Once Again: Is College Worth It? « Blogul galben al lui Gondolin

¶The dismal job prospects for new college graduates have revived debates about whether college is "worth it." The PayPal founder Peter Thiel is among the major skeptics, but there are plenty of others. Check out the commentson yesterday's article about employment rates for recent grads to see what I mean.

¶College provides plenty of intellectual and psychic benefits alongside the potential economic ones, granted. Let's just focus on the economic ones. Is college worth it, economically? My colleagues David Leonhardt and Floyd Norris had a blogging debate about this question, which I encourage you to go back and read. For now I'd just like to highlight a few factors to consider.

¶It's true that the job market for new college graduates stinks right now. But you know what? The job market for non-graduates is worse.

¶People with more skills have a broader range of jobs they can do, and having a postsecondary degree sometimes serves as litmus test for employers who can be picky about hiring.

¶As a result, unemployment rates decline as workers become more educated:

Source: Bureau of Labor Analysis, via Haver Analytics