Is a college degree needed for a great job? The answer is surprising. - The Boston Globe (2024)

Nonetheless, Belmonte acknowledges that the sky-high cost of college gives her pause. “Wellesley’s topping $92,000 next year,” she says, citing an annual price that includes tuition, room and board, and other costs for Wellesley College. Even though she knows most students won’t pay full freight, “You have to take a deep breath and think, Oh my God, what am I getting out of this?”

In 2024, questions about the true economic value of a college degree are being asked more urgently than ever. A key metric used to justify spending on higher education is the college wage premium, which shows that job income rises with level of schooling — people with college and graduate degrees typically earn more than those who stop at a high school diploma or GED. That remains true in many cases, according to a study from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis: The median income for a family headed by someone with a bachelor’s degree is double that of the median non-graduate’s, and the median postgraduate family makes about 2.75 times the non-graduate’s.

However, another metric, the college wealth premium — which looks at debt in addition to income — paints a far more distressing picture. In the aggregate, the household wealth premium is still enormous when compared with non-graduate families. But when broken down by age, as well as race and ethnicity, the story is one of a declining advantage over non-graduate families in recent decades. Among families headed by someone with a bachelor’s and who was born in the 1980s, for example, there is basically no wealth premium, except for white degree holders (and the premium for that group is at a historic low). For heads of household with a postgraduate degree and who were born in the 1980s, there is basically no wealth premium for anyone, regardless of race or ethnicity.

“Our results suggest that college and postgraduate education may be failing some recent graduates as a financial investment,” the authors of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis report conclude.

One way to make college degrees a better investment is to lower the cost of getting them. In August, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey launched a program that offers free tuition to state residents ages 25 and up (and without a prior degree) at any of the state’s 15 community colleges. The goal is twofold: to acknowledge the aspirations of learners beyond the conventional college age, and to help boost the number of skilled workers available to local employers.

Then there’s the skills-based hiring movement, which is amplifying the fact that plenty of jobs don’t require four-year college degrees at all. Demand for job training — such as construction apprenticeships or six-month online programs for cybersecurity certificates — appears to be on the rise. Meanwhile, overall enrollment at community colleges rose 2.6 percent last year, more growth than at four-year colleges, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Enrollment rose 16 percent at those community colleges focused on vocational training.

State governments are increasingly taking a hard look at job descriptions, dropping the requirement for a college degree for many jobs in favor of assessing candidates based on their skills. Healey made this move in January, so the impact on in-state jobs remains to be seen. In February, a report from Harvard Business School and the Burning Glass Institute, a nonprofit research organization, found that even though a significant number of employers eliminated degree requirements between 2014 and 2023, hiring practices didn’t change much.

But support for a turn toward skills-based hiring remains overwhelmingly high in New England, according to the Globe Magazine-Emerson College Polling survey: Overall, 78 percent supported dropping college degree requirements, including 74 percent of college graduates and 68 percent of respondents with postgraduate degrees.

Where the Jobs Are Now?

A 2024 federal report predicts these occupations will see some of the highest numbers of job openings through 2032. Check out what the positions are, the education they require, and what they pay.

Occupations that require a high school diploma or equivalent:

1. Home health and personal care aides: 657,600 job openings per year / $30,180 median annual wage
2. Stockers and order fillers: 488,700 openings / $34,220
3. Customer service representatives: 389,700 openings / $37,780
4. Office clerks, general: 307,600 openings / $38,040
5. Administrative assistants (not including legal, medical, and executive): 211,900 openings / $41,000

Occupations that require more than high school but less than college:

1. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers: 241,200 job openings per year / $49,920 median annual wage
2. Nursing assistants: 202,300 openings / $35,760
3. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks: 194,700 openings / $45,860
4. Teaching assistants (not including postsecondary): 151,000 openings / $30,920
5. Medical assistants: 114,600 openings / $38,270

Occupations that require a bachelor’s degree:

1. General managers/executives: 296,300 job openings per year / $98,100 median annual wage
2. Registered nurses: 193,100 openings / $81,220
3. Software developers: 136,300 openings / $127,260
4. Accountants and auditors: 126,400 openings / $78,000
5. Elementary school teachers (not including special education): 96,000 openings / $61,690

Occupations that require a graduate degree:

1. Lawyers: 39,000 job openings per year / $135,740 median annual wage
2. Postsecondary health specialties teachers: 27,400 openings / $100,300
3. Educational, guidance, and career counselors: 26,600 openings / $60,140
4. Nurse practitioners: 26,300 openings / $121,610
5. Education administrators, kindergarten through secondary: 20,100 openings / $101,320

Source: Elka Torpey, “Education level and projected openings, 2022–32,” Career Outlook, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 2024. Job opening figures represent the per-year average, and pay is as of 2022.

Earnings Report

States producing the highest-earning college grads:

1. Massachusetts: $59,862

2. Connecticut: $59,356

3.New Jersey: $58,904

4. California: $58,441

5. Nevada: $58,376

States producing the lowest-earning college grads:

46. Kentucky: $44,639 annually

47. South Carolina: $44,054

48. Arkansas: $43,478

49. Mississippi: $42,868

50. New Mexico: $42,414

Source: Degreechoices.com, January 2024, analyzing College Scorecard data. Figures represent average annual salary four years after graduation.

More School, More Money?

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics finds earnings typically rise (and unemployment typically falls) with more formal education. Take a look at what degrees mean for median weekly pay and unemployment rates.

Less than a high school diploma:

• $682 weekly median pay
• 5.5% unemployment rate

High school diploma:

• $853 weekly
• 4% unemployment

Some college, no degree:

• $935 weekly
• 3.5% unemployment

Associate’s degree:

• $1,005 weekly
• 2.7% unemployment

Bachelor’s degree:

• $1,432 weekly
• 2.2% unemployment

Master’s degree:

• $1,661 weekly
• 1.9% unemployment

Professional degree:

• $2,080 weekly
• 1.4% unemployment

Doctoral degree:

• $2,083 weekly
• 1% unemployment

Source: “Education pays, 2022,” Career Outlook, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2023. Pay figures represent median “usual” weekly earnings.

5 of the best-paying bachelor’s degrees for recent grads

1. Computer engineering: $80,000 median annual wage
2. Chemical engineering: $79,000
3. Computer science: $78,000
4. Aerospace engineering: $74,000
5. Electrical engineering: $72,000

5 of the worst-paying bachelor’s degrees for recent grads

1. Anthropology: $40,000 median annual wage
2. Leisure and hospitality: $39,700
3. Theology and religion: $38,000
4. Performing arts: $38,000
5. Liberal arts: $38,000

Source: “The Labor Market for Recent College Graduates,” Federal Reserve Bank of New York, February 2024. Figures are for US full-time workers ages 22-27.

Audrey Silalahi is finishing her bachelor’s degree in publishing and writing at Emerson College. Send comments to magazine@globe.com. Contributors: This project was produced in collaboration with an Emerson College writing course led by associate professor Susanne Althoff, a former editor of the Globe Magazine.

Read more from College & Careers:

• We asked 6,000 New Englanders: Is a college degree still worth the cost?
• How conservatives lost their trust in the value of college
• College debt is higher than ever. One in 2 grads with loans have regrets.
• The FAFSA aid debacle is like trying to get Taylor Swift tickets. My kid can’t go to college until it’s fixed.