Knowing all of this, we continue to send our children to college. Why?
I talked to my plumber last time we had some work done, and he told me they can't find anyone to take a job.
Starting pay for a manufacturing job is over twenty dollars an hour, and tuition at a private college is more than the total cost of attending a state school.
This is unsustainable, and as the very wise Economist Herb Stein once said, "If something cannot go on for ever, it will stop."
One thing I forgot, is that all our kids have good jobs, make their way on their own, some have homes and families and I don’t worry about them at all.
How I feel on this subject is college isn’t foe everyone! We have 7 kids between me and my wife. Four of mine went on to school, one daughter went on though several years of college to become teacher, it took 10 years before she finally got a teaching job. Demand for grade school jobs is high demand, no one wants high school they can’t do anything with those kids which is a whole new subject. One son did graphic arts for two years and said forget it, went off to SE tech to become a paint and body man, has a great job that’s led to just inspecting paint jobs and managing others, makes over $70,000 in just a few short years. Another son graduated midterm and went chef school in Minneapolis, interned and worked the Montage ski resort and hotel in Park city Utah for some time before following another chef friend to Panama City FL. He returned back to SD to do chef work at USD and then got a free managing job running the subway in town, free education, hands on training and he did well for several years until something better came along with benefits he didn’t have before. He now is a janitor at the high school he went to, about the same pay and huge benefits. He said to me it’s not what I started out to be, but most kids I see that go to school end up in something other than what they schooled for. Another went to one year of college and said it wasn’t for her, she finally found a job as a machinest and now in shipping. My wife’s daughter went to college and is now in banking. Getting a higher education is not always the thing for all. I tell kids that are working in the stores that are talking of going to school, to look at tech school, it’s cheaper, your done in two years most the time and you start out with good pay to start and increases fairly fast. The debt load is low and there out getting a good start. They all got school loans and they all have paid or paying for there school loans themselves, I told them it’s all yours, dad in not helping. I’am no big fan of colleges, there costly, they shove things in kids heads other than what they should be learning, they get out and end up with a job other than what they schooled for. For some it’s a expensive basket weaving, pottery class which some parents pay for so they can party. I was up front I’am , not paying for this, you sign this loan it starts coming due in 6 months after you graduate. If they missed there payment I was on the phone finding out what’s going on. Part of parenting is teaching those kids all you know and consequences if you don’t do things right. To each there own, but being a kid the decisions come hard and many times confusing and wrong. I sat down with all the facts and we did the pros and cons of what they were looking at. Do you want to do this the rest of your life! This is how much your going to owe is your job once you find one going to pay it and the rest of your living costs. Many don’t realize what real world requires and how your going to do it!
This is a response to several posts, so I am placing it as a general comment. Thank you for the lively and insightful discussion. Could part of the problem have to do with the college experience as a whole. A young person I know had a rather troubling experience with humanities classes (and some of the science classes) at a top 10 university. All of the dialog and "learning" had to be within a very narrow range (otherwise it was privilege, insensitivity, cultural appropriation, or hate speech). What this person described does not appear to be education, but an attempt at brainwashing and mind control.
I’m not sure what the point of this article was, other than an attempt to persuade people to not go to college, and using questionable data for the persuasion. It states that the average college graduate in S.D. earns only $41,000 while 17 different surveys in 2024 [see averagesalarysurvey.com] all showed an average Bachelor-level income exceeding $61,000. The costs of University to Community or Voc-Tech institutions are compared in a disparate manner, creating the illusion of a great difference (i.e., less expensive if the Tech student lives at home, but not for the University student?) in terms of both the costs of attaining the education needed for the occupation as well as the amount of time needed to complete that education. It seems the only thing advocated for consideration is the cost of the education and the expected yield in salary after the education. It’s all about the money. The push toward a trade-based education creates the illusion that it is quicker and easier and far less expensive. It is not. It is simply easier to get started actively working in a trade than a professional career, but that start is at an entry level and at far less compensation than the article discloses. Indeed, vocational-technical programs are not significantly less expensive per year; most trade professions require licensing or certification which includes two years of education followed by apprenticeship and full licensure – achieving the salaries cited for professional tradesmen – generally takes as long or longer than a Bachelor’s degree does. The idea that taking a 2-year Associate of Nursing program is a better choice than a Bachelor of Nursing degree is misleading. As with the other trades, it means earlier conversion from academia to actual practice, but a 2-yr RN degree is, without a lot of additional education, the end of the career progression. Advancement opportunities into more intensive nursing, supervisory and management positions substantially require the BSN as a starting point. The jobs that a 2-year RN will get when joining the workforce will be the same level job they will still be at thirty (30) years later. Such limited advancement in responsibility also means limited advancement in salary. Lastly, the idea that because Bill Gates and Steve Jobs dropped out of college is a good reason for others to follow in that path discounts the experience of the hundreds of thousands of people who dropped out of college and did not become billionaires.
I would recommend to people that planning for their future starts with the consideration of what they really love doing, what they want to do the rest of their life. Follow that with whatever they have to do to pay for the education they will need to live their passion, and set aside any substantial consideration of what the final salary will be.
Thank you for sharing the link on the average salary. It appears to be for the U.S. as a whole. Cost of living is wildly different depending on where you live, so many people find it helpful to look at local data since it gives them a better idea of where they will be financially.
If you take the time to go through the site you'll see that it breaks it down by many demographics including state, education and local region, and even identifies how many surveys the data was collated from.
I scrolled down the page quite a bit and found Careers / South Dakota (Gross USD). On this table I noted that second highest pay is for construction worker ($88,400 avg) and that the fifth highest income was for other construction and labor career ($75,000 avg). These are jobs that do not require a college degree.
I think you missed the point. Nobody comes out of high school and says, 'oh I want a job in construction' and goes out and gets a job paying $88K. If you are earning that much then you have put in a couple years of voc-tech and another 4-6, or more in your apprenticeship, assuming you can even get one. My recommendation for young people is that instead of looking at how much money they might earn, that they focus their direction of their passion so that whatever occupation they end up working in, they are happy to be there doing what they are doing, not just there for the paycheck. There is a whole lot more to the enjoyment of life than the money.
Thank you so much for you comment. It isn't uncommon for someone semi-skilled to earn around $25 per hour to start and jump to $30-$35 per hour within the first year if they are reliable, learn quickly, and produce a quality product. $60,000 - $70,000 is pretty good for a 19 year old. I know a 28 year old in a construction trade who earns $140,000. I'm not saying these jobs are for everyone, but the pay is good and it allows people to enter the workplace without debt.
Thank you for the comment. It is always nice to hear from you. What is anti-intellectualism? A reaction to everyone having to think exactly the same way? A reaction to censorship? Something else?
Can't speak for Bill, but as a teacher, what I see in high school students is the growing mentality that there is no reason for most classes and learning. If they are not going to be a banker or work at the stock market, they don't need to learn any more math than required to count their change at the store; if they are not going to be a scientist then they don't need to learn all that stuff taught in science classes; if they are not going to be a historian then they don't need to learn all that stuff taught in history classes. The mentality is scary because they look at anecdotal cases and think, 'oh look, Joe's parents dropped out of school and he has a good paying job, so why should I stay in school and be forced to learn all that stuff I am not interested in?'
Interesting and sad. I am noticing a similar phenomena in young adults. Many feel deceived and silenced. Things don't make sense to them. Getting a college degree means you have to spend hours in classes where you can't discuss or express opinions outside of a narrow range. It's boring for those who have the "acceptable opinion" and boring and overwhelming to those that might see the world through a different lens. Also, it's expensive and there isn't an economic reward for many people (just lots of debt and lower pay). In addition, many question science, because they have figured out that a lot of "science" has nothing to do with natural principals but about manipulating the way we think to get a specific social or economic outcome. Worst of all we have an entire generation of young people who appear to have shut down their brains to get through school, rather than learning how to think, solve problems, and embrace the world. In my opinion, a lot of learning happens by serendipity with open discussion. There can be bruised egos, but also a wonderful exchange of ideas.
"Getting a college degree means you have to spend hours in classes where you can't discuss or express opinions outside of a narrow range. It's boring for those who have the "acceptable opinion" and boring and overwhelming to those that might see the world through a different lens."
This is not an accurate description of conditions in college classrooms. Despite current cultural hysteria over "indoctrination", having differing opinions is completely acceptable as long as you are respectful and have reasoning to back up your view. In fact, one of the most common assignments in many college courses is a discussion forum where you share your thoughts on a topic and engage in conversation with your classmates.
In my experience, many of those who feel they are being attacked for their viewpoints in college are in fact just experiencing new and different viewpoints for the first time. Many people (not all) grow up in communities where some stances are commonly accepted without debate. When these students arrive at college, having those viewpoints challenged can make them feel like they are under fire, even during a respectful discussion.
Interesting! It would be nice if others could share their experiences. My comments are limited to about a dozen recent grads who come from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds and cultures. From reading the free speech policy statements for SDSU and USD, it seems like South Dakota might be one of the more open-minded places in the country.
I don't think South Dakota is some magical bastion of free speech. I think the college experience in South Dakota is similar to the college experience in any other state. People tend to take sensationalist stories and blow them out of proportion and miss context.
AI coupled with robotics will take over all of the trade jobs. They will perform their task better than the average tradesman but not as good as the best. In about three years AI will be able to think deductively. Jobs will flourish for inductive thinkers. Colleges will be at the centerpiece to produce the kind of thinkers that have a future. The question is can smaller Universities and Colleges flourish. South Dakota University's revenue is either $884,777.40 per student or $104,993.59 per student. Rigorous book keeping will determine who survives.
If you take the time to go through the site you'll see that it breaks it down by many demographics including state, education and even local region, and even identifies how many surveys the data was collated from.
I think your source for the median salary for college graduates in SD may be skewing low. Reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that median earnings are significantly higher than the Zip Recruiter source would indicate. The BLS source also shows that earnings increase notably with educational entertainment. The Zip Recruiter numbers only seems to include data from jobs that are posted on that site, so the data may be limited and driving the overall number down.
While I think the trades are an excellent path for many people, I do think it is worth noting some of the hidden costs. It is absolutely true that many people make excellent livings in the trades, but just as with college degrees it is not a guarantee. The other consideration with going into a trade is the physical toll these jobs can take on a person. I know many tradespeople who love their careers but also admit the strain on their bodies has been immense.
Addressing the Bill Gates and Steve Jobs example, I do feel it is worth noting that both of these men succeeded. Not attending college was not the source of their success. If their businesses had failed, they would have likely returned to college. Most people are not going to start multi-billion dollar companies, so the best path for the average person probably looks different for them as opposed to Gates or Jobs.
Overall, I think narrowing this discussion to just salary is a mistake. Yes, people considering future careers should keep in mind their financial stability, but to some degree you have to enjoy what you do. If you are miserable at your job, you are likely to encounter burnout and not succeed in your field. I know many people who would be miserable as a plumber, and many who would hate being stuck behind a desk. Rather than having people chasing paychecks, we should encourage a more holistic approach where people consider what kind of life would make them most happy, and helping direct them to the paths that help them achieve this. Very few if any schools only recommend college as a path Instead, they encourage students to pursue any post-secondary education that serves their goals and interests, whether that be college, trade school, an apprenticeship, or something else.
We were not able to find anything national on South Dakota either. That is the reason we used the source we did. Unfortunately national statistics can be misleading. For example the cost of living in San Francisco is much higher than in Sioux Falls, so it is possible to live well on a lower salary in South Dakota. This is why we felt uncomfortable lumping all the salary data together.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean annual wage for the entire country was $65,470. The mean annual wage for South Dakota was $53,230. This is lower, likely due in part to the lower cost of living. But all available sources show that higher education attainment leads to a higher salary on average.
Unless South Dakota is somehow an anomaly to this, it is likely that the Zip Recruiter page you used is skewing low. Again, I would contend that Zip Recruiter being inaccurate is more likely since Zip Recruiter is gathering that data from jobs posted on that specific website, rather than all available jobs. This means it is working with a limited data set and may be missing some trends.
I understand your hesitation to use national averages because of the inclusion of data from high cost of living areas, but I feel that national data provides a more accurate picture for this conversation. Given that the number you provided is such an outlier from national data, I personally would need to see more sourcing to trust it over national data.
Have you heard of SDSMT? I would be interested to know from the BOR what the average college salary I for all other colleges. "2022 - 2023 Graduates (BS degrees),South Dakota Mines graduates earn an average starting salary of $73,547."
Thank you Frank for providing that information and the link. Yes, SDSMT is a good choice for people who want to work in technical fields like engineering. The average wage for these professions is higher than for the trades, so spending extra time and money on classroom learning could be a good financial decision.
It is nice to hear from you Douglas. I know plumbers, electricians, and business people who did not follow the college path. They are well educated, economically successful, and a vital part of our society.
Are you saying that college is the only form of education, and we must collectively fund it for whatever "collective well-being" is, and those who work in hands-on skill trades do not contribute to civilized society?
Our world needs more builders & tradesmen
Knowing all of this, we continue to send our children to college. Why?
I talked to my plumber last time we had some work done, and he told me they can't find anyone to take a job.
Starting pay for a manufacturing job is over twenty dollars an hour, and tuition at a private college is more than the total cost of attending a state school.
This is unsustainable, and as the very wise Economist Herb Stein once said, "If something cannot go on for ever, it will stop."
One thing I forgot, is that all our kids have good jobs, make their way on their own, some have homes and families and I don’t worry about them at all.
How I feel on this subject is college isn’t foe everyone! We have 7 kids between me and my wife. Four of mine went on to school, one daughter went on though several years of college to become teacher, it took 10 years before she finally got a teaching job. Demand for grade school jobs is high demand, no one wants high school they can’t do anything with those kids which is a whole new subject. One son did graphic arts for two years and said forget it, went off to SE tech to become a paint and body man, has a great job that’s led to just inspecting paint jobs and managing others, makes over $70,000 in just a few short years. Another son graduated midterm and went chef school in Minneapolis, interned and worked the Montage ski resort and hotel in Park city Utah for some time before following another chef friend to Panama City FL. He returned back to SD to do chef work at USD and then got a free managing job running the subway in town, free education, hands on training and he did well for several years until something better came along with benefits he didn’t have before. He now is a janitor at the high school he went to, about the same pay and huge benefits. He said to me it’s not what I started out to be, but most kids I see that go to school end up in something other than what they schooled for. Another went to one year of college and said it wasn’t for her, she finally found a job as a machinest and now in shipping. My wife’s daughter went to college and is now in banking. Getting a higher education is not always the thing for all. I tell kids that are working in the stores that are talking of going to school, to look at tech school, it’s cheaper, your done in two years most the time and you start out with good pay to start and increases fairly fast. The debt load is low and there out getting a good start. They all got school loans and they all have paid or paying for there school loans themselves, I told them it’s all yours, dad in not helping. I’am no big fan of colleges, there costly, they shove things in kids heads other than what they should be learning, they get out and end up with a job other than what they schooled for. For some it’s a expensive basket weaving, pottery class which some parents pay for so they can party. I was up front I’am , not paying for this, you sign this loan it starts coming due in 6 months after you graduate. If they missed there payment I was on the phone finding out what’s going on. Part of parenting is teaching those kids all you know and consequences if you don’t do things right. To each there own, but being a kid the decisions come hard and many times confusing and wrong. I sat down with all the facts and we did the pros and cons of what they were looking at. Do you want to do this the rest of your life! This is how much your going to owe is your job once you find one going to pay it and the rest of your living costs. Many don’t realize what real world requires and how your going to do it!
South Dakota Voices Response. Sally, thank you for joining the conversation.
Email comment from SK: "Excellent article. I have been saying that for several years."
This is a response to several posts, so I am placing it as a general comment. Thank you for the lively and insightful discussion. Could part of the problem have to do with the college experience as a whole. A young person I know had a rather troubling experience with humanities classes (and some of the science classes) at a top 10 university. All of the dialog and "learning" had to be within a very narrow range (otherwise it was privilege, insensitivity, cultural appropriation, or hate speech). What this person described does not appear to be education, but an attempt at brainwashing and mind control.
I’m not sure what the point of this article was, other than an attempt to persuade people to not go to college, and using questionable data for the persuasion. It states that the average college graduate in S.D. earns only $41,000 while 17 different surveys in 2024 [see averagesalarysurvey.com] all showed an average Bachelor-level income exceeding $61,000. The costs of University to Community or Voc-Tech institutions are compared in a disparate manner, creating the illusion of a great difference (i.e., less expensive if the Tech student lives at home, but not for the University student?) in terms of both the costs of attaining the education needed for the occupation as well as the amount of time needed to complete that education. It seems the only thing advocated for consideration is the cost of the education and the expected yield in salary after the education. It’s all about the money. The push toward a trade-based education creates the illusion that it is quicker and easier and far less expensive. It is not. It is simply easier to get started actively working in a trade than a professional career, but that start is at an entry level and at far less compensation than the article discloses. Indeed, vocational-technical programs are not significantly less expensive per year; most trade professions require licensing or certification which includes two years of education followed by apprenticeship and full licensure – achieving the salaries cited for professional tradesmen – generally takes as long or longer than a Bachelor’s degree does. The idea that taking a 2-year Associate of Nursing program is a better choice than a Bachelor of Nursing degree is misleading. As with the other trades, it means earlier conversion from academia to actual practice, but a 2-yr RN degree is, without a lot of additional education, the end of the career progression. Advancement opportunities into more intensive nursing, supervisory and management positions substantially require the BSN as a starting point. The jobs that a 2-year RN will get when joining the workforce will be the same level job they will still be at thirty (30) years later. Such limited advancement in responsibility also means limited advancement in salary. Lastly, the idea that because Bill Gates and Steve Jobs dropped out of college is a good reason for others to follow in that path discounts the experience of the hundreds of thousands of people who dropped out of college and did not become billionaires.
I would recommend to people that planning for their future starts with the consideration of what they really love doing, what they want to do the rest of their life. Follow that with whatever they have to do to pay for the education they will need to live their passion, and set aside any substantial consideration of what the final salary will be.
Thank you for sharing the link on the average salary. It appears to be for the U.S. as a whole. Cost of living is wildly different depending on where you live, so many people find it helpful to look at local data since it gives them a better idea of where they will be financially.
If you take the time to go through the site you'll see that it breaks it down by many demographics including state, education and local region, and even identifies how many surveys the data was collated from.
Thank you. I found the link for South Dakota. Here is the direct one. https://www.averagesalarysurvey.com/south-dakota
I scrolled down the page quite a bit and found Careers / South Dakota (Gross USD). On this table I noted that second highest pay is for construction worker ($88,400 avg) and that the fifth highest income was for other construction and labor career ($75,000 avg). These are jobs that do not require a college degree.
I think you missed the point. Nobody comes out of high school and says, 'oh I want a job in construction' and goes out and gets a job paying $88K. If you are earning that much then you have put in a couple years of voc-tech and another 4-6, or more in your apprenticeship, assuming you can even get one. My recommendation for young people is that instead of looking at how much money they might earn, that they focus their direction of their passion so that whatever occupation they end up working in, they are happy to be there doing what they are doing, not just there for the paycheck. There is a whole lot more to the enjoyment of life than the money.
Thank you so much for you comment. It isn't uncommon for someone semi-skilled to earn around $25 per hour to start and jump to $30-$35 per hour within the first year if they are reliable, learn quickly, and produce a quality product. $60,000 - $70,000 is pretty good for a 19 year old. I know a 28 year old in a construction trade who earns $140,000. I'm not saying these jobs are for everyone, but the pay is good and it allows people to enter the workplace without debt.
The one big thing you’re overlooking here is the education. Anti-intellectualism is a huge problem right now and it’s cause a lot of problems.
Thank you for the comment. It is always nice to hear from you. What is anti-intellectualism? A reaction to everyone having to think exactly the same way? A reaction to censorship? Something else?
Can't speak for Bill, but as a teacher, what I see in high school students is the growing mentality that there is no reason for most classes and learning. If they are not going to be a banker or work at the stock market, they don't need to learn any more math than required to count their change at the store; if they are not going to be a scientist then they don't need to learn all that stuff taught in science classes; if they are not going to be a historian then they don't need to learn all that stuff taught in history classes. The mentality is scary because they look at anecdotal cases and think, 'oh look, Joe's parents dropped out of school and he has a good paying job, so why should I stay in school and be forced to learn all that stuff I am not interested in?'
Interesting and sad. I am noticing a similar phenomena in young adults. Many feel deceived and silenced. Things don't make sense to them. Getting a college degree means you have to spend hours in classes where you can't discuss or express opinions outside of a narrow range. It's boring for those who have the "acceptable opinion" and boring and overwhelming to those that might see the world through a different lens. Also, it's expensive and there isn't an economic reward for many people (just lots of debt and lower pay). In addition, many question science, because they have figured out that a lot of "science" has nothing to do with natural principals but about manipulating the way we think to get a specific social or economic outcome. Worst of all we have an entire generation of young people who appear to have shut down their brains to get through school, rather than learning how to think, solve problems, and embrace the world. In my opinion, a lot of learning happens by serendipity with open discussion. There can be bruised egos, but also a wonderful exchange of ideas.
"Getting a college degree means you have to spend hours in classes where you can't discuss or express opinions outside of a narrow range. It's boring for those who have the "acceptable opinion" and boring and overwhelming to those that might see the world through a different lens."
This is not an accurate description of conditions in college classrooms. Despite current cultural hysteria over "indoctrination", having differing opinions is completely acceptable as long as you are respectful and have reasoning to back up your view. In fact, one of the most common assignments in many college courses is a discussion forum where you share your thoughts on a topic and engage in conversation with your classmates.
In my experience, many of those who feel they are being attacked for their viewpoints in college are in fact just experiencing new and different viewpoints for the first time. Many people (not all) grow up in communities where some stances are commonly accepted without debate. When these students arrive at college, having those viewpoints challenged can make them feel like they are under fire, even during a respectful discussion.
Interesting! It would be nice if others could share their experiences. My comments are limited to about a dozen recent grads who come from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds and cultures. From reading the free speech policy statements for SDSU and USD, it seems like South Dakota might be one of the more open-minded places in the country.
I don't think South Dakota is some magical bastion of free speech. I think the college experience in South Dakota is similar to the college experience in any other state. People tend to take sensationalist stories and blow them out of proportion and miss context.
AI coupled with robotics will take over all of the trade jobs. They will perform their task better than the average tradesman but not as good as the best. In about three years AI will be able to think deductively. Jobs will flourish for inductive thinkers. Colleges will be at the centerpiece to produce the kind of thinkers that have a future. The question is can smaller Universities and Colleges flourish. South Dakota University's revenue is either $884,777.40 per student or $104,993.59 per student. Rigorous book keeping will determine who survives.
Thank you. I agree thinkers will be in demand. The problem is most universities aren't creating the type of employee we need.
If you take the time to go through the site you'll see that it breaks it down by many demographics including state, education and even local region, and even identifies how many surveys the data was collated from.
I think your source for the median salary for college graduates in SD may be skewing low. Reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that median earnings are significantly higher than the Zip Recruiter source would indicate. The BLS source also shows that earnings increase notably with educational entertainment. The Zip Recruiter numbers only seems to include data from jobs that are posted on that site, so the data may be limited and driving the overall number down.
While I think the trades are an excellent path for many people, I do think it is worth noting some of the hidden costs. It is absolutely true that many people make excellent livings in the trades, but just as with college degrees it is not a guarantee. The other consideration with going into a trade is the physical toll these jobs can take on a person. I know many tradespeople who love their careers but also admit the strain on their bodies has been immense.
Addressing the Bill Gates and Steve Jobs example, I do feel it is worth noting that both of these men succeeded. Not attending college was not the source of their success. If their businesses had failed, they would have likely returned to college. Most people are not going to start multi-billion dollar companies, so the best path for the average person probably looks different for them as opposed to Gates or Jobs.
Overall, I think narrowing this discussion to just salary is a mistake. Yes, people considering future careers should keep in mind their financial stability, but to some degree you have to enjoy what you do. If you are miserable at your job, you are likely to encounter burnout and not succeed in your field. I know many people who would be miserable as a plumber, and many who would hate being stuck behind a desk. Rather than having people chasing paychecks, we should encourage a more holistic approach where people consider what kind of life would make them most happy, and helping direct them to the paths that help them achieve this. Very few if any schools only recommend college as a path Instead, they encourage students to pursue any post-secondary education that serves their goals and interests, whether that be college, trade school, an apprenticeship, or something else.
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/wkyeng.pdf
Thank you so much. Could you please direct us to the part that talks about South Dakota specifically. I was not able to find it.
The statistics are for the country as a whole.
We were not able to find anything national on South Dakota either. That is the reason we used the source we did. Unfortunately national statistics can be misleading. For example the cost of living in San Francisco is much higher than in Sioux Falls, so it is possible to live well on a lower salary in South Dakota. This is why we felt uncomfortable lumping all the salary data together.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean annual wage for the entire country was $65,470. The mean annual wage for South Dakota was $53,230. This is lower, likely due in part to the lower cost of living. But all available sources show that higher education attainment leads to a higher salary on average.
Unless South Dakota is somehow an anomaly to this, it is likely that the Zip Recruiter page you used is skewing low. Again, I would contend that Zip Recruiter being inaccurate is more likely since Zip Recruiter is gathering that data from jobs posted on that specific website, rather than all available jobs. This means it is working with a limited data set and may be missing some trends.
I understand your hesitation to use national averages because of the inclusion of data from high cost of living areas, but I feel that national data provides a more accurate picture for this conversation. Given that the number you provided is such an outlier from national data, I personally would need to see more sourcing to trust it over national data.
U.S. Mean Annual Wage:
https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#00-0000
South Dakota Mean Annual Wage:
https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_sd.htm#00-0000
Educational Attainment and Wages:
https://www.bls.gov/emp/chart-unemployment-earnings-education.htm
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cba/annual-earnings
https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/sub-issues/earnings-by-educational-attainment.html
Have you heard of SDSMT? I would be interested to know from the BOR what the average college salary I for all other colleges. "2022 - 2023 Graduates (BS degrees),South Dakota Mines graduates earn an average starting salary of $73,547."
https://www.sdsmt.edu/student-life/support-and-services/career-services/data.html#:~:text=2022%20%2D%202023%20Graduates%20(BS%20degrees)&text=South%20Dakota%20Mines%20graduates%20earn%20an%20average%20starting%20salary%20of%20%2473%2C547.
Rockers!!!!
Thank you Frank for providing that information and the link. Yes, SDSMT is a good choice for people who want to work in technical fields like engineering. The average wage for these professions is higher than for the trades, so spending extra time and money on classroom learning could be a good financial decision.
It is nice to hear from you Douglas. I know plumbers, electricians, and business people who did not follow the college path. They are well educated, economically successful, and a vital part of our society.
Are you saying that college is the only form of education, and we must collectively fund it for whatever "collective well-being" is, and those who work in hands-on skill trades do not contribute to civilized society?
Some of the brightest people in our society did not follow this path, including Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple Computer.