College Degree Central To Career Success In Pennsylvania

March 14, 2000

University Park, Pa. -- Young workers in today's economy will find career success elusive without a college degree, at least in Pennsylvania, according to a Penn State study.

"Compared to young workers equipped with only a high school diploma, even some college training doesn't make that much difference in personal income," says Dr. Gordon F. DeJong, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Demography at Penn State.

"During the boom years 1995-97, Pennsylvania workers aged 18-39 with only a high school degree had a median annual income barely over $18,000," he adds. "Surprisingly enough, U.S. Census data revealed that workers with an associate degree or some college completed had about the same median income as high school-only graduates."

This evidence suggests that the real income benefit for Pennsylvania workers comes from completing four or more years of college, DeJong notes.

DeJong and Pamela M. Klein, Penn State doctoral student in sociology and demography, are co-authors of the paper, "Educational Attainment of Pennsylvania's Young Workers: What's It Worth?", published by the Pennsylvania State Data Center.

"Failure to obtain higher education exacts a heavy price," Klein says. "In 1995-97, a robust state economy created strong demand for both white and blue collar workers. Nevertheless, the unemployment rate was 6 times higher for young high school dropouts and 2.6 times higher for workers who stopped with a high school degree than for college graduates."

In another example of occupational difference based on educational level, 88 percent of graduate and professional degree holders and 58 percent of baccalaureate degree graduates held professional and managerial positions. By contrast, only 2 percent of high school dropouts and 8 percent of workers with a high school diploma were in professional or management positions. At the same time, 40 percent of high school dropouts and 28 percent of high school diploma-only workers were operators, fabricators or laborers, the researchers note.

In 1995-97, only 2 percent of workers aged 18-39 with a college degree earned an income below the poverty line. This compares with 24 percent of the high school dropouts and 9 percent of the workers with only a high school diploma. In 1997, the official poverty threshold was $8,350 per year for a working age individual, according to DeJong.

Klein notes, "In the U.S. and Pennsylvania economy of the 21st century, education and experience, rather than inheritance, political affiliation or family ownership, will increasingly be the primary criteria for good jobs and successful employment for most workers."

The researchers used data from the March 1995-March 1997 nationwide Current Population Survey, collected by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. This survey polled 3,009 Pennsylvania men and women ages 18-39, who the Census Bureau officially defined as full-time or part-time workers, or were unemployed and looking for work.

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Contacts:

Paul Blaum (814) 865-9481 (o)

Vicki Fong (814) 865-9481 (o)/ (814) 238-1221 (h)

EDITORS: Dr. DeJong is at (814) 863-2277 or at by email; Ms. Klein is at (814) 863-0341 or by email.