NBER study looks at what college grads can expect to earn in their chosen fields

My Comments: If you are a parent of a high school child, paying for the college education of your student has got to be discussed and resolved at home long before the decision is made about which school to attend. There are simply too many implications, not just for your student, but for you as well.

If you have more money than God, then it really doesn’t matter. But if you are similar to the rest of us, and committed to helping your student become a self-sustaining adult, you have to at least spend a few minutes and watch the video that accompanies this blog post. Click on the dollars and mortar board above and see what I mean.

By Dan Berman, AdvisorOne | May 29, 2012

The skyrocketing price of going to college is enough to make one wonder if it’s worth the cost. The National Bureau of Economic Research has attempted to answer that question by looking at factors that affect the pay that graduates in different disciplines can expect to earn. They used information from the Census Bureau to illustrate average wages.

First to those rising costs. According to the College Board, the average in-state tuition at a public university was $8,244 (more than double that if you include room and board and other fees) for the 2011-’12 academic year. For those who come from out of state, the figure rises to $20,770 ($29,657 total). For private, not-for-profit colleges the average was $28,500 ($38,589 total).

With those costs in mind, the Economic Research Bureau’s study, authored by Joseph G. Altonji, Erica Blom and Costas Meghir, could be seen as a guide for college students when choosing a career. Of course, there are more prosaic reasons for choosing a line of work, such as finding something you love to do. With the report, at the least, students will know what to expect once they hit the job market.

One interesting highlight of the report is the monetary benefit gained by earning an advanced degree. In some fields the benefit of extra course week is huge. Biological science majors, for instance, earn 51% more than those with a four-year degree. On the other end of the spectrum, communications majors earn just a 4% premium for a higher degree. AdvisorOne also looked at the study for earnings of those in the top 10% in that degree’s field, which is not necessarily related to holding an advanced degree.

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