NOT staying in school is not a (financial) option

As college graduates take to the street, searching for the first jobs of their careers, many are unsure if it was worth it.

Recent statistics reveal college grads made 98% more an hour on average than people without a degree in 2013, which is up from 89% in 2008 and 64% in the early ’80s.

But since the numbers are based on averages, we need to look at the details to see there are big differences in experience among individuals within groups of both graduates and non-graduates.

There is no question the pay gap between the college educated and everyone else is getting bigger.

It’s also true that the unemployment rate for college graduates right now, is remarkably low. For college grads between ages 25 and 34, the unemployment rate is currently around 3%!

Here is the paradox:

College grads are not making headway;
instead non-graduates are losing ground.

The income paid to college grads, on average, has remained flat,
but the wages of non-graduates have fallen.

To look at it a different way, college graduates are now taking jobs away from non-graduates. This reality is reflected in several recent studies and in U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. According to The Center for College Affordability and Productivity, in 2008 roughly 38% of working college graduates were in positions that didn’t require a degree. By 2013, that number had increased to 48%.

Not every Starbucks barista is a college graduate, but many of them are.

So what happens to you if you are a non-graduate who didn’t get that job?

It’s unlikely you will be moving up in the corporate world, skipping over all those college graduates to take higher-paying positions above them.

Don’t blame employers for this. If an open position doesn’t require a college degree, but 50 out of 200 applicants have a degree, why wouldn’t they choose a college graduate?

That’s why you need to STAY IN SCHOOL and graduate, your financial future depends on it.

No one said it was fair, it’s just the way it is.

Of course if you have a college degree – YOU WANT THIS ADVANTAGE over non-graduates – don’t you?!?!

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