal” report notes that “Graduate degrees make a quantum difference in employment prospects across all majors. “ In examining strategies, the report indicates, “Sometimes, when unemployment is high, the best strategy to increase future employability is to go to graduate school.” That reasoning is based upon numbers: “The unemployment rate for people with graduate degrees is 3 percent compared with a 5 percent unemployment rate for those with a BA (recent college graduates and experienced workers holding a Bachelor’s degree).”
Analyze graduate degree impacts with depth
However, consideration of graduate school needs further data analysis. Just as with undergraduate degrees, not all graduate degrees are created equal. Arts and Architecture majors, holding undergraduate or graduate level degrees, still face a difficult job terrain. The report indicates, “With the exception of majors in the arts and Architecture, unemployment rates for people with graduate degrees range between 1.9 percent and 4.0 percent.”
A graduate degree facilitates employment prospects. The data shows that “Graduate degrees tend to outperform BA’s on employment in part because advanced degrees represent higher levels of human capital development and because those degrees are more closely aligned with career pathways in particular occupations and industries.”
Differentiation points exposed by data analysis
The report’s warning that not all graduate degrees outperform BA’s is based on data analysis that shows “experienced workers with BA’s in healthcare have lower unemployment rates than people with graduate degrees in every other field, except the Life and Physical Sciences.” Career path-defined degrees still hold job access value as “a BA in Education can make a job seeker more employable than majors in Architecture, Humanities, Journalism, Computers, Social Science, Arts, and Business, who go on to graduate school.”
Check out the data for yourself
Think through your issues, values, and priorities concerning a graduate school option. With those concepts and needs in mind, examine the data of “Hard Times, College Majors, Unemployment and Earnings: Not All College Degrees Are Created Equal”to draw conclusions relevant to your personal situation, values, and perspectives.
Use the report’s clear data-based charts
Use the research report as a practical reflections resource. Its tables clearly present factors such as unemployment rate of recent grads, unemployment rate of experienced degree holders, graduate degree holders, and median salary in reference to specific majors. Career choices and college majors matter, especially in difficult economic times. Weighing the factors of personal passions, academic inclinations, employment prospects, family responsibilities, and college costs is a complex process, and its decisions can be well-facilitated by real world data.
How to get a copy of the report for free
The report, “Hard Times, College Majors, Unemployment and Earnings: Not All College Degrees Are Created Equal”and its data analysis are available online, without registration or fee, in PDF format at the website of the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce.
Graduate school is a pivotal decision
The overall unemployment rate for people with graduate degrees is a fortunate 3 percent, but remember, a significant investment of time, money, and effort is made to attain a graduate degree. Make your decision and actions count with a carefully weighed choice.
The rewards can be lasting. With the notable exception of Arts and Education areas, graduate degree holders command annual wages that average between $60,000 and $100,000 compared with BA degree holders earning annual wages between $48,000 and $62,000. That difference in annual wages, especially when measured in a lifetime of work, is significant for any family.
Find the take in this article to be helpful? The writer is a former US National Technology and Learning Teacher of the Year, a former US Web-based Education Commissioner during the Clinton administration, and former Vice President of Global Knowledge Exchange, now writing on National Education issues. To keep current on similar articles, view the suggested links below and click the free, “subscribe to get instant updates” link at the top of this article to get a conveniently customized news delivery.
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