USC graduates go outside in 2025. In the beginning of the 19th century, the Los Angeles Memorial Colosseum on 15 May. (Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)
When Rui Ming Yu first appealed to colleges five years ago, he considered the opportunity to study history, art or design. But when the resident of Stockton joined UC Davis, he changed his mind and chose the biology, the overall premiere. Medical works pay well, he reasoned.
However, in the first year, thinking that he was not interested in certain courses, such as chemistry, and time and money he needed to invest in the school year to become a doctor, Yu changed his attention again.
“For me, it was about finding something in college, I liked to study and seek to get a good salary after graduation,” said YU, who finished Saturday in the mechanical engineering Major and a minor in electrical engineering and set up a job in the San Francisco Bay Medical Devices, which produces catheters.
“My parents sacrificed that I came to America and that I would have this opportunity, so I have to make the right decisions about my future,” said Yu, who is the son of the Chinese immigrants and the first in his family visiting the college.
When new graduates are in the labor market and the new generation of students behind them are preparing to start traveling to college, surveys have shown that the prospects for employment and salary, weighed in high education expenses, are increasingly concerned.
Not every field of study is created in the same way when it comes to paying.
With the US Census data, the New York Federal Reserve Bank has published a report this year, calculating early and mid -career’s average salary for college graduates that Major.
Eight out of 10 big companies with the highest internal career income were engineering. The other two were physics and informatics, which was the highest early career salary of $ 80,000.
The Midcareer wages followed the same models, but two more large companies entered the top ten: finance and economy. Looking at the 15 best Midcareer salaries, mathematics and international affairs, also reduced the connection with information systems management.
The least paid basic right from school is that the foreign language is $ 40,000 and the degrees of education are not far behind. Half of the ten worst -paying careers in the middle of their careers was focused on education reflecting low training in the US
The analysis was seen as a “early career” as a graduate of 22-27 years and Midcareer was 35-45.
The data of the University of California, which has been present, is more promising.
About 60,000 bachelor’s studies in towns each year and more than two thirds of them finish without debt. Among the 70% of graduates working in California, the average income is higher in two years than the common national data.
The average income in computer science is $ 101,600. In engineering, it is $ 84,000 compared to $ 70,000-80,000 national level at different types of engineering degrees. Of course, the cost of living and wages are usually higher in the state.
“More and more students are considering the value of the second pillar education,” said Michael Itzkowitz, founder and president of the Hea Group consulting company, focused on college value, which performs research on how quickly students are able to recover their education costs.
Read more: When it comes to livelihood, the CSU degree is apex in California, according to the study
October The report of the Future Fund of the Future College in Oakland and the Hea Group reports that the “return of the degree of investment” was also the largest in the field of computer science, engineering and health care. Nursing also occupies a high place, and two years of community college graduates earned more than $ 100,000 after five years.
The study examined 260,000 graduates who received federal financial support and were included in the 2695 Bachelor’s Certificate, Associated and Bachelor’s degree in 324 California colleges.
“Over the past two decades, we have seen an exponential increase in college science and taxes that have led people to think about whether it is worth a secondary education,” said Itzkowitz. “After all, they need a high income to ensure that it pays off.”
With the help of scholarships and financial assistance, Yu finishes debts, although he agrees with sentiment.
“It was very important for me to be able to get a job,” said Yu, who said he was rejected or heard from several jobs when he started to apply in January. “Even with the right basic and internships, it’s not easy.”
At national level, the unemployment rate of recent college graduates is 5.8%compared to the total 4.2%, which is an abnormally high gap. The rate of the latest graduates is the highest since 2021.
“Starting labor is already intimidating, and layering on economic instability can easily cause a sense of stress and deterrence,” said Courtney Alev, a Credit Karma defender. Recently, the group announced the results of a survey conducted by Harris, showing that one -fifth of Gen Z members were worried about finding a job after completing their studies, and a quarter said they losing hope after supposedly endless applications and interviews.
Peter Leonido, who graduated from UC San Diego this month, with a double doctorate in sociology and education and a minor in the community service, said he was involved in students’ concerns about the difficult labor market access to a low salary.
“My peers always feel this disappointment that just because you go to university and get a degree doesn’t mean getting a job,” said Leonido, who grew up in Westlake. “In the narrative, there is a lot of resentment that education will guarantee you a job from a college, which we know is very questionable.”
Its great ones are some of the least teaching early and mid -career professionals with sciences. But that doesn’t deter him.
“Despite its dialogue about its value, college education is important,” said Leonido, who was admitted to a two-year Master’s program in UCLA, where he will earn his training powers while working in the Los Angeles Unified School area.
“College education teaches you to think critically. Education should be moved, but without such ability to critically think that you are missing a part why it is so important,” said Leonido, who plans to teach English and ethnic studies. “And it shows you for different groups of people and for different perspectives outside your bubble.”
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This story initially appeared at the Los Angeles Times.
