Yahoo! Finance, Forget Harvard and a 4-Year Degree, You Can Make More as a Plumber in the Long Run, Says Prof. Kotlikoff:
A new study from Princeton University [Estimating the Return to College Selectivity over the Career Using Administrative Earning Data] shows that expensive college degrees are not necessarily worth the lofty price tags in the long run when you take into account one’s natural ability. Laurence Kotlikoff, professor of economics at Boston University agrees that an expensive education just isn’t worth it. …
He has found that more often than not, people can have a better lifetime standard of living by choosing NOT to get an advanced degree. And, he says that people can be better off financially by not obtaining an undergraduate degree at all.
Professor Kotlikoff makes his case by comparing the livelihoods of plumbers and doctors. Yes, doctors have a bigger salary. But, doctors have to endure nearly a decade of expensive education before making any real salary, after which the doctor is hit by a very high progressive tax rate. Because of all the costs the doctor incurs, the taxes and the lost wages, he says, “plumbers make more, and have almost the same spending power over their lifetime as general practitioners.”
