The bachelor's degree is not the only ticket to getting a job, but it is becoming increasingly necessary to have to even get your foot in the door for many positions. A bachelor's can also be key to making more money. Those with a high school diploma will make, on average, $1.2 million over the course of their lives, while those with a bachelor's degree will earn an average of $2.1 million. This difference in lifetime earning potential makes earning a bachelor's degree important to raising your standard of living.
Bachelor's Degree Salary
The average annual salary of those with bachelor's degrees in the United States is $52,200, according to the Earn My Degree website. This is compared to $30,400 for those with only a high school diploma. Having some college under your belt bumps you up to $36,800 per year and having an associates degree brings your annual salary up to about $38,200. The jump from the salary of having an associates degree to Bachelor's degree is the largest.
Business, Computers, Science and Engineering
Over the course of your life, a bachelor's degree in business can earn you an extra $349,028 over only having a high school diploma, according to money expert Liz Pulliam Weston of MSN Money. A bachelor's in engineering can net you an extra $497,930, while a Bachelor's in a computer field can bring in an extra $443,180. Science bachelor's degrees have the potential to help you earn another $283,286 in your life.
Liberal Arts, Social Sciences and Education
A bachelor's degree in liberal arts has the potential to help you earn an extra $243,883 over your life and one in the social sciences can bring in $210,080 extra. A Bachelor's in education could lead to $108,461 extra in your working life.
Statistics
The median annual salary of a woman with a bachelor's degree is $41,521. A man's median annual salary if he holds a Bachelor's degree is $57,462, according to PayScale.com. About 69 percent of bachelor's degree holders are females, compared to 31 percent being male.
Some of the highest-paid jobs that people with bachelor's degrees get are in the information sciences and systems field (average starting salary of $54,038), aerospace, aeronautical and astronautical engineering ($57,231 to start), mechanical engineering ($58,392), mining & mineral engineering ($64,552) and Petroleum Engineering ($86,220).
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