Abstract
Earning a post-secondary degree involves paying for tuition, fees, books, supplies, and living costs. While in school, students forgo full-time job earnings, and after earning a degree they may have student loans to pay for many years. This study examines 305 California major/school combinations to identify the remaining value after paying the costs of earning a post-secondary degree - the Education Value above and beyond what the average person earns with a high school diploma. We find the best combination delivers an additional $3,713,267 in value across a lifetime, and the least value-added bachelor’s degree combination still delivers $656,100. All combinations are investments in human capital that outperform the long-term average of the U.S. stock market and may be the best investment many people ever make.
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