While attending church this past Sunday, I heard my Bishop repeat the phrase “if you want to earn it, you have got to learn it.” Now, being in church hearing this and also having been giving the opportunity to write on education in relation to how much one earns I figured this was a sign and decided to run with it. “It” being the fact that instead of giving a bunch of statistics of the correlation between degrees and salary and leaving it at that, I want to approach it from a different angle. It is so easy for research companies to put out the numbers of what class of people, which races, the general demographics and what people are doing wrong (in terms of the lack of zeros on their paycheck). It is not so easy to list those same reasons, i.e. poor education, lower income from the parents…etc when you have personal experience with the whole education=money topic. While I have been blessed enough to have graduated from high school and earn my Bachelor’s degree from Georgia State University, I know others who have walked a different path.
I know people who dropped out of high school and are in the same place in their lives that they were five years ago. I also know people who finished high school and did not go to college and have a job they are satisfied with. I do know people who did not have the best upbringings or support from their families and are doing great now on their own. I have friends who dropped out of high school and worked to get their GEDs and either have a great job without college or a not so great one with college. I know people who dropped out of high school, got their GEDs and gave up college because their dream career is coming true even now. Truthfully, some of those people have the chance to make more money than I will. Now the downside to that is that it may be much more difficult for them to do it because they did not pursue the traditional four year degree. Now, some of these individuals agree that more education equals more money and try to do what needs to be done. However, there are other people I know who believe that is not always the case and want to break the mold. Speaking from a traditional and theoretical viewpoint here is the bottom line; the higher a person’s education the more money they can earn. Now pay attention, can is the operative word. Before the slide of the economy that was how the game was played. A person graduated from high school, received a degree from college (normally a four year program) and landed a job paying the big bucks. More realistically and fairly more currently (thank you past presidents) a person could have a diploma from college and land a job working beside a high schooler. That does not mean that person failed or did not even try. It means things are harder out here and sometimes no matter how hard a person works things will not always go the “traditional” way. Career choice plays a part, but I will get to that point.
Personally speaking, after graduation from high school I had no clue what I wanted to major in. Honestly, I would have liked to tour Europe for a year then attend school but yea, definitely did not happen. It took me about two years to pick a career choice and even then I was nervous. I did the research back then, the pros and cons, the money average, the chances of success etc. Not the prettiest picture but one I wanted to paint. After graduation from college it took months before I was able to get the opportunity I have now that lets me write to you lovely people. I am still working toward the career of my dreams (one step closer now) and it seems at times a never ending task. When I think about it I am a believer in the traditional view point of career success and the more contemporary viewpoint. That viewpoint is that talent can supersede grade point average. What I mean is there are the Bill Gates and the Jay-Zs and the Oprahs and the well you get my point. Not all successful people have to put in the years for a degree. Sometimes, pursuing your dream by any and all means possible is enough for you to get to the point where you are satisfied with your paycheck or where you are the one signing it. I love this philosophy and I love meeting people who have chosen that path. Regardless, there are some things that for the majority of people will apply. One is like it or not a high school diploma is required for just about any job you can think of both blue and white collar. A college Bachelor’s degree at one time was required for a seriously large percentage of jobs and highly favored. In more recent years, for some careers a college four year degree has the value of a high school diploma; more and more people are obtaining them, thus more and more companies are expecting them, ergo it is not always as valuable as it once was. The value of an education goes up when you look at Master degrees and Ph. Ds. A degree will get a person through any door, yet it is the person with the talent and the experience behind the degree that gets the person the job. Since it would be almost impossible for me to express the importance of “earning it means learning it” without putting some numbers out there let’s take a look at some highly sought after degrees and how important an education comes with it.
Forbes.com had a list looking at some of the top (top as in popularity and money median) careers. On the Forbes list the number one spot went to software developers. Now is this really that much of a surprise? Technology runs our lives completely. The other day I was at the library and made a joke about not having to look up books the “old fashioned way” with the cards and filing system. I have never done that, but my parents have so I know in theory how to do it. The look on this high schooler’s face was priceless when she asked me (in all seriousness I might add) “how do you find a library book without the computer?” There were no words on my part because at that moment I realized that half of the younger generation would probably go into a coma if all computers shut down for 24 hours. So, yes software developers are highly sought after. According to Forbes, there were over 70,000 jobs added in that industry in the last three years. Accountants and Auditors were the number two spot on the list having over 37,000 jobs added in the last few years. Market Research Analysts and Specialists landed the number three spot, having over 31,000 jobs added since 2010.
Looking at another source, in the Money/Careers section of USAnews.com, Dentists make an average of $142,000 a year, Registered Nurses make an average of $65,000 a year and Computer Systems Analysts have a salary average of $78,000. What do all of the above jobs have in common? A college education is needed. The phrase “to earn it you have to learn it” has to be taken literally with these careers. Just for curiosity sake I also wanted to look at the “worst jobs” according to some researchers. I must say I do not agree with all of these choices, but what are you going to do when majority says? According to the Washington Post the number ten worst job is that of a Flight Attendant, mainly because there are no spikes in reported growth for the future. Number nine was a Roofer mainly due to the injury average. Mail Carriers come in at number eight because more and more things are being sent and received via electronically. Skipping to number three Enlisted Military hit that mark simply due to its high stress level. Ironically, the Washington Post listed being a Journalist (mainly print) as the number one worst job for the same reason of number eight and that is due to social media. (Stand together writers!) Going from the ‘he said she said’ of best and worst jobs to degree rates, the National Center for Education Statistics reported that over 33% of Americans from 25 to 29 had a Bachelor’s degree in 2012. While the economy is rising again, many jobs are being created due to everything becoming more digital, which is nice since our American world seems to revolve around it.
Some other bits of information to juggle in your mind is that teachers are one of the largest job categories today, about 4,300,000 people work as retail salespeople, about 3,300,000 people work as cashiers, that the average of waitresses/waiters reach 2,300,000 and there are about 2,300,000 secretaries/administrative assistants in the United States. The Atlantic.com is a website to visit that lists those numbers and more about career topics. After talking, or writing about, the careers that make some big bucks and are highly sought after, shedding light on the traditional viewpoint verses the more contemporary viewpoint of education, and discussing my personal philosophy on the subject I want to talk colleges. Taking a look in our back yard of Atlanta here are some college statistics. The median career salary for those who graduate from Georgia Institute of Technology reaches $102,000. For Georgia State University the median salary hits at $73,000. Spellman College has a median of $59,000 and Morehouse College has a median of $70,000. University of Georgia has a median of $79,000 and Savannah College of Art and Design has a median of $55,000. Payscale.com gave those numbers and has more information on related topics if you are interested in checking it out. Rounding out this information session let’s take a look at what the Bureau of Labor Statistics/Department of Labor says about education and salary correlation. The average that a person who did not graduate from high school will make is $471weeky. High school graduates make $652 a week and those with Bachelor’s degrees make $1,066 a week. A Master’s degree can get you $1,300 a week and a Doctor’s degree can make $1,624 a week. This information is as of 2012 but it is safe to say the same applies for today.
My point is no matter what your philosophy is on education or college and no matter what career you choose the bottom line is if you want to earn it you have got to learn it. Show some determination, keep up the persistence and revel in every opportunity you get to become successful. At the end of the day we are all people who have the same wants and are made up of the same elements. Do not let your circumstance dictate your outcome. Do not accept a bad forecast if your heart tells you that you are destined for something greater. Surround yourself with people who are going where you want to go, who help raise you up and encourage your efforts. It is extremely important to me that regret or procrastination does not make a place in anyone’s life. Everyone has a different situation or way of thinking, but I strongly enforce words I heard this past weekend, taking the meaning both literally and figuratively; “if you want to earn it you have got to learn it.”
