Features A college education proves to be financially rewarding TROJAN TRIBUNE
10.03.2008
$3.4
Doctoral Degree
Professional Degree
Allison Smith
editor
While college may be expensive, higher education brings financial benefits. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Bachelor’s degree holders will earn an average of $2.1 million in a lifetime, compared to high school graduates who will earn an average of $1.2 million. People earning higher degrees will have even larger lifetime earnings. Master’s degree holders earn a lifetime average of $2.5 million and people holding professional degrees earn an average
of $4.4 million. Jon Poore, senior, plans to earn a PhD in pharmacy. “I’ll make six figures out of college,” said Poore. Julia Rainey, junior, also realizes that the price of college tuition is worth the career opportunities a degree provides. “The money I’m going to have to pay is worth it because when I get my job, I’ll be able to pay it off,” she said. Rainey is planning for at least eight years of college in order to become a medical psychologist. The majority of BCHS students are on track to higher earnings. According
Careers on the rise
Auditors
These careers have a high projected need for employees from 20062016. Information gathered from careervoyages.gov
Top Jobs Based on a school-wide survey given Sept. 23, the Trib compiled students’ top five career choices and researched the demand for these jobs in the future, what type of degree they require and how much they pay. While a career in business was among the top five choices, we chose not to include it due to the broad array of careers and salaries students might pursue. Information gathered from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Careerbuilder.com
to a school-wide survey with a 68 percent response, 99 percent of students plan to earn a college degree. While most students’ future goals include college, the percentage of people in Indiana who actually have a bachelor’s degree or higher is not large. Fourteen percent of adult Hoosiers have a bachelor’s degree and just eight percent have a graduate degree. Poore said he does not find this surprising. “I guess it’s good for me because there will b e more job opportunities.”
Auditors examine and analyze accounting records. Along with accountants, the number of employees in this career is expected to increase by 225,500 from 2006-2016.
$4.4
Master’s Degree
$2.5
Bachelor’s Degree
$2.1
Assosciate’s Degree
$1.6
Some College
$1.5
High School Graduate Not a High School Graduate
7
$1.2 $1.0 0
$0.5
$1.0 $1.5 $2.0 $2.5 $3.0 $3.5 $4.0 $4.5 $5.0 (in millions, 1999 dollars)
Lifetime career earnings based on educational attainment Based on “The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Wok-Life Earnings,” a study by the U.S. Census Bureau
Anesthesiologists
Anesthesiologists administer anesthetic drugs to patients before surgery or other medical procedures. From 2006-2016, there will be a need of 90,200 new anesthesiologists.
Computer software engineeers
Employees in this field research, desig n and test computer software. By 2016, there will be an additional 150,00 job openings.
Police and sheriff ’s patrol officers
By 2016, an additional 70,100 police officers, sheriffs, and deputy sheriffs will be needed in the country. On average, there are 400 annual job openings in this career in Indiana.
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Nurse
Veterinarian
Lawyer
Psychologist
Registered nurses are in high demand. The projected number of new registered nurses needed in the U.S. between 2006-2016 is 587,00 and the need is growing. Starting Salary: $41,173 (BS degeree) Mean Salary: $57,280 Degree Required: Assosciate’s or Bachelor’s “I’m really interested in medicine. I like being able to do hands-on work and I like helping people. There’s a shortage of nurses so you can find a job easily and they pay you pretty well.” Paige Snyder, senior
The projected growth of the veterinary field is faster than average, with a 35 percent projected increase from 2006-2016. Starting Salary: $62,400 Mean Salary: $71,990 Degree required: Professional
Elementary teacher
“I like biology and animals so I feel like I would always be satisfied with my job.” Ally Pauszek, senior
Elementary education is a growing job field, with a projected need for 209,000 new teachers by 2016 and a 14 percent growth rate. Starting Salary: $29,414 Mean Salary: $45,00 Degree required: Bachelor’s “I’ve just always wanted to teach kids. I’ve had some practice with it with my service work teaching vacation bible school and teaching a religious education class.” Claire Bidmead, senior
This occupation’s projected growth rate for 2006-2016 is 11 percent. The demand for legal services is also expected to increase. Starting Salary: $60,000 Mean salary: $102,470 Degree required: Professional “My uncle went through law school and I like watching shows like Law and Order and CSI. I like helping people with their problems. I’m good at arguing and I’m a people person.” Felix Metzger, senior
D ue to t he incre asing demand for psychologists in schools, hospitals, substance abuse clinics and social service agencies, this field is expected to grow 15 percent by 2016. Starting Salary: $46,153 Mean salary: $59,440 Degree required: Doctoral “I want to get my MD and do medical psychology and have my own practice. Psychology is really interesting to me and it’s helping people at the same time.” Julia Rainey, junior
i thought earth day was for the 60’s/
four decades ago, students
wearing bandanas in every color of the rainbow and covered in peace signs fought for environmental improvement. The 1960s and 1970s were rich with environmental awareness and today, with “going green” signs left and right, it’s time to fight for the earth again. Derived from concerns of the past, Earth Day was created by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson’s efforts in 1970 to educate the public on complicated issues of the environmental movements. Nelson’s success spread, and today people around the globe celebrate this day annually on April 22. “Earth Day is important because every step- no matter how small or seemingly insignificant- is a step in the right direction,” Wilderness Education Association Administrative Assistant Mallory Rickbeil said. Rising problems in the fragile environment directly affect all humans’ lifestyles, not just the hippies of the twentieth century. Following the 1970s various nonprofit businesses have created ways to conserve water, preserve land and educate others of how to do the same. Leave No Trace (LNT) is a wellknown nonprofit organization that is centered on outdoor ethics rather than physical work to preserve land. Sycamore Land Trust (SLT), founded in 1990, is a conservation organization that aims to preserve and restore the lands of Southern Indiana. One of the other groups working to preserve Indiana land runs parallel to the Hoosier Hills Career Development Center. The campus has housed a land preservation, more commonly known as the Nature
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Center, that is home to the natural ecosystem of Indiana and remains today in the hands of the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department. According to science teacher Scott Stephenson, the Nature Center is not considered a nature preserve because people haven’t worked to maintain it. “The Nature Center is completely self-sustaining,” Stephenson said.
“Going green” There are many ways students can help the environment. By reducing things such as fossil fuels, plastic waste and meat production, students can not only help the environment but also save money. Fossil fuels come directly from burning materials like gasoline, coal, wood and natural gases used in furnaces and stoves. The biggest way to reduce what scientists call the “carbon footprint” and to save money is to drive less, by carpooling or traveling by other means. Plastic waste is one of the biggest environmental problems that students contribute to. Although plastic can be recycled, the nearest recycling bin isn’t always within reach. The Container Recycling Institute (CRI) approximates that 80 percent of plastic bottles wind up not being recycled. These bottles cost money to produce, money to ship and money to buy. Toronto scientist, Lloyd Alter, calculated in 2007 that it takes 90 grams of fossil fuels to deliver one bottle of the water to the U.S. from Fiji. Buying a reusable water bottle will lower money expenditure in the long run and help end littering in school environments. Meat production is also high on
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to do list: — Go to “The Science of Being Green” at the WonderLab Museum held every weekend in April located at 308 W. Fourth St.
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— Go to the Parks and Recreation’s Earth Day Celebration in People’s Park on Tue., April 21 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. — Go to “Earth Day Indiana” on April 25 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the American Legion Mall and Veterans Memorial Plaza on the corner of Meridian and North Streets in downtown Indianapolis — Contact SLT or LNT and visit info@sycamorelandtrust.org and info@lnt.org — Figure their carbon footprint at http://www.earthday.net/footprint/flash.html — Go to LNT trainer course, including overnight backpacking trip, on May 2nd and 3rd in Indianapolis and the Morgan Monroe State Forest. Cost: $90.00 Register at www.camptown.net
April
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