4.   A College Education Enhances Earning Power

Dr. Raymond Walters, President Emeritus of the University of Cincinnati, and a national authority on these matters, has said: "It seems clear that more young men and women are going to college now because their parents believe that higher education will pay financially and in other ways."

The popular Kiplinger magazine, Changing Times, makes this evaluation of a college education: "Just playing the averages, any able young man who gets a college education will do better financially than a young man whose schooling ends upon graduation from high school - enough better to make up for the money he spends to get that education, and then some. On the average, the college graduate earns more than twice as much as the person who has not graduated from college. What's more, college training usually adds assets and advantages that can't be measured in dollars, but which are important just the same."

Lifetime earnings, based on education, will average, according to the U. S. Bureau of Census as follows:

• Grade School Man $182,000
• High School Graduate $258,000
• College Graduate, or more $435,000

Note that the average lifetime earnings of the college graduate is $177,000 more than the high school graduate, and $253,000 more than the one who only finished elementary school. And the spread is increasing fast.

That a college education really does pay off in dollars is further substantiated by the following results of a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank, which shows the percentage of persons having annual incomes of $10,000 or more, classified by age and education:

This year the money value of education has increased still further. The job and salary picture for college graduates is even better than last. Colleges and universities in every section of the United States report a vigorous and healthy employment demand. According to a survey by the Department of Labor, starting salaries in every category are higher. Engineers and physical scientists average somewhere from $500 to $560 a month; business graduates average about $100 less than the engineers, though higher than last year; good liberal arts graduates average close to the business graduate levels. Teachers are in great demand - especially teachers in mathematics, science, home economics, art, music and foreign languages - at average salaries of $5,300 for elementary school teachers and $5,800 for secondary-school teachers. Law graduates are averaging close to $6,400 a year. Those with advanced degrees in all fields can command even higher pay.

In an article entitled "The Great Hunt For Educated Talent," in Harper's Magazine, John W. Gardner, President of the Carnegie Corporation, quoted Floyd Warner as saying: "Education has become the royal road to positions of power and prestige in American business and industry."

It is quite clear, then, that a college education is today a vital requisite for opportunity and success.

• The Brain
• The Power Of The Mind
• The Importance Of Formal Education
• Five Reasons For A College Education
  
  
  1. A College Education Brings A Fuller Life...
  2. A College Education Opens The Door To Distinction
  3. A College Education Brings Job Security....
  
  
• An Educated Citizenry Is A Vital Requisite For Our Survival As A Free People
• Learning - A Continuous Process
• Never Too Old To Learn
• Business And Education - 1
• Business And Education - 2
• Business And Education - 3