What is the appropriate beginning?
Every year thousands upon thousands of college graduates enter the professional world eager to start working. However an important dilemma faces most, what is a reasonable starting salary? With the workforce dynamics consistently changing, and organizations starting to experience in a shortage in skilled labor, new college graduates face a multitude of factors upon entering the employment world. How does a graduate measure his or her worth in the marketplace? The following paper analyzes the various components and complications of compensation packages for new graduates.
Recently numerous national reports have been emphasizing the increases in starting salaries for college graduates. According to a spring 2007 survey conducted by National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), starting salaries for spring 2007 graduates continue to rise (p.1). These starting salaries reflect the rising demand for new graduates. This is a trend that has been witnessed by several new graduates. Deshundra Jefferson (2006) reported how computer science majors and engineering majors from the class of 2004 witnessed a 4.1% and 0.3% increase respectively (Jefferson, 2006, p. 1). Law graduates can expect to see starting packages in the ranges of $180,000 to $200,000 from top law firms in some cities (Bower, 2007, p. 15). A survey of starting salaries in the U.K. also reported an increase of 2.9% to a median of £23,136 (People Management, 2007, p. 11). Salary increases is a trend that is evident across the board and there are numerous factors leading up to these attractive packages.
One particular profession that has seen reaped the benefits of increasing salaries is the lawyers’ pool. Freeman (1975) emphasized how lawyers’ salary is inversely related to enrollment. He also mentioned how the market for law graduates has a cob-web model, with consistent fluctuations in the enrollment in law programs (Freeman 1975; Rosen, 1992). Freeman’s theory accurately describes the explanation behind today’s increase in starting salaries for law graduates. Cleveland State’s Marshall Law School saw an average of 20% increase in starting packages for its law graduates (Crain’s Cleveland Business, 2007). The median salary for a law graduate was $44,500 in 1999 (Ohio Department of Labor, 2000). The high wages for law graduates can also be explained by the increasing cost of entry. Human-capital theory shows that much of the cost of training is the time and effort spent in school. The money value of time is measured by the rate of interest on other work opportunities forgone.
A college education costs a lot these days, but is a huge investment. The amount of money that the average college graduate earns is much greater than the money that the average high school graduate earns. Over the decades, the education pay gap between the educated, and the ...
Thousands of people end up enrolling in college after they graduate from high school. Most of them want to further their education so they can make something out of themselves. It is a common idea among many, that college will end up increasing one’s average income. In the article, The College Payoff Illusion, by Edwin S. Rubenstein, he wrote that “In 1997, college graduates earned an average of $40,508 versus just $23,970 for non-college graduates”. The statistic shows that graduates are making more but does it have more to do with their college degree or their personality?
The second chapter of this book advocates students to attend college, even if they must take on a moderate amount of student loan debt. They give statistics showing the tremendous gap in wages between a college graduate and a non-college graduate. The third chapter of this book argues the opposite viewpoint of the second chapter. The author states that the cost of college today is too high and that there are too many college graduates flooding the job market causing many of them to go unemployed or seek low level jobs that do not pay enough to pay off their student loans. Both of these chapters will help me to show the two main ...
A majority of people believe that graduating from college will result in a well-paying job. Unfortunately, a degree will not secure a job for many graduates. In the U.S., the jobless rate for college graduates in 2012 was 7.7 percent, and has further increased in the past five years(Robinson). With such a large pool of unemployed citizens for employers to choose from, recent graduates are facing fewer opportunities for work due to little or no previous work experience(Robinson). Although many graduates are faced with unemployment, the majority do receive the opportunity to work. Sadly, many must work jobs they do not enjoy for salaries that make it difficult to make ends meet(Debate). Students are faced with mortgage-sized debts upon graduation, making it difficult for them to start businesses, buy cars or houses, or make other investments that would better the
College degrees have proven to be a valuable resource to achieve a higher pay. “Is a College Education Worth It” writes, college graduates with a bachelor degree earned on average $30,000 more per year than a person with just a high school education (1). This statistic shows that with just a four-year degree, someone can earn more than a person with just a high school education. This also proves that people with a college degree earn more in their lifetime than people with just a high school education. “Benefits of a College Degree” adds that in a lifetime, people with a bachelor 's degree earn $2.7 million. People with just a high school diploma earn about $1.3 million in their lifetime (1). Abel and Deitz claim that over the past four decades, people with a bachelor’s degree earned 56% more than high school graduates while people with an associate’s degree earned 21% more than high school graduates (1). This comes to show how getting a college education has benefited people for four decades. Mark Peters and Douglas Belkin propose that the cost of college for someone with a bachelor’s degree is on average 110,000 to 130,000 (1). This number can seem very large to most people, but people with a bachelor’s degree earn more money, so the amount of debt they have will quickly
Katherine Porters essay “The Value of a College Degree” first appeared in 2002. At the present time of the essay was published most of Porters references where a time period of 1992-2002 spanning over ten years of resources although, one reference that was cited was from the year of 1961. Her resources indicated the statics that were taken from several US Government departments, colleges, and authors who are knowledgeable about finances. These sources help produce the economic issues with higher education and compared benefits of having a degree, along with the social aspects of attending college.
One of the major problems Lewis and Zaidane’s argue in their piece is that fifty-three percent of graduates are unemployed (587). People are attending college, accumulating debt, and are not able to start careers. Recently, a student graduated with a degree in marketing and because of low unemployment rate he had to work as a bartender. More people will have degrees than jobs in the next ten years.
Although a college education grows more and more expensive every year. People begin to question whether college is a good idea to invest in or not. “As college costs continue to rise, students and their families are looking more carefully at what they are getting for their money. Increasingly, they are finding that the college experience falls short of their expectations”(Cooper. H Mary). Many people believe that the cost of a college degree has outstripped the value of a degree.Studies show that a college degree will increase your earning power. A lot of people say that a college degree now is worth what a high school diploma was wor...
According to The Principles of Economics by N. Gregory Mankiw, Harvard University, Thomson South Western publishing 2004, many studies have documented that the earnings gap between workers with high skills and workers with low skills has increased over the past two decades. A man with a college degree can earn up to 89% more than one without, for woman the figure is about 70%. The incentive to stay in school is as great today as it has ever been. Throughout the 70’s and 80’s students could graduate from high school with a promising future and many joined the labor force without attending college. Unfortunately as the market changes and the need for skilled labor increases, many adult workers are now faced with a decision. More and more high school students are moving on to college and the labor pool is becoming more skilled and competitive. Although years of experience can be used to combat this reality, many employers do not grant an interview unless a degree is present. If an individual becomes unemployed or would like to be considered for a promotion the percentage of success is rapidly decreasing.
…record numbers of young people continue to flock to law school…because it is considered a safe ticket…by external standards they will be ‘successes’. They will own homes, eat in better restaurants, dress well, and in some instances perform socially useful work. (Shames)
The mainstream media and critics continue to scrutinize college administrators who claim that the primary reasons for the rising costs at their campuses is primarily due to the increased number of faculty members required to accommodate the growing student population (Renehan 6). Furthermore, college administrators are claiming that to obtain the best college professors they have to compete with the attractive salary and benefit packages offered by their competition (Renehan 6). However, Doug Belkin, journalist for the Wall Street Journal, reported in an article titled, “How to Get College Tuition Under Control”, the arguments from three renowned Economists, Dr. Rudy Fichtenbaum, Katharine Lyall and Richard Vedder who stated that the salaries
College gives its graduates the greatest ability to achieve a higher paying job. Furthermore, adults who attend college earn higher wages over those who do not. As emphasized in “College Grads Find Big Degree of Debt, Difficulty; American Families Start to Wonder Whether Education Cost Is Worth It” by Patrice Hill, a staff writer for The Washington Times, employees who have a bachelors degree earn an average of 84% more than people with only a high school degree. In accordance with these numbers, the results of a study conducted by the Treasury and Education Departments in 2011 show that college graduates with full time jobs earned 64% more per week than high school graduates. A similar study conducted in 2013 showed that a full-time worker with a bachelors degree earns 79% more than one without a college degree (Hill). There are numerous studies that verify that people who attend college earn higher wages. Furthermore, college graduates earn more desirable jobs. As Justin Draeger, CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, states in his article “College Is Still Worth the Expense”, the U.S. government classifies jobs in zones one through six. Lower work zones pay the least and are full of non-college graduates. The highest zones pay the most and are filled with college graduates. According to the US government, the median pay for job zone thre...
The author also points out the continuing need to criticize the human capital analytical framework, and the significance of taking a collective perspective on the pay gap. The author studies a report from the American Association of University Women, which shows the difference in pay just 1 year after graduation. Based on the analysis of the data, the author demonstrates the importance of understanding how the gap can be framed to look smaller or larger by opting certain
College has long been a bastion of hope for those not fortunate enough to inherit a business or fortune from their predecessors, on the other side of the coin; it has also been the site of major controversy and debate, especially surrounding the ever-growing cost of attendance and the rewards that a degree realistically gives onto its holder. The debate is not a new one, but with the recent economic downturn, and the vast sums of new college graduates entering the world without the chance of finding a job, more fuel was added to the fire, and the debate began anew. In order to present new arguments on both sides, articles have been written and published in major newspapers like The Economist and The New York Times, with some varying data and conclusions. David Leonhardt, author of the article published in the NYT by the name of, “Is College Worth?
However, law is not my sole academic interest. I am also drawn to subjects involving the big bucks- that is, economics. I became familiar with money at an early age by selling Girl Scout cookies to the locals. I took it a step further as a teenager with a job at Wendy’s, where I have learned firsthand about productio...