I wrote a post about this chart and information quite awhile ago, but thought it might be useful to share with newer readers.
It’s a summary and chart sharing the income differences among people based on their educational attainment.
Here’s a quote:
“How much is a bachelor’s degree worth? More than $25,000 a year, according to a March 2007 report from the U.S. Census Bureau. Adults aged 18 and older with a bachelor’s degree earned an average of $54,689 in 2005, while high school graduates earned $29,448. A two-year associate’s degree brings an average annual premium of $8,500 over a high school diploma.”
I’ve made this chart into a poster which I share with my students each year.
Kathy Schrock also recently shared a link to educational materials the U.S. Census has developed. I wasn’t too impressed by them, but one excellent page they do have is an even better version of that chart, plus a short summary of educational attainment by ethnic group.
Sharing that information, and then having a discussion about it eliciting from students the reasons for the disparities, would be very useful.
My only problem with any of this information is that it doesn’t show the income of those students who go on to trade schools! A plumber or air conditioning repairman is making as much as most people with a BA!
I’m working with a group of students who have failed language arts, failed the State assessment and may also have been retained. These kids aren’t probably going to be going on to college. Right now, I’m just trying to convince them to stay in high school and then look at trade schools. I had to explain what a “trade school” was, the kinds of jobs that they could get after finishing a trade school program, AND how much money they could be making without going to college. Needless to say they were rather amazed. The only thing that had been shoved at them was “go to college”. Hopefully, I get through to some of them!