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Education Pays

11 April 2006 4 Comments

If there is any major encouragement for staying in school it is because it pays off in the end. Here’s a chart from the Department of Labor Statistics.

Chart

When you start crunching those numbers you find some pretty impacting things.
Just graduating high school increases your pay over $8000 a year. Sticking it out through an associates degree is another $6000+ a year.

The unemployment rate decreases by a large amount just by completing high school. These are some powerful changes.

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4 Comments »

  • Richard said:

    I’m intrigued about the statistics about education and prison. I’m curious as to whether this holds up on an individual scale. That is to say, do the statistics mean that societies/areas that have low education produce more criminals, or do they say that people with less education are more likely to become criminals. I think this would probably affect how you approach the problem (though maybe in the end it wouldn’t affect it that much). Anyway, say more.

    # 11 April 2006 at 11:06 pm
  • Ariah (author) said:

    Richard,
    that’s a good question. From what I can tell though, the statistic and evidence points strongly to an individual scale. If you can’t read by third grade there is STRONG chance you’ll get behind and drop out of school.
    And from there it’s more tempting to join a life of crime then a low paying job (not for all , but some).

    I definitly agree there are probably more exceptions.

    What would be your thoughts on how to approach the problem?

    # 12 April 2006 at 7:30 am
  • Richard said:

    The question that I had in mind when I asked is whether we should concentrate on changing the school system or the values and culture of an area. (I understand that the answer is probably both, but bear with me)

    If we are talking on an individual scale, then I would say that we should concentrate our energies on classrooms, tutoring, financial aid, and other things that make it more likely that any particular student will graduate.

    If we are talking on a area scale, then I think that we should concentrate our energies on reaching the community around the students, hopefully changing the value systems that they are presented so that the value of education is emphasized as well as the problems of criminality. I’m not sure how to do this, but I suspect that community outreaches through churches and community centers would be a good place to start.

    # 12 April 2006 at 1:02 pm
  • Ariah (author) said:

    right on Richard.

    I think it’s probably a little of both. but I honestly think we tend to put much more blame on the community attitude and then excuse the need to address the opportunities for individuals.

    # 13 April 2006 at 7:01 am

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