{"id":23224,"date":"2014-03-18T07:44:30","date_gmt":"2014-03-18T14:44:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=23224"},"modified":"2014-03-18T03:57:31","modified_gmt":"2014-03-18T10:57:31","slug":"pew-study-shows-grad-degrees-pay-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/pew-study-shows-grad-degrees-pay-off\/","title":{"rendered":"Pew Study Shows Grad Degrees Pay Off!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pew-Study\"<\/a>According to a Pew study<\/a>, earnings of college grads with no further education have increased 13% since 1984, while earnings of those with advanced degrees have risen 23% in that same time period. For those with professional and doctorate degrees, the numbers jump even higher, to 34%.<\/p>\n

This data, however, doesn\u2019t take into account the following two things: 1) These increases don\u2019t reflect the unemployment rate \u2013 that is, they only show a pay increase for those graduates who have found work; 2) They don\u2019t take household income into consideration \u2013 the higher the socioeconomic status, the greater the chance is that marriage and childbearing has been delayed (i.e. fewer dependents) and the greater the chance for greater gains.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at monthly household income for a moment: The median adjusted<\/em> monthly household income of college graduates has gone up $1,300 since 1984. For households headed by someone with an advanced degree, that inflation-adjusted amount is $1,500, and for those with professional or doctorate degrees, it\u2019s skyrocketed to $3,400. For those who have not completed a bachelor\u2019s degree, monthly household income has decreased since 1984.<\/p>\n

Here are two additional points:<\/p>\n

\u2022 The study doesn\u2019t show that higher education has caused<\/em> financial gain, just the association between the two.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Since 1984, the percentage of college grads who\u2019ve gone on to complete an advanced degree has only gone up 1% (from 26% in 1984 to 27% in 2009). This amount is statistically insignificant and goes against the belief that a weak economy pushes people into higher education.<\/p>\n

My Thoughts<\/strong><\/p>\n

While I\u2019m always glad to see evidence that a graduate education pays off, I\u2019m concerned about two omissions in this report.<\/p>\n

1. This research doesn\u2019t reflect the increased cost of graduate education since 1984.<\/p>\n

2. By talking in terms of averages and aggregates, this research doesn\u2019t reflect the uneven benefits of graduate and professional education. The STEM fields in general are booming. The job market for humanities and law grads has basically crashed.<\/p>\n

Before plunking down those tuition dollars or even starting the application process, it behooves you to pursue your dreams with an eye on the top and bottom line and a few of the lines in between. What is your education going to cost you? What are the likely financial benefits?<\/p>\n

A graduate education can be a fantastic investment, or burdensome expense. Do the homework and research necessary before spending your hard earned cash or assuming thousands of dollars in debt. You want to arrive on campus with confidence that the return on your tuition dollar and time will be more fantastic than the cost.<\/p>\n

\"Download<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Linda<\/a> By Linda Abraham<\/a>, president and founder of Accepted.com and co-author of the new, definitive book on MBA admissions, <\/em><\/em>MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools<\/a>.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Accepted.com's experienced admissions consultants<\/a> can help you create the most impressive application possible with comprehensive packages<\/a>, <\/i><\/b>or provide targeted assistance from picking perfect programs<\/a> to designing a dazzling resume<\/a>, constructing engaging essays<\/a>, or preparing for intense interview<\/a>s<\/a>\u2026and more! Accepted.com has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top MBA programs since 1994 \u2013 we know what works and what doesn't, so contact us<\/a> to get started now!<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on the Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog<\/a>, the official blog of Accepted.com.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to a Pew study, earnings of college grads with no further education have increased 13% since 1984, while earnings of those with advanced degrees have risen 23% in that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,6,1,939,775,113,243],"tags":[170],"class_list":["post-23224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-current-events","category-uncategorized","category-accepted","category-admission-consultants","category-applications","category-blog","tag-mba-degree-value","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23224"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23227,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23224\/revisions\/23227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}