This is a specious argument by the bls. The question isn't whether education pays or not; the real question is whether or not education increases a person's productivity.
I'd argue not. It all depends on the degree. College is a form of job training for people like engineers, in which case it has a high return on investment. However, many [if not most] degrees have no relevance to their college degrees.
As many as 63% of college graduates occupy jobs that don't require a college degree! (Uncited, lazy, sorry.)
So does college "pay"? Sure. Does it increase one's skills and productivity? Factoring the opportunity costs, it's hard to tell. I'm in the camp of people who argue that the returns to higher education are due to what's called a "sheepskin", or "signalling", effect in economics.
I'd argue not. It all depends on the degree. College is a form of job training for people like engineers, in which case it has a high return on investment. However, many [if not most] degrees have no relevance to their college degrees.
As many as 63% of college graduates occupy jobs that don't require a college degree! (Uncited, lazy, sorry.)
So does college "pay"? Sure. Does it increase one's skills and productivity? Factoring the opportunity costs, it's hard to tell. I'm in the camp of people who argue that the returns to higher education are due to what's called a "sheepskin", or "signalling", effect in economics.