Is College Still Worth It? The New Calculus of Falling Returns [pdf]
I have a degree from a no-name university in New Zealand. I&#x27;d do it again for a few pragmatic reasons.<p>1: Lots of companies will reject you on sight without a degree. I don&#x27;t think it&#x27;s a good thing, but it is reality.<p>2: With a degree your ability to move overseas dramatically improves. I moved to America after graduating. I flat out couldn&#x27;t have done that without a degree. Points based systems immigration systems like New Zealand have dramatic bonuses for people with degrees.<p>3: You don&#x27;t have to jump through the hoops and explain why you don&#x27;t have a degree all the time. Stupid reason I know, but it&#x27;s something I&#x27;ve seen friends without degrees have to do constantly - and not just in career situations. As I mentioned, I went to a no-name university. If you live in NZ, you&#x27;ll know it. If you&#x27;re an American, chances are, you&#x27;ve never heard of it. But because I have a degree, it doesn&#x27;t ever really come up.<p>4: The cost isn&#x27;t that bad, when you spread it out over a career. My degree &amp; living costs cost about $60k NZD (~$40k USD). That&#x27;s $1k USD &#x2F; year, or $.50 per hour. Considering how my income has multiplied in the few years since I&#x27;ve graduated (SF wages help tremendously here), the actual cost is barely anything, even when you control for the opportunity cost of studying.<p>Where I think College returns make a lot less sense<p>• Paying out of state tuition for lifestyle reasons, when you&#x27;re going into a relatively low paid field afterwards (e.g. teaching).<p>• Paying private school tuition at a school without a strong reputation<p>• Grad school, in general, seems to be a rip off