Analysis Of What's More Expensive Than Going To College

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The article, “What’s more expensive than going to college? Not going to college” appeared March 27, 2012 on the website TheAtlantic.com. The essay was penned by senior editor and published author Derek Thompson, whose works have also appeared online and in Business Week. In the article Thompson compares college costs against the financial impact that unemployed and underemployed young adults have on society. In addition, he explores how the type of degree people hold impacts their unemployment rates and its effect on potential earning outcomes over the lifetimes of the workers. In this article, Thompson argues that the costs associated with going to college are exceeded by the increased earning potential a degree provides and the financial …show more content…

One of the statistics Thompson writes about is that those graduating from college earn 80% more over their lifetime than those who did not finish high school. Also, he identifies a Hamilton Project study in which they “found that $100,000 spent on college at age 18 would yield a higher lifetime return than an equal investment in corporate bonds, U.S. government debt, or hot company stocks” (454). Additionally, he states that having a quality teacher can lead to a $400,000 improvement in an individual’s potential earnings over his …show more content…

According to the data provided, the higher level degree a worker holds the less likely he or she will face unemployment, while an individual without a high school diploma faces an unemployment rate that is nearly double that of the national average. At the same time, Thompson’s charts show those with Professional and Doctoral degrees earn, on average, three times the median income of those without high school diplomas. Likewise, in addition to the results from both ends of the spectrum, the charts indicate that the average employment rates and median incomes for workers increase with each level of higher education obtained. However despite these statistics, Thompson indicates that 12% of youth in the United States are not currently pursuing further education nor are they employed. As a result the United States falls behind countries such as Germany, France and Canada in this

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