College Potential Not Promise

• Paul Nichols
• 8 years ago

I was reading an article recently talking about reinventing college planning. This newly compiled data offers some interesting talking points or conversational topics. It’s estimated that by 2020, 65% of all jobs will require a post secondary education. They argue that having fewer degrees threatens our global competitiveness. I really can’t speak to that out of my arena of expertise, however I can tell you, on average, a college degree still pays for itself over the course of a career (in the field of study). Earning 77% more with a bachelors degree over a high school diploma.

My experience in working with clients and their children has been that, yes, you can argue that a college degree will avail more opportunities. I think it’s a very important qualifier, if you’re working in your field of study. The data suggest approximately half of people with degrees are not pursuing the field of study. I think it’s important to have a serious conversation about what will be done with the degree. A degree does not promise success, it offers the potential for success, and I’ve observed that education is what you make of it….it’s not a guarantee.

To bring it back home, many of the conversations we have in our firm involve a significant amount of college debt for the baby boomer group. Federal Reserve Banks reports Americans owe $914 billion in student loans, that’s more than the nation’s entire credit card debt. I wonder how many parents would go into this kind of debt if they suspected the degree may not be used in the field of study. The average annual tuition costs are about $20,000 a year, or about $80,000 for a degree which can have a significant impact on ones retirement income. If you have a need for college planning contact our office, we may be able to help with some solutions.