More Schooling Means More Bucks

The 1996 Economic Report of the President verifies that it pays to stay in school and get that diploma.

In 1994, a full-time male worker over age 25 with a four-year college degree earned 89 percent more per year on average than a similar worker with only a high school degree.
That figure has nearly doubled from the 49 percent more reported in 1979.
Each year of formal schooling after high school adds 5 percent to 15 percent more to annual earnings later in life.
Currently, 35 percent of those in the 18-24 year old age group are enrolled in college.

For them, the chalk writing is on the blackboard.

Source: Beth Belton, "Degree-Based Earnings Gap Grows Quickly," USA Today, February 16, 1996.