Does a College Education Pay Off?

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It feels like more than ever, our world requires a college degree.

Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce predicted eight years ago that by 2020, 65% of the nation’s jobs would require postsecondary education.

In 2018, 70% of workers were in those jobs, meaning that we have become even more educated than economists previously thought we would need to be.

Georgetown’s predictions for 2027 will publish soon and are similar to its past ones. There will be fewer jobs available for those without any type of post-high school degree. And more job opportunities will be available for employees with at least an associate degree.

These days, with only a high school diploma, it can be challenging to earn enough to achieve the exalted status of “middle class.”

American Public Media reports that “the wage gap between people who have bachelor’s degrees and people with only a high school diploma has nearly doubled since the early 1980s.”

But, at the same time, the financial burden of college degree programs continues to skyrocket.