Data Visualization Project

Carleton College IDSC 100

November 12, 2016

With the cost of living growing larger each year in America, record numbers of students are attending college in the hopes of finding financial success. A common misconception among students is that the college they attend will influence their earnings more than their major, but rather the opposite is true because there are large pay gaps in certain majors after graduation. Pursuing a degree beyond a Bachelor’s degree, however, does help lower earning majors see an increase in income that may be more beneficial for others, but it does increase income for all majors. A person’s race, gender, age, or even their location also impacts their earnings, with some demographics seeing larger benefits than others, possibly due to biases that exist in society. Choosing a major is important, as it has a huge impact on the student’s future during and after they graduate college.

Across all high schools in America, seniors are desperately trying to narrow their choice of colleges down to a select few. They compare graduation rates, how long it takes to receive a diploma, costs of attending, classes, and post-graduation earnings before applying to several colleges in hopes of being one of the few that are accepted.

Many of them seek letters of recommendations from teachers and refine their essays to stand out from the rest. As the results come in, they are met with several emotions from grief to joy as they find out if they have been accepted into the college of their choice. One of the top reasons they applied was because of their councilor’s reminders that someone with a college degree earns substantially more than someone with just a high school diploma. By some measurements, Bachelor degree holders earn up to two times more that their high school counterparts!

Yet once they have gone through the momentous process of going through the application process and arrive on campus for the first time, they realized they forgot to research on one of the most important decisions in the college decision process: the major they will declare. Though there are students who are certain of their intended major, a majority will enter college undeclared and undecided on what path to take. Even for those who are certain of what major they want to study, they may be one of the many that switches their major after a year of college. This choice should not be taken lightly, as some students will only pursue their major for a Bachelor’s degree, while others will continue and receive graduate degrees. The difference between these types of degrees is substantial, as certain majors earn much less than others post graduation, and sometimes obtaining a graduate degree earns a larger amount than a Bachelor’s that can help with a person’s financial status. When looking at this graphic, one can notice that some majors earn more than some graduates of certain colleges. As such, some may draw a conclusion that the major a person studies influences their income more than their college choice.

As established before, not all majors have the same outlook in terms of future potential earnings. Different factors may also affect future earnings regardless of major, such as gender. Worldwide, and even in America, there is evidence of a persistent gender wage gap where women tend to earn less than men across all career fields and majors. Most of the time, women do not even earn the average income for their major, unless they pursue higher levels of education, while men usually only need a Bachelor’s degree to earn at least the average income!

Another factor that influences income despite a certain major is race. Race is a large component that determines future income, as there is a large amount of racial biases present in America. Even stereotypes, both positive and negative, affect income no matter what major a person attained, such as the stereotype that Asians are smart in America. There are still remnants of the so-called ‘white privilege’ in America, where there are racial tensions between whites and non-whites, which leads to implicit or direct discrimination in job offers and income. People should notice how Asian Americans (Japanese, Chinese, Other) tend to earn more, with White earnings similar to them. Also, readers should note that minority races tend to earn less than White Americans across all majors, though it does not mean that the majors themselves earn less, rather some majors have lower potential earnings than others.

There are many different cultural differences between races and many unique social ‘norms’ that they follow. For instance, in several societies men tend to be the ‘breadwinners’ - that is, the person who works earns the money - while women are generally regarded as a keeper of the home. Many of these social norms are shared among cultures, so someone might be curious to see if they also impacted income for different majors, and to see if some genders in certain races earn more with a certain major than average. To keep the comparison simple, only five races are shown with the average income earned for a particular major. Some might observe that stereotypes may play a role in income, as certain races consistently earn more than others, especially those races that are considered to be a minority.

Age, on the other hand, is a constant factor that is the same for everyone no matter what race, gender, or major they have. Younger employees, usually fresh out of college, tend to earn less mainly on the basis that they lack the experience or expertise necessary to earn a higher salary. On the other end of the age spectrum, older employees, usually close to retirement, also tend to earn less than average simply because the company may be losing them soon to retirement, or their skills have become less relevant in a quickly changing workplace. Sometime between the ages 35-55 is when most people, regardless of major, reach their peak earnings as by that time, they have usually settled down and can devote more time and energy to their job, and they have gained experience to earn a higher salary. Still, some majors have a better financial outlook compared to others, so some may want to take that into consideration before choosing a major.

When race is also compared with age, some interesting trends appear. For instance, whites tend to have a more stable income across the different majors than other races as they age, which could be an indicator of existing biases in society. Even minority races such as Asian or black have relatively stable incomes where they increase as they age until they reach their peaks, and then they decline as they age. Yet when biracial or multiracial people are compared, the graphic is unique. These two particular demographics do not tend to enjoy the same stability as others, as their incomes vary wildly as they age. Also, some majors tend to have different incomes regardless of race, as it is hard to find a job with certain majors.

To counter lower earnings, some may want to consider the state that they choose to live in once they graduate college. After all, certain states are more friendly to certain majors than others, such as California’s Silicon Valley and the numerous tech companies that are located there. New York is another famous state, which also hosts several businesses that range from banks to law firms to social justice reform. Another example is that on the choropleth maps, the industrial arts tend to do better along the East coast, in states like Massachusetts or Maryland, while Liberal Arts tend to earn more in California and New York. STEM majors tend to do well financially in just about any state, as they are related to interests critical to the nation, such as infrastructure. Demand may also be a contributing factor, as higher populated states tend to have more jobs available, so they may be more friendly to certain majors than others, and some jobs are needed in all states, such as lawyers.

Though it appears that the college a person chooses to attend affects their earnings more than the major they choose, there are some exceptions, notably the Ivy League schools and their earnings post graduation. Yet if someone is not attending one of the select few colleges, they should take note on which majors tend to have higher earnings should they wish to be financially successful. They should also consider their own demographics, and choose a major that allows them to use existing biases in society to their advantage. On the other hand, they may also consider moving to a different state to improve their personal wealth if they wish to pursue a generally lower earning major. Although some majors have the potential to earn more than others, this author recommends that, in the end, it is up to the student on whether they utilize the knowledge they have to make the decision so college is worth it for themselves.

Sources:

IPUMS-USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org.

Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, College Rankings Earnings

Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, Economic Value of College Majors

Visuals were created using Tableau

Data Visualizations Source