People that go to college are in average brighter, harder working, more ambitious and for more affluante families and they are meant to make more money (as a group) than people that don't go to college
If you factor in the cost of going to college will you really make more money because of the diploma you will get?
Support :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbUFBk3477o (few minutes video debating the subject)
As a scientist, I wonder what data exists. I have found this on the web.
Using table
P-16 from the link.
For men aged 25 years and older, the median 2012 income was:
$18,002 Less than 9th grade
$19,780 9th through 12th grade
$31,064 12th grade graduate
$41,730 Associate degree
$56,656 Bachelor's degree
$71,364 Master's degree
$91,472 Doctoral degree
I have seen a table where this is broken down into annual age bins, instead of totals for everyone over age 25. I have not found that this morning.
I can play a bit with these numbers. Assume that someone will work from age 25 to age 65, or 40 years. Assume that they can borrow money at
the prime interest rate of 3.25%.
Then play a bit with the numbers. For illustration only, pretend that using the median income and projecting out for 40 years gives good guidance.
($56,656/yr (bachelors) - $31,064/yr (high school graduate) ) / 12 (month/yr) = $2,132 / month income difference for Bachelor's.
Next, find how much money you can borrow, with a 40 year payoff of $2,132/month and 3.25% interest. This is how much money you can pay for the degree and come out financially neutral, but still enjoy the other benefits of education, such as better health, higher home ownership, and lower involvement with law enforcement.
$572,288 highest profitable cost of bachelor's degree.
$451,076 interest paid to lender on this amount.
I view this analysis as guidance for public policy, e.g., should the government support student loans or even free college education. This numbers are real data for groups of people, individual results will vary. A more detailed analysis would take into account unemployment, life expectancy, family size by age, and income tax obligations.