Looking for a job? How about a job that pays better than your current one? Two recent studies from the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University reveal that there is one simple answer to both of those questions.

Get a college degree.

While there are certainly examples of very successful people that eschewed a college degree (such as Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey), these individuals’ experiences are more the anomaly than the norm.

Take it directly from Bill Gates, the richest person in the world, who wrote in a blog post, “Although I dropped out of college and got lucky pursuing a career in software, getting a degree is a much surer path to success.” Gates goes on to say, “College graduates are more likely to find a rewarding job, earn higher income, and even, evidence shows, live healthier lives than if they didn’t have degrees. They also bring training and skills into America’s workforce, helping our economy grow and stay competitive.”

Of the 11.6 million jobs that have been created in the U.S. since the end of the Great Recession, individuals with at least a bachelor’s degree filled 8.4 million of those jobs, and another 3 million went to those with an associate’s degree or some college education. Only 80,000 new jobs have been filled by those with a high school diploma.

The numbers are equally startling for those who lost their jobs during the Great Recession. Between December 2007 and January 2010, the U.S. shed 7.2 million jobs. Of those, 5.6 million were employees with a high school diploma — those with a bachelor’s degree actually had a slight increase of 187,000 jobs.

This is not to say that everyone needs a bachelor’s degree. Many of the jobs created since the recession have been filled by individuals with professional certificates offered at community and technical colleges, such as programs in welding or nursing assistance.

The benefits of a college degree are not solely confined to unemployment rates; there are also significant financial benefits associated with pursuing higher education.

Most research has shown that the average lifetime earning potential for someone with a bachelor’s degree is about $1 million greater than for those with a high school diploma only. In fact, with each successive level of college completion there is a significant average lifetime increase in earnings, ranging from $250,000 for some college, but no degree, up to $2.3 million for those who earn a professional degree, such as a law or medical degree.

This wage gap of lifetime earnings has been increasing over the last several years. In 2002, a bachelor’s degree holder earned about 75 percent more over a lifetime than someone with a high school diploma, that gap had grown to 84 percent by 2012.

With all of these statistics in mind, the most important and relevant predictor of income is not if you go to college, or which college you attend, it is actually what you major in while attending college.

According to the Georgetown University study, “The difference between lifetime wages of college and high school graduates is $1 million; the difference between the highest and lowest majors is $3.4 million.”

So which majors tend to have the highest earning potential? Majors within the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field almost always have the highest earning potential. Many of these majors lead to careers in engineering, life sciences, computer science, and medical related fields.

Ultimately, for parents and students alike, the question arises, is college still worth the investment? In Idaho, the answer to that question remains a resounding yes.

The yearly tuition cost at a four-year public institution in Idaho averaged $6,820 in 2015, which is the eighth-lowest tuition cost in the United States (though we do have slightly higher in-state tuition than a few of our neighboring states: Wyoming, Montana, Utah, and Nevada). Tuition costs are even more affordable if students initially enroll at an Idaho community college, such as North Idaho College.

There are additional costs associated with attending college beyond just tuition, for example: transportation, living expenses, and learning materials; however, the overall cost is significantly less than the $1 million to $3.4 million in additional income students should expect to earn on average over their lifetime if they had not earned a college degree.

For those students interested in starting a college degree, or returning to college, there is still time to start at both North Idaho College and the University of Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene Center. North Idaho College is accepting applications through August 11th for fall enrollment and the University of Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene Center has no specific application deadline, but fall classes begin on Aug. 22.

For more information about earning a college degree in Coeur d’Alene please visit www.northidahohighereducation.org, edinfocentercda.com or call (208) 667-2588.

•••

Paul Amador, Ph.D., is the Director of Program Development at University of Idaho, Coeur d’Alene.