The Aging Demographic Supporting College Athletics

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

It is just really sad that alums like you fork out so much for an education and don't see the return upon graduation. I am sure your fortunes have improved since your first job and wish you the best in your career. The problem I found with lab jobs is that they kind of peg you into a particular discipline and it becomes difficult to find another position with that skill set and work experience which is why I really worked hard to find an opportunity in human clinical trials. I started out in data management and then was offered a job as a manager conducting clinical trials. I eventually landed a position in pharmacovigilence monitoring the safety of both research and marketed products. I am 74 and i still get emails from recruiters looking at my 12 year old CV asking if I would be interested in a six month consulting job as my skills are still relevant. I was also lucky that my home state of New Jersey is headquarters for J&J and Merck. Pfizer and Bristol Myer Squibb also have a big foot print in the state.

The problem is that those jobs are still better on average than what you will earn without a bachelor's degree.  The lifetime earning level between those with and without degrees continues to increase, which is why the cost of education continues to rise.  Sure you CAN earn more without a degree, but those are the exception rather than the rule.

The fact is that while entry level incomes may have fallen, lifetime incomes have increased relatively. 

https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/01/09/trends-in-income-and-wealth-inequality/psdt_01-10-20_economic-inequality_1-0/

But what is also happening, is that those at the top end are increasingly earning more on a relative basis. 

https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/01/09/trends-in-income-and-wealth-inequality/screen-shot-2020-01-08-at-5-06-47-pm/

So what does this mean?  Even though people are earning more, it doesn't SEEM like they are earning more.  Also, costs have increased as well.  69 you mentioned the cost of a house, but most people aren't buying the same type of house they were 50 years ago.  They are larger and nicer.  Same with entertainment...communications, etc.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Not all law schools are created equal. Ya gotta graduate from a top 20 school, (rankin's due matta) to score the initial big paycheck. That also translates to having a high undergrad gpa and high LSAT scores. Truth be told, MU's law school dropped into Tier 3 for a while. Might be ok when looking for a job in WI, But, that won't cut it when competing with graduates from Harvard, Yale, Stanford, or Northwestern. Spoiler alert:  UW Law>MU Law, just a fact.
On the contrary, while medical and dental schools differ also, residency programs and career jobs, don't really care where your degree is from, hey?

But you can make a fine living, doing what you love to do, going to Marquette law school.  Not every lawyer need to have a "top job" in corporate law to live well.  I know plenty of MU law grads doing the small business, estate planning, real estate stuff that are doing just fine.

[4everwarriors]

Yes certainly in WI. Didn't mean to imply otherwise. However, the top firms nationally, are looking to hire lawyers from top tier schools, hey?

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Yes certainly in WI. Didn't mean to imply otherwise. However, the top firms nationally, are looking to hire lawyers from top tier schools, hey?

Right.  But that's also the same with MBA programs.  Good luck getting into the top consulting firms without a degree from a top 20 B-school.  But that doesn't mean that getting a law degree or MBA from the likes of Marquette isn't worth the time and cost.

[GooooMarquette]

Not all law schools are created equal. Ya gotta graduate from a top 20 school, (rankin's due matta) to score the initial big paycheck. That also translates to having a high undergrad gpa and high LSAT scores. Truth be told, MU's law school dropped into Tier 3 for a while. Might be ok when looking for a job in WI, But, that won't cut it when competing with graduates from Harvard, Yale, Stanford, or Northwestern. Spoiler alert:  UW Law>MU Law, just a fact.

The underlined is true...but UW has dropped significantly over the past 20 for 30 years.

According to US News, UW was in the top 20 back in the 1990s. A few years ago when my daughter was looking at law schools, it had dropped to about 30. And now, it's in a tie for 38th.

It's just one ranking system, but that is not a good trajectory.

[muwarrior69]

The problem is that those jobs are still better on average than what you will earn without a bachelor's degree.  The lifetime earning level between those with and without degrees continues to increase, which is why the cost of education continues to rise.  Sure you CAN earn more without a degree, but those are the exception rather than the rule.

The fact is that while entry level incomes may have fallen, lifetime incomes have increased relatively. 

https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/01/09/trends-in-income-and-wealth-inequality/psdt_01-10-20_economic-inequality_1-0/

But what is also happening, is that those at the top end are increasingly earning more on a relative basis. 

https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/01/09/trends-in-income-and-wealth-inequality/screen-shot-2020-01-08-at-5-06-47-pm/

So what does this mean?  Even though people are earning more, it doesn't SEEM like they are earning more.  Also, costs have increased as well.  69 you mentioned the cost of a house, but most people aren't buying the same type of house they were 50 years ago.  They are larger and nicer.  Same with entertainment...communications, etc.

The purchase price to build our new house was 58K in '77. In 2017 I sold it for 450K. The house had 2500 sqft of living space with 2.5 baths. I sold my parents 9k house, 3 bedroom cape cod built in '48, despite the recession for 300K in 2011 and my in-laws 2200 sqft bi-level built in '66 for 35k and sold it for 380k in 2014. The reason my parents house sold for that much during the recession is that it was only a mile from the train station to Manhattan. I guess according to Rocky's link I'm keeping pace or just slightly ahead of inflation, but people are no different now than then. They just want a house to meet their needs not just an investment.

Here are a list of high paying jobs that don't require a 4 year degree:


https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/high-paying-jobs-without-a-degree

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

The purchase price to build our new house was 58K in '77. In 2017 I sold it for 450K. The house had 2500 sqft of living space with 2.5 baths. I sold my parents 9k house, 3 bedroom cape cod built in '48, despite the recession for 300K in 2011 and my in-laws 2200 sqft bi-level built in '66 for 35k and sold it for 380k in 2014. The reason my parents house sold for that much during the recession is that it was only a mile from the train station to Manhattan. I guess according to Rocky's link I'm keeping pace or just slightly ahead of inflation, but people are no different now than then. They just want a house to meet their needs not just an investment.

Here are a list of high paying jobs that don't require a 4 year degree:


https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/high-paying-jobs-without-a-degree

Your anecdotal evidence aside, the average new home size has grown nearly 2/3 since 1970.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.newser.com/story/225645/average-size-of-us-homes-decade-by-decade.html

[muwarrior69]

Your anecdotal evidence aside, the average new home size has grown nearly 2/3 since 1970.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.newser.com/story/225645/average-size-of-us-homes-decade-by-decade.html

More due to building codes set by the municipality than anything else. The minimum size home in the development I'm living in now is 3000 sqft. set by the township. There are at least 3 low income housing sites under construction in the township now. Most condo units are under 1500 sqft. One is a 55 and over community. Also back in 60s and 70s more people were moving out of the towns and cities and into the suburbs and outer suburbs with more building space. So you could buy a lot more house for less; and remember the interstate highway system was still being built and well into 80s and early 90s. My first year at MU the Marquette exchange was only a map on a piece of paper and was not complete until my Senior year.

...but I concede home sizes have increased.