Tuesday, Mar 7, 2023
Reports show a college degree correlates with greater earning potential, job stability and life satisfaction
In the United States, college degree attainment continues to increase. According to a 2021 report from the U.S. Census Bureau, the percentage of people 25 years and over with a bachelor’s degree or higher climbed by 2.8% between 2010-14 and 2015-19. The overall increase was true across all race groups.
The news shouldn't come as a surprise. Earning a bachelor's degree has proven to correlate with higher lifetime earnings and lower odds of unemployment. And it's not just career outcomes that higher education helps with. People with a bachelor's degree also report better health outcomes compared to those without one.
A college degree can provide an immediate boost to one’s job prospects as well as long-term benefits. Especially in combination with work experience, the skills and knowledge afforded by a bachelor's degree can prove to be an excellent facilitator to career reinvention at any stage in life.
If you’re considering returning to school or reassessing your career goals and priorities in hopes of reinventing yourself for a more suitable career, here are five ways earning a bachelor’s degree can benefit you.
1. Greater career opportunities and job stability
When you go to college and earn your bachelor's degree, it is very likely you will give your career a boost while also making it more stable. College graduates enjoy a lower unemployment rate than their peers with a high school diploma. This fact tends to be true in good times and bad. Even in 2020, when the pandemic pushed unemployment rates higher than the previous year across all education levels, the unemployment rate for workers who had a bachelor’s degree was 5.5%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For those whose highest level of education was a high school diploma, the unemployment rate hit 9%.
2. Higher earning potential
A degree can increase your salary and increase your earning potential. On average, workers with a college education earn more than those with a high school diploma. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2020 that workers with a bachelor’s degree had median weekly earnings of $1,305, compared with $781 for workers with a high school diploma — a 50% salary increase.
Recent college grads need not wait to benefit. Full-time workers ages 22 to 27 with a bachelor’s degree now earn $22,000 more than their counterparts with only a high school diploma, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The difference is the highest recorded by the New York Fed, which has tracked earnings since 1990.
3. Access to large and diverse networks
College students live and learn in a unique environment that naturally fosters connections, not only with peers but with alumni and faculty. Personal connections can help you discover opportunities and get your foot in the door of a company you want to work for.
Strong connections can lead to fruitful opportunities. At Rider University, for example, a recent survey revealed that for the Class of 2021, 98.7% of bachelor degree recipients were employed, in graduate school, volunteering or in the military within one year of graduation.
Certain conditions can help grease the wheels for making connections. At Rider, the 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio means your professors know who you are, and its network of more than 62,000 alumni means potential helping hands, and even mentors, are everywhere.
4. Opportunities to explore or find your calling — and turn it into a career
Whether you are an adult learner who knows exactly what you want or are still searching for what drives you, pursuing a bachelor’s degree allows you to devote yourself to learning and growing.
At Rider, students choose from more than 100 majors, minors and programs, and graduate 4+1 and accelerated programs that make it easy to get your master's immediately after finishing a bachelor’s program. No matter which program you choose, a great education will prepare you for a fulfilling career. Rider's Office of Career Development and Success has the resources to help students explore their interests, gain experience through employment and build their personal brand.
5. Boosts self-confidence
Earning a college degree takes dedication. That's why putting in the effort, while sharpening your discipline and boosting your self-confidence along the way, ends up being its own reward. Attempting something hard, and mastering it, leads to personal growth. A college diploma represents many things, but for many, it most meaningfully represents a profound sense of accomplishment. And the newfound knowledge and experiences that accompany it aids graduates no matter what life throws in their path.
Whether you are starting college now or returning to learn as an adult student, Rider has the resources to help you, including for an online bachelor’s degree. Contact us today for more information about how Rider can help you achieve your goals.
