What is a higher education for?

[Derideo_Te]

The average net worth of Forbes 400 members without a college degree is 6.6% higher than members with a degree.

The question becomes, what is the chance anyone will become a member of Forbes List?

Very unlikely.

Much more likely will be that anyone will compete for middle class jobs, and that you will be paid near the $60K average salary most Americans make. The likelihood of this average, middle class livelihood increases with education.

How much of that 6.6% can be attributed to (a) Bill Gates and (b) inherited net worth?

I didn't have the entire list, however the point remains: The chances of making more money are greater if you have an advanced degree, but there is also the very small chance that one could make much more money without the degree.

Given that this was only based upon "net worth" without the actual data the net difference is negligible. On the other hand if this was based upon earned net worth then it might fit your premise.

 

[Samson]

How much of that 6.6% can be attributed to (a) Bill Gates and (b) inherited net worth?

I didn't have the entire list, however the point remains: The chances of making more money are greater if you have an advanced degree, but there is also the very small chance that one could make much more money without the degree.

Given that this was only based upon "net worth" without the actual data the net difference is negligible. On the other hand if this was based upon earned net worth then it might fit your premise.

It is interesting how little sociological data seems to be available from university professors regarding the overall value of a post-high school degree.......

....I wonder why?

 

[Derideo_Te]

I didn't have the entire list, however the point remains: The chances of making more money are greater if you have an advanced degree, but there is also the very small chance that one could make much more money without the degree.

Given that this was only based upon "net worth" without the actual data the net difference is negligible. On the other hand if this was based upon earned net worth then it might fit your premise.

It is interesting how little sociological data seems to be available from university professors regarding the overall value of a post-high school degree.......

....I wonder why?

Because the math no longer works. Once upon a time digging yourself a financial hole in order to become a lawyer or a doctor made sense in the long run because your earnings would eventually more than make up the difference. Even during the economic boom under Clinton that still held true. Nowadays even a basic bachelors degree cost what it used to for becoming a medical doctor. Not even those who graduate with a law degrees from Ivy league colleges are assured of finding a job anymore let alone one with a prestigious law firm. This ugly truth would undermine the entire higher education industry if it were to become widely known.

 

[DGS49]

Although I went to college and law school in the Stone Age, I financed my education through:

Personal savings,
GI Bill,
A couple of modest student grants (Pennsylania Higher Education Assistance Agency),
One small student loan (paid off before I graduated),
Employer contributions,
Out of pocket payments from household income.

Graduated law school with no debt.

My wife, who has a bachelor's degree in Education (which we also paid for with our own resources) and works for a bank, makes more than I do.

Go figure.

 

[regent]

To me higher education meant subjects might be approached with more freedom. No longer did a local board of parents supervise what was taught nor did the school or professor have to fear being chastised for teaching something someone didn't like. In short, there was freedom to explore subject matter from different points of view, not just the PTA's.
Of course, that meant hearing a professor hold long discourses I disagreed with, but it also meant the next professor I might agree with, but both and all were learning experiences. In fact, it may have been those I disagreed with that made the most impact, all the evidence I dug up to prove them wrong, and then sadly discover they may have been right.