EMBARGOED UNTIL: 12:01 A.M. EDT, TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2001
Public Information Office CB01-66
301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax)
301-457-1037 (TDD)
e-mail: pio@census.gov
Kurt Bauman
301-457-2464
Technical Degrees Worth More, U.S. Census Bureau Reports
College graduates who work full time and have a bachelor's degree in
engineering earn the highest average monthly pay ($4,680), while those
with education degrees earn the lowest ($2,802), according to a report
based on 1996 data released today by the Commerce Department's Census
Bureau.
These data on the earnings potential of different college majors should
not be confused with the results of Census 2000, which are being released
over the next three years.
"Majoring in a technical field does pay off even if you don't finish a
four-year degree," said Kurt Bauman, co-author with Camille Ryan of
What's It Worth? Field of Training and Economic Status, 1996. "The average
person with a vocational certificate earns around $200 more per month than
the average high school graduate; but if the certificate is in an
engineering-related field, the boost in earnings is close to $800."
At the top of the earnings scale were those with professional degrees,
such as doctors and lawyers ($7,224 per month), followed by full-time
workers with master's degrees ($4,635), bachelor's degrees ($3,767), high
school graduates ($2,279) and those without a diploma ($1,699).
Other highlights:
- Business was the most popular field of training beyond high
school. In 1996, 7.5 million people had bachelor's degrees in
business and earned a monthly average of $3,962. An additional 1.9
million had master's of business administration or other advanced
degrees in business. The average monthly earnings of people with
master's degrees in business was $5,579.
- Of people with managerial jobs, 46 percent had bachelor's or higher
degrees. Of people in professional occupations, 71 percent held
bachelor's or higher degrees. By comparison, no more than 8 percent
of those in craft, service, farm and production occupations had
completed this much education.
- Associate degrees generally require a two-year course of study, but
people took an average of more than four years to complete
them. Bachelor's and higher degrees took an average of five or more
years to complete.
The data are from the 1996 panel of the Survey of Income and Program
Participation. As in all surveys, the data are subject to sampling
variability and other sources of error.
available free from Adobe.
