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SAYING WHAT HAS TO BE SAID...IN TRUE LIBERTARIAN FASHION

Earnings for college grads fall

Published Wednesday, August 30, 2006 by Editor | E-mail this post

The sky is the limit, especially for the statistician. A plethora a data was recently released by the Census Bureau on income, poverty and other related topics. Like most statistics the true meaning of this data is open to interpretation. Perhaps most disconcerting is the fact that, according to the Census, earnings for young college grads has declined to the lowest level since 1997, when adjusted for inflation. So what does this mean? To the outside observer, such figures are quite clear, the outlook is becoming more and more dim for up and coming generations as it becomes more and more difficult to eek out a living, much less surpassing mom and dad’s success, or is it?

In life our success or failure, especially in monetary terms, is largely a byproduct of our own decision making. What the Census figures don’t say and what the average citizen can’t possibly know is more and more college age students are choosing degrees with lower income potential in the long term. Fewer and fewer students are choosing degrees in engineering and the sciences. This is one reason why many American firms have turned to places like India to fill high tech (and high paying) jobs.

There is no shame in pursuing a career in the humanities or social science, but these graduates shouldn’t harbor any allusions of becoming instant millionaires, such a reality is far from the norm. The decisions we make will have a direct impact on our future and if more students opt for careers in fields with lower income potential we should not be surprised if median income continues to decline.

These facts, however, will most certainly go unnoticed, when used as a rallying cry for the left in their relentless campaign against personal responsibility and individual choice, but then again why burden oneself with facts, when fiction and half-truthes will do?
Link to Business Week article

3 Responses to “Earnings for college grads fall”

Ray on August 30, 2006

I recently attended my cousin's graduation from a University in Florida, USF. While sitting there watching the future of America walk across the stage, I wondered where the technological degrees were. There were a boatload of business degrees, which we of course need, but eventually everyone works in business, so why not specialize? The point of the post is that there were a few dozen degrees handed out for "Undergraduate Studies". Does this mean the person studied everything, or does this mean they are losers who could not find a major. I have to wonder why a university would even hand out a degree like this? I wonder what the starting salary is for that line of work?
The Phalanx on August 31, 2006

"Undergraduate Studies" is a degree?
Ray on September 01, 2006

I copied this from the website. This would be something to discourage your kid from majoring in. This would be be a waste of 50K and 4 years.

The B. A. degree in Liberal Studies fulfills the intent of a traditional liberal arts education and is offered for students who seek a broad, interdisciplinary academic background to reach their undergraduate academic or pre-professional goals. The purpose of the major is to provide qualified students with an opportunity to acquire broad exposure to the Social Sciences, the Humanities, and the Natural Sciences through courses taken on campus. The student pursues the major in this on-campus academic environment by taking courses in these three disciplinary areas that are organized around a theme chosen by the student and approved by a committee of faculty selected by the student and the Liberal Studies advisor.