What's your degree worth income wise over a lifetime? - Check it out here

astro · October 18, 2003, 7:53pm

Is a degree worth a million bucks? - How to determine what piece of paper will really pay

DreadCthulhu · October 18, 2003, 8:08pm

Well, it says my engineering degree will be worth an extra $500,000. Nice.

Rasa · October 18, 2003, 9:23pm

Hahahaha!

I have my BA in Public Archaeology. I’d class that as a “social science” (don’t get me started on it not being a BS…) and according to that article:

**Social Science $210,080 **

Dude, the only archaeologists making near that are James Spader and Harrison Ford. In the movies.

::whew:: That was good for a laugh!

(FTR, I’ve never “used” my degree; I’ve worked in IT since graduating in '99.)

astro · October 18, 2003, 9:48pm

Umm…you need to read the article again. The dollars quoted are not annual salaries, but are the net present value of an degree in terms of the expected increase in income over a lifetime.

THE CALCULATIONS
I started with a set of Census Bureau figures — average pay rates for specific degrees, last collected in 1996. As a proxy for real lifetime earnings, it’s not perfect, but it does reflect the wide range of pay scales for each degree, from those just starting out to those ready for retirement.

What I was looking for was the “present value” of the increase in future income that could be expected with various educations. A dollar paid in the future is worth less than a dollar today, but it does have value. Compute the values of all those future dollars and you get a lump-sum figure that can be compared with the cost of an education to see whether the investment in tuition was worthwhile.

Professional investors do these calculations all the time to determine whether to put their money on the line. It’s also the process used to determine the payout amount when a lottery winner opts for a lump sum rather than 20 or more years of annual payments.

Normally, a net-present-value calculation would subtract the upfront investment cost. Since education costs can vary so widely, I’m presenting the numbers without that subtraction. You can do your own math, depending on how much you think your education will set you back.

Blonde · October 18, 2003, 9:57pm

I am SO glad I didn’t go on to get a Masters in Accounting.
I’ll take my BBA and CPA, and hell will freeze over before I take another test!

Age_Quod_Agis · October 18, 2003, 10:09pm

Woo hoo! My law degree is worth $9748,865.

. . . typo? Surely not. Although it certainly doesn’t seem to line up with my salary.

jackelope · October 18, 2003, 10:49pm

My M.A. in English Lit is worth “less than 0.” Like I needed some bozo on MSNBC to tell me that.

astro · October 18, 2003, 11:00pm

$ 748,865 in net present dollars today, on average more than you would have made without the degree. In real terms this will equate to millions and millions in income actually received over the average lawyer’s lifetime. More (lots more) if you’re a hot shot, less if you choose to be a legal aid worker or some such, or are just a poor lawyer.

Age_Quod_Agis · October 18, 2003, 11:21pm

So lots, lots less for me. Although I doubt that I’d be making much at what I’d be doing had I failed the bar exam – sleeping and eating Cheetohs.

The reason I thought it was a typo is that the article showed that a doc’s degree was worth over $8 million less, which doesn’t comport with my experience with docs and their income.

Age_Quod_Agis · October 18, 2003, 11:23pm

So lots, lots less for me. Although I doubt that I’d be making much at what I’d be doing had I failed the bar exam – sleeping and eating Cheetohs.

The reason I thought it was a typo is that the article showed that an M.D. was worth about $8.5 million less than a J.D., which doesn’t comport with my experience with the relative income of docs and lawyers.

Mr.Evil_Breakfast · October 19, 2003, 3:06am

Well lawyers don’t have to shell out an average of $3,000,000 a year for malpractice insurance which is what most doctors have to do these days, thanks to the lawsuit happy idiots who think that doctors are somehow perfect robots and not human beings who make mistakes and errors like everyone else.