| Whether you choose to enter the job market with a | | | | well at all. To be a teacher, social worker or public |
| high school vs. college graduation under you belt can | | | | interest lawyer, you almost always need an |
| have a very significant impact on the jobs you will be | | | | advanced degree. Yet these professions do not |
| able to do and the amount of money you will be able | | | | offer tremendous financial rewards. |
| to make. | | | | When you are considering going to college in terms |
| According to a report entitled "The Big Payoff: | | | | of how it will help you make more money, you |
| Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of | | | | should think about what type of job you want. If |
| Work-Life Earnings," a person with a high school | | | | your dream is to become a general contractor, you |
| degree can expect to earn an average of $1.2 million | | | | might be better off getting construction experience, |
| over the course of their working life, and a person | | | | learning skills on the job rather than in a classroom. Or |
| with a bachelor's degree can expect to earn an | | | | if your goal is to make a good deal of money with |
| average of $2.1 million dollars over the same period | | | | only a bachelor's degree you might not want to |
| of time. The report estimates that people with a | | | | graduate with an English, Sociology or Philosophy |
| master's degree will earn an average of $2.5 million, | | | | degree. Choose a more financially rewarding course |
| people with doctoral degrees will earn an average of | | | | of study like Engineering or Accounting. |
| $3.4 million dollars, and those who get professional | | | | In general, we encourage high school graduates to go |
| degrees will earn the most, an average of $4.4 million. | | | | on to college. A college degree is viewed as the |
| That said, all those figures are an average, so it | | | | traditional pathway to success. As stated earlier in |
| doesn't mean they are written in stone. There are | | | | this article, the general financial trends support that |
| good-paying careers you might pursue with only a | | | | notion. |
| high school diploma. Construction contractors can | | | | However, it is crucial for every person to do what is |
| make a lot of money. So can entrepreneurs, small | | | | right for them. Sometimes, opportunities open up |
| business owners or investors. All of those careers | | | | when they are least expected. And other times, the |
| can be difficult, risky and taxing, but they do offer | | | | most obvious pathway to financial success is less |
| the possibility for a person to make an excellent living | | | | rewarding. We know that people with advanced |
| without a college degree. | | | | degrees make more money, but these degrees take |
| Then there are good-paying careers that require a | | | | time and money to earn. People spend years of their |
| two-year technical education such as plumbing, | | | | lives and take on a massive debt load to earn these |
| electrician work or nursing. Those careers pay fairly | | | | degrees. So, they may make more money, but they |
| well and offer opportunities for advancement and | | | | will owe a significant portion of that money. |
| entrepreneurship. | | | | Be sure you know what you want. Have a realistic |
| On the flip side, there are many careers that require | | | | idea of how to get there, and go for it. |
| a bachelor's degree (or higher) that do not pay very | | | | |