Go ahead and completely ignore the fact that people who go to college are more motivated on average than people who don't and would likely make more even without a college education. Or ignore the fact that your graph doesn't say who is even being counted. Does it count prisoners who are incarcerated, house wives, kids that are actually attending college and have 0 income, homeless people, people on welfare, people who don't want to work. Ignore that the unemployment rate is higher for lower earners so averaging out how much they make without taking that into account is impossible unless the results are only there to prove a point of the person making the graph.
You know what the graph shows if you more the starting age to 25? A much smaller gap. What happens if you start the chart at 18 and do it based on lifetime earning? Then put the people who go to college in the college categories as they generate 0 income and its because of college that they have 0 income. Then when you look at someone who is 18 making the average of 30k, and the 2 year degree is making 32k you realize that the difference is 2k and those 2 years of your life could of been spent making 60k and that it would take about 35 years for the 2 year degree holder to make back that money and the money spent on college. Then you have to account for the people who went to college and aren't doing the job they went to school for. You start to realize that there are a lot of people who wasted time and money going to college. When you account for the income loss and paying for school the first 4 years, the gap is much smaller and honest. This graph does none of that. Then you have to just stop and think.. no stupid people are going to go to college 4 or 8 years, they won't have the ability. Where as some very intelligent people that make good money don't ever go to college. Motivation is the key to success, not intelligence or education.
If we pretend like all those gaping flaws aren't there, then sure, the graph proves that going to college is always the right thing to do.
maybe if you removed the the blinders. you would know that all the 'gaps' are really your attempt to correct a trend that has been so solidly cemented as fact by the scientific community that you have to make up mathematical inaccuracies.
all of the 'gaps' would be considered unacceptable data manipulation by any serious researcher.
you just need to swallow this dose of reality:
A COLLEGE EDUCATION WILL LEAD TO A HIGHER PAYING CAREER, NO MATTER WHAT FIELD YOU ARE IN.
there were once high-paying jobs where you acquire the knowledge through work, and don't really need the degree. but those fields have all been 'outsourced' by companies b/c conservatives in the name of the free market decimated america's manufacturing sector through de-regulation.
i cannot believe there's actually a 'political ideology' that somehow perverts itself into convincing it's followers that a college education isn't worth it.
and community colleges don't really count into this whole education thing b/c most community colleges don't offer complete programs of advance science or math applications.
most programs in community college involve associates in nursing, computer technicians, clerical theory etc. not even bachelor's degrees, it's mostly certificates of completion or associate's degrees if you are lucky.
some schools around here don't even have entire programs. it's just random classwork and a list of 'equivalents' in other larger state or private colleges, so you can replace several credits and save money by taking the course in the community college, but the majority of your education and the university mentioned on the degree would be the larger institution....
and a college education can really load you with debt. that's why you need to have good grades, and play sports, so you can get a scholarship. that's what i did.
bachelor's of science in business. no debt.
