The Bureau of Labor Statistics within the United States Department of Labor has conducted a study on persons 25 an over with respect to full- time wage and salary workers. It should be noted that this analysis was conducted in 2014 and does not take into account the completion of training programs in the form of apprenticeships and other on-the-job training. The results of this study show that the weekly earnings and the unemployment rate relatively increase and decrease as the educational degree enhances.
Moreover U.S. News and World Report have stated that those holding a bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and professional degrees relatively earn $2.27, $2.67, $3.25, and $3.65 million during their life time. People with bachelor degrees regardless of their fields earn considerably more than people with college or higher diploma degrees which relatively earn $1.55 and $1.30 million in their lifetime. This means that regardless of the level of attainment and the files of study, earning a four-year degree will potentially lead to a financial success later in life (U.S.News and World Report, 2011).
They also mentioned that all ethnic group minorities’ earnings were less than that of Caucasians in career earnings. Except for Asians with masters, doctoral, and professional degrees which outpaces white workers with the same level of degrees. Moreover Latinos and African-Americans with master’s degrees earn roughly the same as white workers with a master’s degree. This report also reveals that women have to attain PhD degrees in order to earn than men with bachelor degrees. Women with a PHD degree on average earn $2.86 million in their lifetime while men with a bachelor degree earn $2.60 million. Women with bachelor degrees earn about $1.9 million over their lifetime which is the same as men with no degree (U.S.News and World Report, 2011).
Considering these unbalanced paying fields the Professor and Director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and Workforce stated that women who want to earn more than their male counterparts will need to attain more degrees or select a higher paying industry. “You can close the gap by getting more education, and that does seem to be the strategy, at least implicitly, that women are following,” he says. “If you want to make more than lots of men, and you’re a woman, then go into engineering (U.S.News and World Report, 2011).” In additional studies the mean wages of adult employment has been found with respect to educational attainment. The results of this study reveal that the mean wages increase as the educational degree improves (Grahan & Paul, 2002). Studies from other researchers reveal the same results stating that more education increases the average income (Strauss, 2012; Fry, 2013; Cheeseman Day & Newburger, 2002; Blaug, 1970).
