4 ms·
That $750k fact sounds fishy to me. People who self-select into advanced degrees generally possess qualities that are correlated with earnings (intelligence, am
by aczerepinski 11y ago
That $750k fact sounds fishy to me. People who self-select into advanced degrees generally possess qualities that are correlated with earnings (intelligence, ambition, rich parents, etc). Does the $750k figure compare that group against similarly ambitious and intelligent people who went another route in life? I have no idea how you'd create a fair control group to make such a comparison.
- karzeem 11y agoA well-paid lawyer makes several hundred thousand dollars more per year than the comparison group they're referring to (which as you suggest, is probably deliberately defined to be low-earning). Those are tough jobs to get, especially coming from an uncompetitive law school, but for those who manage to do it, their lifetime earnings could plausibly be $10 MM higher. It only takes a few of those to pull the average up by $750k.
- golergka 11y agoAgreed. But why didn't journalist investigate this further? That's what I find most disturbing about the article.