So apparently this is using data from the Dept of Education, but I wasn't able to find anything about their methodology on the site that the paper referenced[1]

So apparently this is using data from the Dept of Education, but I wasn't able to find anything about their methodology on the site that the paper referenced[1] (footnote #22 says that's the data they're using). I am curious to know: how are earnings calculated? Are these numbers coming from voluntary surveys or something more reliable? In any case, this data is kind of interesting but it's certainly not anything that would lead me to conclude that college is worth it. At the very least, I'd want to see some attempt to control for what I'd assume are the most powerful confounding variables: * controlling for industry (in which industries to college grads make more than non-attendees?) * controlling for socioeconomic background (do rich kids who don't go to school make less than those who do?) * and controlling for opportunity (do students who are accepted into top schools but choose not to go make as much money as those who do?) [1] https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/data/ https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/data/