A new analysis of Texas students found bachelor’s degree entrants earned nearly $87,000 more than high school graduates over 15 years after costs.
Engineering and architecture majors produced the strongest long-term financial returns among bachelor’s degree fields in a new analysis of Texas public college students, while even lower-earning liberal arts fields still showed a positive payoff compared with entering the workforce after high school.
The analysis, conducted by the Postsecondary Commission, a nonprofit education group, tracked about 29,000 students who enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs during the 2008-09 academic year and compared their earnings over the following 15 years with those of workers who never attended college.
The study used what researchers called “cumulative net value-added earnings,” a measure that accounts not only for later wages but also for college costs, including tuition, room and board and income students gave up while attending school.
On average, bachelor’s degree entrants earned almost $87,000 more over 15 years than high school graduates, after those costs were included. Liberal arts majors, often associated with lower earnings than more technical fields, still outperformed non-college peers by about $35,000, the study found.
Michael Itzkowitz, president of the higher education consulting firm HEA Group, told CBS News the findings suggest that pursuing a bachelor’s degree is generally a sound investment across fields of study. He also noted that the analysis is limited to Texas, meaning the results may not translate exactly to states with different labor markets or training needs.
“This study is quite rigorous, as it takes opportunity costs into account, meaning it includes the foregone costs of spending time in college in comparison to those who begin working straight out of high school,” Itzkowitz said.
The report also examined shorter credentials. Most associate’s degree entrants generated positive returns, with construction trades showing the strongest 10-year payoff at nearly $73,000. But some two-year fields, including culinary services and logistics, showed net losses of about $13,000 and $15,000, respectively.
Certificate programs produced a more mixed picture. Construction trade certificates had the highest five-year return, at roughly $48,000, while seven certificate fields — including social sciences and information technology — showed net losses during that period.
The findings arrive as families weigh rising college costs against future earnings. The Texas data point to broad financial gains from bachelor’s programs over time, but they also underscore that field of study, credential type and local job markets can shape how quickly education pays off.
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