In the midst of a difficult year for higher education, just 1 in 4 in a new survey They say a four-year college degree is very important for a high-paying job.
Additionally, 40% of Pew Research respondents said it is not important to get a degree to get a high-paying job, while 35% said a degree is somewhat important and 25% said it is very important.
Opinions varied based on a person’s political ideology and level of education, the researcher noted.
Republicans were more likely than Democrats to say they believe degrees are less important than they were 20 years ago. Fifty percent of Republicans said a degree is not important for a high-paying job, while only 30% of Democrats felt the same.
Additionally, 58 percent of college graduates said their education provided them with skills useful for their jobs, compared to 26 percent of high school graduates.
The perception of the importance of degrees is declining at a time when salaries for those without them are rising. The survey noted that workers ages 25 to 34 have seen their wages rise over the past 10 years.
“The public has mixed opinions about the importance of having a college degree, and many have questions about whether the cost is worth it,” Pew Research said.
Some Ivy League schools have reached a list price of $90,000 per year, with the average student debt per person being around $30,000.
The conclusions come at a time when higher education is facing a difficult year, with campuses shaken by the war between Israel and Hamas and protests and violence erupting in the final months of the academic year.
The survey was carried out from November 27, 2023 to December 3, 2023, with 5,203 respondents. The margin of error is 1.8 percentage points.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
