Education

New Report: College Graduates’ First Year Earnings Depend On What They Study And Where


A new report Buyer Beware: First-Year Earnings and Debt for 37,000 College Majors At 4,400 Institutions by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (GEW) details how much college graduates’ first-year earnings and federal loan debt depend on what they study and where. Turns out, both major and institution matter a lot when it comes to what new graduates make and what they owe.

The interactive report, released this week, uses data from the College Scorecard to provide the average amount that individuals earn after graduating from 37,459 programs at 4,434 colleges and universities along with the overall level of federal student loan debt and monthly loan payments for those who took out federal student loans. The data can also be sorted at the state level by consumers to compare different degree programs at various institutions within each state.

The report show that on average, workers with more education tend to earn more than workers with less education. No surprise there. But averages aren’t the whole story. The data show a great deal of overlap in median earnings across different levels of education. For example, while 44% of bachelor’s degree programs lead to first-year earnings between $4,000 and $8,000 per month, 10% of associate’s degree programs do so as well.

  According to the report, among full-time, full-year workers, 25 to 64 years old:

  • ˜ 27 percent of workers with an associate’s degree earn more than the median for workers with a bachelor’s degree,
  • ˜ 35 percent of workers with a bachelor’s degree earn more than the median for workers with a master’s degree,
  • ˜ 31 percent of workers with a master’s degree earn more than the median for workers with a doctoral degree, and
  • ˜ 22 percent of workers with a master’s degree earn more than the median for workers with a professional degree.

“Some of the best bargains for students are community colleges and other colleges without the big brand names,” said Anthony P. Carnevale, lead author of the report and CEW director. “Some two-year degrees can pay off more than four-year degrees. This kind of consumer information is just becoming available, and we hope it will help consumers make better decisions.”

The story is the same with respect to student loan debt – it varies considerably depending on a student’s program of study and the institutions where the program is located. Associate’s degree programs are generally more affordable than bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, but graduates of some associate’s degree programs have higher monthly student loan payments than graduates of many bachelor’s and master’s degree programs.

According to the report “309 bachelor’s degree programs lead to higher monthly federal student loan payments than the median of monthly federal student loan payments for master’s degree programs ($457 per month). There are 922 associate’s degree programs that lead to higher monthly federal student loan payments than the median for bachelor’s degree programs ($249 per month).”

The report also shows monthly earnings net of federal student loan debt – how much students make after they have made their federal loan payments. For example, 49% of graduates with monthly earnings from $3,001 to $4,000 net of debt are from bachelor’s programs, 31% are from programs at the master’s level, and 11% are from programs awarding the associate’s degree.

The report highlights that some programs at the associate’s level have higher first-year payoffs than some master’s level programs. For example, according to the press release announcing the report, first-year graduates from Harvard with master’s degrees in theological and ministerial studies have $2,465 a month ($29,600 per year) in earnings net of debt, and those in education have $4,378 per month ($52,500 per year). However, first-year graduates with an associate’s degree in nursing from Santa Rosa Junior College in California have $7,332 per month ($88,000 per year) in earnings net of federal student loan debt.

The 10 programs with the highest first-year earnings net of debt payments are almost all graduate programs in dentistry and nursing. This “top ten” is topped by a Master’s in Dentistry from Ohio State University ($207,000 in annual net earnings) and ranges to a graduate/professional certificate in Dentistry and Oral Science at Tufts University ($174,100). The only non-health science program in the top ten was the Master’s in Finance and financial Management from the University of Pennsylvania ($177,900).



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