The right associate degree can be worth more than a bachelor’s degree in the long run
“How are we going to pay for college?” Parents begin asking this question almost as soon as they find out a baby is due.
The question becomes scarier as children approach college age and parents see the cost of college attendance increasing at a higher rate than their income. Then the financial aid notice arrives and they learn that most students do not receive enough financial aid to cover the cost of attendance. As a result, many families take out student loans, and students graduate with significant debt. Even so, society continues to push all students toward a bachelor’s degree.
Parents should question more than how to pay. Is the bachelor’s degree the best value? What is the return on investment? What are the job prospects and career path? These questions provide a much clearer picture of the value of attending college.
It is often reported that students with a bachelor’s degree earn more than students with an associate degree, and that is true after five to 10 years of employment. In a column for The Hechinger Report, Jill Barshay reports that associate degree graduates earn more starting out, but bachelor’s degree graduates catch up over time. On average, after 10 years, a bachelor’s degree student is making approximately $55,000, which is about $13,000 more than an associate degree graduate.
However, there is a secret hidden in these averages. Majors matter. Barshay reports that graduates who earn an associate degree in applied science are making almost the same salary as bachelor’s degree graduates after 10 years, and in many fields are earning much more. The job market is changing, and the value of technical skills is becoming more apparent. Averages are not a true reflection of the value of earning an associate degree in applied science in a high-demand technical field.
For example, mechanical engineering is a major with one of the highest average salaries upon graduation. Bachelor’s degree graduates typically start at $58,000 to $65,000. They often take longer than four years to graduate and end up with about $35,000 in student debt when they finish.
That same student who finishes high school with a 3.0 GPA can attend Greenville Technical College with 95 percent of tuition and fees paid by the LIFE scholarship. If the student majors in mechatronics, he or she can start a career two years later with a salary of approximately $40,000 plus overtime pay.
At the end of four years, the bachelor’s degree student has a negative $35,000 due to student loans, while the associate degree graduate has made $80,000 – a difference of $115,000. Even though the mechanical engineer is making $25,000 more than the mechatronics technician, it still takes the mechanical engineer almost five years to catch the mechatronics technician in money made.
When I present these numbers to industry leaders, they consistently report that I am too conservative. They say that within their industries, it would take eight to 10 years to make up the difference, and one manager reported that in his facility, the difference is never made up. We need more mechanical engineers, but we also need more mechatronics technicians. Both paths are valuable, and students should be encouraged to consider all options.
Students do not have to take the traditional path to enter the middle class. The alternate path through a two-year college allows them to earn an associate degree and enter the career field – or if they desire a bachelor’s degree, to earn it at a lower cost, which improves the return on investment of their education. Students should be encouraged to consider hands-on technical fields that provide an excellent return on investment. This is not to say that universities are not worth the money, but students and parents should examine the value proposition of educational choices.
The initial starting point in education is not as critical as the pathway. For many students, Greenville Technical College is the logical starting point, and working through one of our technical majors in an apprenticeship program allows a student to get a jump-start on a career and to begin gaining experience right away. This path allows the student to complete a degree without incurring debt or paying exorbitant tuition prices. A student following this path can move from associate degree in applied science to bachelor’s degree at some point and will be well served by receiving practical early career experience that can be applied to greater challenges later in the career.
