There are numerous studies and economic indicators that support a 4-year undergraduate degree that equals higher income potential. Simply google “college degree earning potential” or other various words related to a college degree and lifetime earnings. The research primarily used in this article are written by academic professionals detailing the potential to earn more over high school graduates.
An online degree offers many advantages over a traditional on-campus degree. These advantages include; increased flexibility, cheaper costs to attend college, access to so many more academic institutions, and customization of the course offerings.
Current Research:
There are numerous studies and data to support how an undergraduate degree will generate more than $1 million dollars in lifetime earnings over a worker with a high school degree. Even the Social Security Administration (SSA) in the US reports these figures.
According to the SSA, men and women obtaining a bachelor’s degree will earn at least $630,000 more than those with a high school degree. There are many factors and variables to consider when making these findings.
Of course, as mentioned above there are factors they influence these numbers to grow higher than $630,000. Specifically, what region of the US who works for the majority of your career may influence the number to exceed much higher than $1 million.
For example, high wages can be expected in large cities and especially in areas in California, New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, Washington, Texas, and Washington DC to name a few. It should be noted that the cost of living may also be higher too. Finding a low cost of living state (Florida, Arizona, Texas) will major US cities can be a key to success getting more for your money.
The type of industry and degree you seek will also play a major role in how much lifetime earnings you can expect. Many jobs involving sales requiring a degree can pay significantly higher than civil service careers.
What if you could earn upwards of $1 million more than a high school graduate with little to no cost? The remaining topics in this article will explore ways to reduce or even eliminate all college costs in an online format.
College Tuition Costs vs. Financial Return:
There remains the ongoing debate that rising tuition costs are making the degree not economically worth it anymore. This can be true for many programs, but ultimately as the research above suggests the economic pay off is significantly higher for bachelor degree earners versus a high school education.
Earning an online degree offers students the ability to weather an economic downturn easier than those without a degree. Additionally, more opportunities will likely present themselves to those with a degree than their peers without a degree. These opportunities in many cases lead to higher income levels and promotions within an organization.
How to Attend College and Not Have Student Loans:
There are several ways to reduce the costs of college tuition to virtually zero. The most common ways include; military benefits, employer tuition assistance, working full-time and paying for classes with your earnings, and attend a community college that transitions to a 4-year degree program. These are some of the best ways to attend college, earn your degree, and not have student loans when you have obtained your degree. Additionally, future employers might appreciate you working full or part-time while getting your degree.
Forever GI Bill:
The Forever GI Bill enacted in 2017, is open and available for qualified military service members to receive educational benefits to help them earn a college degree. This option can be extremely helpful for those college degree seekers. There may be restrictions for some, so it is important to reach out to your contact person for additional details.
There are many colleges and universities that are now allowing for additional credits to be earned for work experience especially those who served in the US armed forces. Think about how much less a degree would cost if an online education program offered 20+ credits based on your experiences. This could add up to thousands of dollars saved and take you significantly less time to complete the degree.
Employer Tuition Assistance:
Many full-time and even part-time employers offer tuition reimbursement to help employees pay for the costs of higher education. In the US the IRS (Internal Revenue Service), dictates the amount allowable by employers that is tax-deductible to them. The following link goes into more detail about the tax implications set by the IRS.
Generally, employers will provide up to $5,250 annually to their employees for appropriate classes towards a degree program. Employers want to know that you are pursuing a degree that may potentially help them. For instance, working in the financial services industry may like to see that you are working towards a business degree of some sort. This is not always the case but can be in most circumstances.
There are even some employers who have partnered up with online educational institutions to offer reduced degree programs or classes. One of the most unique partnerships I have seen is the Starbucks and Arizona State University partnership launched a few years ago. This partnership allows for full tuition reimbursement for many Starbucks employees without a commitment to the organization upon graduation.
It is worth the exercise to research companies (and they are usually the large ones) who offer creative education benefits to their employees. You may even find the part-time employees can get benefits too. After graduating from high school (or for that matter while attending high school) you may want to skip attending college full-time and gain some work experience, earn income, and reduce high education costs. This can be a very lucrative strategy for many to consider.
Attending Community College First:
Another strategy to help reduce or eliminate all college costs is to start your academic college career at community colleges. Community colleges often times have strong relationships with universities and colleges and act as feeder programs. Typically, colleges and universities will allow up to a certain amount of credits to be transferred over to their institution and count towards a 4-year undergraduate degree program.
Community colleges usually offer 2-year Associates degree programs. If you decide to go down this path, not only will you save money, but you will work towards a degree in 2 years. The associate’s degree is a great opportunity to advance your career if you are working full-time. In a 4-year college or university is may be hard to obtain a 2-year associate’s degree as they may only offer a 4-year undergraduate bachelor’s degree.
Having an associate’s degree on your resume may impress more employers than you think. As the rising costs of tuition continue to grow, many high schoolers are not exploring higher education. This is a disturbing trend, but one that is understandable. Even obtaining an associate’s degree may help you stand out more.
One of the best advantages of community colleges is that their tuition rates are significantly less than in colleges and universities. Of course, this is for in-state students in many cases. These community colleges also have expanded their online degree and course offerings.
Skipping Paying Room and Board:
Online education offers many students the ability to stay at home while attending school. If you are young and don’t mind living with your family, friends, relatives, significant others, or whoever, the cost savings can be huge. This might even account for up to 50% of the costs to attend college or a university on-ground campus.
Even eliminating the room and board expense for a few years can make a major difference if you still want that college campus experience while still attending online. Think about savings living in a rural part of the US and attending a college or university located in a major city. For instance, San Francisco or New York typically are considered two of the most expensive cities in the US. Attending colleges or universities in those cities may cost an extra $20,000 annually to live there.
Working Full-Time:
Not only can your current employer offer tuition assistance, but you can also earn income and gain valuable work experience. There are even instances in which your employer may immediately promote you once a college degree is earned.
Earning a college degree may immediately increase your salary or at a minimum offer you the ability to start seeking new employment based on your degree earned. This could lead to thousands of dollars more annually.
Consider a $10,000 raise annually for the next 40 years with the various cost of living increases each year. This could easily be $500,000 over your lifetime. Additionally, economic downturns may help keep your employment versus those with high school degrees being unemployed. This could easily get you to that million-dollar lifetime earning figure.
Working full-time also offers additional lifetime earning while attending online degree programs. A typical undergrad ground campus student may never hold a job during the 4 years it takes to earn a degree. Think about lost wages for 4 years that could easily approach $100,000 in lost wages.
Conclusion:
Online educational learning allows for so many advantages over those with a high school degree. Obtaining a 4-year undergraduate degree provides significant opportunities to grow your career and earn more income.
Learning remotely can help to reduce (or in many cases eliminate) the need for room and board expenses at a traditional on-campus setting. There are often times many flexible options allowing learners to learn of their time and not a typical class schedule in person.
We have touched upon several ways students should approach online education and complete their 4-year degree with minimal or no costs to you. We have also discussed how this could immediately impact their lifetime earnings as well.
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