College dropout vs grad income gap is smaller than I thought

I was looking at Bureau of Labor stats last week and the median weekly earnings for someone with some college but no degree is $935 versus $1,305 for a bachelor's. That's only a $370 gap and I've been making more than that since I started in trades 3 years ago. Does that stat seem off to anyone else or is college really not worth it for more people than we think?

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fionaw546mo ago

Oh please, a 370 dollar gap is HUGE when you factor in lifelong earning potential!

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hannah2406mo ago

Wait, @fionaw54 are you saying a $370 gap is big even if someone invests it over their whole career? I mean sure, if you put that into a 401k every year for 40 years it adds up, but most people aren't doing that perfectly. A lot of folks have gaps from switching jobs or taking time off for family stuff. Honestly, the bigger issue is that some industries just pay women less from the start, not the gap itself.

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