COLLEGE EDUCATION

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College Education

College Education

“As many students begin applying for the 2010 academic school year, students are looking at an economic climate where endowments are hit, student loans are more restrictive, and parents have seen 529 plans sink along side their retirement plans.  The upcoming school year will be highly competitive and expensive but will it be worth it?  Now college itself isn't a direct link to a career and many bristle when they hear about vocational training.  Yet when someone is paying $50,000 a year, you have to ask what exactly you are paying for.

With the recent unemployment rate hitting 9.7 percent officially, the wider ranging U-6 rate hit a record of 16.8 percent.  The market took the 216,000 job losses as good news but the recession is much deeper than the headlines are showing.  If you dig deep into the report, you will find a few curious observations.  First, the teenage unemployment rate is the highest in nearly half a century coming in at over 24.2 percent.  Now this rate is always high but only in August of 2008, it was at 17.8 percent.  Another observation in the report that we find is those with college degrees are facing the highest unemployment in two decades since records started being kept.

With college costs going through the roof and in many cases, costing nearly $50,000 a year at private schools many are asking whether some college degrees are even worth pursuing.  Or more importantly, potential students are seeking answers regarding value.  Let us look at this trend more closely:

You'll find a curious trend here.  Without a doubt, those with a college degree do better in the marketplace.  Take a look at the recession in the early 1990s.  A college degree seemed to be a better buffer at that time than our current recession.  For the first time in record keeping history, the unemployment rate for those with 4-year degrees or higher has passed the 4 percent mark.  Keep in mind that in the United States, only one in four has a bachelor's degree or higher.  We tend to think of this group as largely immune but in deep recessions like this one, a college degree no longer protects you from the fluctuations of the market.  An education through online schools will not protect your career either.

The massive increase in college tuition needs to be explored.  If you think about someone going to school to pursue a career in say social work, a noble career, is it really worth it to go into $100,000 to $150,000 in debt for a career that pays $30,000 to $40,000 a year?  In a situation like this, a student may benefit by going to a lower priced state school instead of a private institution.  Certainly many will go to top schools simply because of the implied pedigree of an institution especially if they want to enter into the top law firms or seek higher positions in certain corporate ...