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Degrees vs. Diplomas. In addition to the increase in earning potential, what are other advantages of a college degree over a high school diploma? There are many other important, but less obvious benefits of college and career education, all of which can have a lifetime impact on your ability to build financial success and stability. Job Security. Economic conditions change, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Jobs are often the casualty of a recession , which is a significant and prolonged decline in activity across the economy or within a particular an industry. College educated people have significantly lower rates of unemployment than those with only a high school diploma. A college education is no guarantee that you’ll never lose your job, but it’s proven that employees without a college education lose theirs first, and that college graduates find new jobs faster. And don’t even think about dropping out of high school. If you don’t graduate high school, your job security is very dicey indeed. In 2014, the unemployment rate for someone without a high school diploma was the highest in the nation at 9%. Degrees beat diplomas! Job Satisfaction. How happy an employee is with their job and the negative or positive feelings they have toward their work is called job satisfaction . It is studied and measured by occupational psychologists (professionals who study how people behave at work.) Job satisfaction is important because an employee’s feelings about their job impact their productivity. A recent survey found that, on virtually every measure of job satisfaction and career success, college graduates are happier at their jobs than those with less education. About half (53%) of all employed college graduates in their mid-20s and early 30s say they are “very satisfied” at work. Among those with only a high school diploma, job satisfaction drops to 37%. Degrees beat diplomas! Poverty Avoidance. According to the U.S. Census, in 2014, 31 percent of young people without a high school diploma were living in poverty . The poverty rate for those with a high school diploma but no college degree was 14.2 percent, while the poverty rate for those with some college but no degree was 10.2 percent. Among people with at least a bachelor’s degree, the poverty rate was 5.0 percent. Education is the proven means of avoiding a bleak and soul-crushing life of poverty. The longer you stay on that education train, the farther you are carried from a life of poverty. Degrees beat diplomas! PRODUCT PREVIEW Earnings and unemployment rates by educational attainment, 2015 Median usual weekly earnings Unemployment rate
You want to be financially secure? Stay in school. Earn a degree. Higher education = higher earnings and higher job security.
Doctoral degree Professional degree
$1,623
1.7% $1,730 1.5%
Master’s degree Bachelor’s degree Associate’s degree Some college, no degree High school diploma Less than a high school diploma
$1,341
2.4%
$1,137
2.8%
$798
3.8%
$738
5.0%
$678
5.4%
$493
8.0%
All workers: $860 Note: Data are for persons age 25 and over. Earning are for full-time wage and salary workers. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey All workers: 4.3%
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THE 21st CENTURY STUDENT’S GUIDE TO FINANCIAL LITERACY
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