Comparison of Level of Education to Salary
"Education pays in higher earnings," according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Every step up the ladder of education receives higher salaries than the step below it. This makes sense: graduates not only start off at higher earnings than their counterparts who didn't finish high school, they also advance faster. The reverse is true of unemployment: the lower education levels have higher unemployment than more advanced ones: workers who have attained less than a high school diploma have an unemployment rate four times that of their contemporaries with a doctorate.
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Salaries for Doctoral Degrees
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In 2008, median weekly earnings for doctoral degree holders was $1,561, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, different statistics can show how variable earnings are within the category of doctoral degree-holders. For example, 6% of doctoral degree holders earned less than the median earnings of high school graduates, which was $618 per week. Doctoral degree holders in the top 10 percent of earnings make $1,500 more than their peers in the bottom 10 percent, the second-largest spread of any category.
Salaries for Professional Degrees
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Professional degree-holders earn per week just a bit under what doctoral degree holders make: $1,531 compared to $1,561. However, variation of earnings within this degree is enormous: the top 10% earns about $2,200 more than the bottom 10% per week, at $2,881 compared to $585. The nature of the industry, and the city and state all affect how much a professional degree-holder earns despite her level of educational attainment.
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Salaries for Master's Degrees
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Master's degree holders earn on average $1,233 a week. The top 10 percent earn about $1,300 more than the bottom 10 percent, but the majority--50% of master's degree holders--earn between $983 and $941 a week.
Bachelor's Degree
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Bachelor's degree-holders, those who have completed four years of college, earn about $1,000 a week on average. The spread, though, is large: top 10% earners make more than $1,100 more than the bottom 10%, who peter out at $400 a week, which is below the poverty line.
High School Diploma
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High school graduates' median weekly earnings are about $966 according to U.S. Bureau of Labor numbers from 2000. The top 10% earners make $680 than the bottom 10%. However, high earnings are not impossible without a secondary school degree. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, "in 1998, there were at least 50,000 people [working as computer programmers, electricians, firefighting occupations, real estate sales occupations, and tool and die makers] who did not have a bachelor's degree and who earned more than the median college graduate." There are exceptions to the rule, and people do on occasion earn more than their peers who only have a high school diploma.
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References
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