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What all these studies always fail to factor is that a college degree will give you an advantage over someone that does not have one in just about any situation

What all these studies always fail to factor is that a college degree will give you an advantage over someone that does not have one in just about any situation. Just the fact that you have one will signal to the potential employer that you can accomplish goals, meet a deadline and the many things you need to deal with to get a degree over those that don't have one. The real question is, "Does an ivy league degree, and those that are very expensive worth it?" I suspect that in most cases it's not. An art degree from Harvard will most likely not pay for itself. But an engineering one from a respected state school will likely have a good return on investment. Bottom line a degree is worth it. But you have to make sure you pick a major that pays off in the end.

esotericn 7y ago
I also find the analysis strange because it depends heavily on whether you're profit focused. If you are, then the average outcome probably doesn't matter to you, because you're going to select for profitability in your degree choice, you're going to move around for work, continuously study and train in adult life, and generally you're gonna be fine financially (if perhaps not emotionally, oho). If you're not profit focused - if you're doing the degree primarily and substantially because you love X and want to do X - then what do you care if it doesn't pay back? You got to be an X! The question is almost irrelevant. I think a lot of analysis suffers from this averaging effect whereby actually that average person doesn't exist. There is no realistic path that would have lead to me making the average income for my cohort, for example, because I'm just not that sort of person - I'd rather just go relatively all out, or else work for a non-profit or scrappy startup or whatever, so I either bin high or low.
mennis16 7y ago
Harvard (and similar schools) give very generous aid, not to mention that one can easily transition to consulting or similar no matter their major if they came from Harvard. The considerations for Ivy+ schools are not the same as the considerations that are being discussed in this article/thread. The people that are actually ending up screwed with debt went to mid tier (or worse) private schools for the most part, or possibly mediocre out of state public options.

esotericn 7y ago

I also find the analysis strange because it depends heavily on whether you're profit focused. If you are, then the average outcome probably doesn't matter to you, because you're going to select for profitability in your degree choice, you're going to move around for work, continuously study and train in adult life, and generally you're gonna be fine financially (if perhaps not emotionally, oho). If you're not profit focused - if you're doing the degree primarily and substantially because you love X and want to do X - then what do you care if it doesn't pay back? You got to be an X! The question is almost irrelevant. I think a lot of analysis suffers from this averaging effect whereby actually that average person doesn't exist. There is no realistic path that would have lead to me making the average income for my cohort, for example, because I'm just not that sort of person - I'd rather just go relatively all out, or else work for a non-profit or scrappy startup or whatever, so I either bin high or low.

mennis16 7y ago

Harvard (and similar schools) give very generous aid, not to mention that one can easily transition to consulting or similar no matter their major if they came from Harvard. The considerations for Ivy+ schools are not the same as the considerations that are being discussed in this article/thread. The people that are actually ending up screwed with debt went to mid tier (or worse) private schools for the most part, or possibly mediocre out of state public options.