I recommend you take a look at the following two articles(both are related). They deal with the fact that undergraduates are increasingly making less money over the last 5 years(for the first time since the 1970's) http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/economicsunbound/archives/2005/09/the_continuing.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_economicsunbound http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2005/09/education_and_i_1.html
The job market is definitely moving towards requiring more advanced degrees. But I don't think that is the primary driver behind this statistic. More business and liberal arts majors, less science & engineers. An engineering, science, or technology graduate is more or less a known quantity. Their jobs require application of the extensive knowledge learned in school and little of intangibles such as leadership. Thus, they demand the highest starting salaries. A business major is unproven. They must add experience before they are paid well, or be admitted to a quality graduate program. A liberal arts major, well what exactly does a liberal arts major do but go to graduate school or make peanuts? Given this makeup of college graduates, of course average earnings go down.
Actually engineering and business the two most popular majors in college are actually shrinking in margin according to the data (http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2005/2005012.pdf). Of course this is most likely market driven. If there were an abundant vacancies for Engineering and Business majors, then it would makes sense that these fields would be growing (think of IT in the late 1990's). The data does not support this claim. There are more college graduates overall and of course there are a lot of people who enter college without the employability of their desired major in mind (how many businesses do you know with a Philosophy and/or a Music Department).Not that any major is not a noble undertaking but It would make sense that if there were high employability prospects in any field, the statistics would reflect an increase in enrollment. In the end it's always about supply and demand. One real possibility of course is that with the global economy that many multinational corporations are merely employing people in different parts of the world reducing the demand for graduates in all subject matter in the U.S. . In any case it still looks ugly to me, with the cost of education you hope to be much better off. Not just making slightly more than the guy down the street with no degree or student loans.
"In any case it still looks ugly to me, with the cost of education you hope to be much better off. Not just making slightly more than the guy down the street with no degree or student loans." Take heart Rivers....depending upon your age it may just be a matter of time. I am in my mid to late twenties and have been to lecture after lecture of the graying of America's workforce. If you are in the age range that I am, the job market applicant pool will become increasingly smaller, thus forcing industry and government to outsource, raise incentives or lower qual requirements. I work in government and the pool of qualified applicants in my area for law enforcement is getting mighty shallow. I interview people as part of a board and you wouldn't believe how little there is to choose from. Oiy!
I made my own comparisons, not that this is a study. Undergraduates that hold certifications in their respected field do a lot better than undergraduates without certifications. Undergraduates with degrees that are professionally accredited do better than undergraduates of RA that do better than undergraduates of NA universities and schools. some winning combinations. BSIT and MSCD, MSDBA, Oracle cert etc. BSEE, PMP very strong combo. BBA with PMP, CMC, etc. BA in Teaching and Teaching Credentials BSW - ALSW Now going for Graduate degree is also desirble. look for undergraduate programs that are, APA, AMA, ABET, ABA etc accredited. Learner