This article comes from the Campus Contributor Network. Over the course of the semester, students from across our campus outreach program will analyze their school’s finances and assess the overall return students see on their educational investments.
The cost of college tuition has risen exponentially in recent years leaving students across the nation burdened with debt after graduation. In turn, college students and their families have begun to question the return on their educational investment.
According to a 2015 Goldman Sachs report, “18 year olds starting college in 2030 with no scholarship or grants will only start making a positive return when they turn 37.”
This raises an important question: Do University of Florida post-graduate outcomes make it worthwhile to invest in a degree?
The post-grad outlook
According to the University of Florida Division of Student Affairs website, student surveys conducted in 2012 indicated that nine out of 10 graduates planned to either start working or further their education immediately after graduating. These numbers are impressive and speak highly of both the university and its students.
According to PayScale, University of Florida graduates find work in a variety of fields, “including the engineering services industry, the software development industry, and the aerospace and defense industry. The financial services industry is the sector most highly represented among alumni.”
Of those, Senior Software Engineers make the highest median pay ($110,000) followed closely by attorneys ($100,000). The average salary of a UF graduate is $67,000. The average salary of a graduate increases dramatically over time from an average of about $50,000 after less than a year to an average of about $105,000 after 20+ years.
How the university helps
The University of Florida offers quite a few resources that help students find employment.
The Career Resource Center at the University of Florida offers career planning appointments, resume and cover letter reviews, mock interviews and job and internship search assistance. In addition to these services, the university hosts showcases where students can meet with employers from major companies, such as Amazon and Target. These services are free to all students.
The Career Resource Center is a large part of the reason that Best Colleges ranked UF as the sixth best university in the nation for Best College Career Services, saying, “the University of Florida’s Career Resource Center is focused on helping students use services and opportunities such as tutorials, workshops, internships, studying abroad, graduate schools and career fairs to create successful career journeys.”
In 2011, the Princeton Review ranked the University of Florida fourth in the nation for Best Career Services, marking a consistency in the quality of professional development opportunities the university provides.
The real value of a degree
Although college is becoming increasingly more expensive, it appears that a college degree is still worth the time and effort. This is primarily due to the fact that in today’s economy, it is increasingly difficult to get a job without a college degree.
According to the Washington Post, “out of the 11.6 million jobs created in the post-recession economy, 11.5 million went to people with at least some college education. Of those jobs, 8.4 million went to workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher. People with a high school diploma or less education landed 80,000 jobs in the recovery.”
Although people may have their doubts, it’s safe to say that pursuing higher education is still worth the money. This is especially true at the University of Florida, which does everything it can to connect students with employment opportunities and provides the proper training necessary to achieve post-grad success.
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