Bachelor’s Degree

A bachelor’s degree, also known as a baccalaureate degree, typically requires four years of full-time study. Bachelor’s degrees are available in a wide range of academic fields. A bachelor’s degree demonstrates a student has a general and broad education with a focus on a specific subject. The major typically comprises 25 percent or more of a bachelor’s degree’s total credits.

In 2012 a third of Americans from 25 to 29 years of age earned at least a bachelor’s degree. In a Gallup 2010 survey approximately three-quarters of Americans agreed a college education is very important. According to the College Board 2010 Education Pay report workers with a higher level of education are more satisfied with their job than workers with only a high school diploma.

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Many well-paying occupations require a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. A lot of college graduates fairly quickly make up for the cost of a college degree and the time away from the workforce. According to The Economic Benefit of Postsecondary Degrees, A State and National Level Analysis, December 2012 report provided by the State Higher Education Executive Officers a postsecondary degree clearly results in higher earnings for the vast majority of people in all 50 states.

Typically the unemployment rate for people with just a high school diploma is substantially higher than for people with a bachelor’s degree. People with a college degree have a much better chance of getting and keeping a job and having a feasible path for long-term career success.

As college graduates get older their earnings, on average, increase much faster and peak at a later age when compared to people with only a high school diploma and similar backgrounds. The payoff from a bachelor’s degree happens not just for people with a bachelor’s degree in the sciences or engineering but also for people with a bachelor’s degree in the social sciences and the humanities.