Posted on 06/15/2022 7:54:52 AM PDT by karpov
While some nerdy people like me thought that college was fun, and so stayed in it for life, for most people it is a chore to be completed with the goal of higher income. College is a big investment—of time, of expenses such as tuition, and of wages unearned due to one’s being in school.
When we invest in a retirement fund, we see lots of data about rates of return. There is no guarantee about the future, but you can see the returns on various funds and stocks from previous years. No one buys expected losers. Colleges, however, generally avoid providing information about their return on investment. Instead, there is happy talk about how “rewarding” college is, though the truth is that some degrees are almost sure losers.
Students today are thinking more about the costs of and returns on their investment in education, as well they should. Fortunately, more information is available now than in the past.
The University of Texas System now provides information about average returns earned by graduates for each degree at each school. For example, at my school, UT-Arlington, you will see that the median first-year earnings for someone gaining a BS in economics (the best degree at UTA!) are $50,000; median earnings five years out are $68,000; and median earnings after 10 years are $81,000.
A prospective student can compare that to, say, mechanical engineering, where the median earnings are $63,000, $82,000, and $103,000 on the same timeline. If the calculus in that program is scary, one could consider the math-less discipline of philosophy, where the median earnings are $33,000, $56,000, and $57,000.
(Excerpt) Read more at jamesgmartin.center ...
why not only Pay Go?
Interesting idea.
Some fields of study in college lead directly to job and career paths, using that education. Many college majors do not translate into jobs and careers in the job market after graduation. It is good for students and parents, to have eyes wide open, about this sort of information.
A student wants to major in philosophy? Well, it’s good to have this information that the job prospects are poor. Have eyes wide open what a given degree can do for you after college.
For decades this type ofinformation has been readily available on various websites.
Maybe the UT data is specific to their grads.
These people appear to be morons. A person with only a high school education can make a fortune in SALES. One can sell vacuum cleaners, burglar alarms, electronics, and computers ..real estate....etc .....commissions on computer sales can be 3-10%. A friend with no college had one sale in PC`s that was $2 million USD. He made $200,000 USD in one hour. Software sales also ditto can be a fortune maker. Evidently these study idiots have never run a business and never made a profit in their lives. 15 year High school students with startups usually make one million or more with VC`s. investments...
Good to see the salary and ROI quoted for mechanical engineering at UT-Arlington - that’s the school my Son attends and degree he’s pursuing now.
“Some fields of study in college lead directly to job and career paths, using that education. Many college majors do not translate into jobs and careers in the job market after graduation. It is good for students and parents, to have eyes wide open, about this sort of information.”
Back in the 60’s one of the most pursued degrees was the MRS.
“These people appear to be morons. A person with only a high school education can make a fortune in SALES.”
Possible but odds are not in your favor.
3 +decades ago, one of our sons was graduated from a good engineering school with a double degree. He had worked at college sponsored preceptorships for 4 summers. He had a good job offer from that company. Before he went to work, that company declared bankruptcy.
In two weeks, he had a better paying job with a better company.
A neighbor, fellow church goer and a teacher asked how he got a job so quickly when other grads couldn’t get an interview.
He told her, he had a real degree with summers of good work experience instead of travels to Europe or where ever.
Last but not least he told her that his degree was a real degree, not an IUD aka Instant Unemployment Degree.
Decades later, she still defends the IUD’s.
“He made $200,000 USD in one hour.”
ROTFLMAO!
I think present-day students don’t think about the return from their education. They major in what they are interested in. To me, if they take out a student loan, they are completely responsible to pay it back. After all, the return from their choice accrues directly to them. If they make a bad choice in financial terms, that’s on them, and it sure as hell isn’t on me. Asking taxpayers to foot the bill is just plain unfair and stupid...it’s a vote-buying scheme. I wouldn’t have a problem with Debtors Prisons for those who forfeit on payments.
1) Are we really expecting universities to start all of a sudden telling the truth about the real values of their degrees after they've lied to us for decades? No thank you.
2) Before going to college and choosing a major, first choose a career. Talk to people already in that field what kind of training is good. They'll tell you which majors at which colleges are good for that industry -- if you need college anyway. If you think about it, your mama will be proud of you getting whatever degree you get from whatever school, but she's not the one you need to impress to get a good salary. Before spending time and money in college you might as well ask the people who you want to one day pay you, ask them ahead of time what kind of training will make them want to employ you. Especially if it's a tech or engineering field where the details matter (like my computer science degree).
“I like the concept of a university posting average salaries for each of their majors. But I wouldn’t bank on it for two reasons:”
College tuition should be based on major/minor and career. The college application should include career aspirations. A degree in French Cultural Dancing and Literature should not cost the same as a Degree in Chemical Engineering. The one price fits all undergrad tuition system is deeply flawed in this respect.
The French Cultural Dancing and Literature degree ensures you will get an interview at Starbucks while the Chemical Engineering degree will ensure you get an interview with Shell Oil.
He sold Japanese computers to the US govt .found em sitting
In a govt warehouse in Canada
Another friend sold integrated circuits by the truckloads to defense contractors..made 3000$ a day. Sourced em out of South Africa who had traded em for gold..right now opportune st are making $100,000 a day sourcing electronics out of US and Euro warehouses to Ukraine military
Apparently onehas not been in business cutting edge hi-tech ...firstest gets the mostest..been there done that it’s cutthroat biz best man always wins..the opportunities are always there..supply and demand = supply side always wins big bucks
Another friend made $20,000 in one hour sourcing ic circuits from Seatttle mfg direct to satellite mfg ...when technologies lag in one sector, surplus chips become in demand on the market at 300%. Demand makes the price to up because of item scarcity....Econ 101 right now due to China embargo by Biden, any chip warehouse in USA Euro, etc are s worth 300% or more...it’s a killing...supplies dried up,prices go up buylow sell high
What year is he? I’m there as well, doing aerospace, but we share lot of the classes
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