Yesterday’s Inside Higher Ed article highlighted increasing anxiety among graduating seniors about the job market.
Another article outlined three strategies colleges can employ to empower students in their quest for a meaningful career.
- Complete an internship.
- Carry out a long-term project.
- Obtain a credential (other than a bachelors degree).
The bottom line is internships are highly associated with beginning and long-term earnings. It may be that career-oriented students are more likely to seek out internships. So I can’t definitively say internships cause higher earnings.
Regardless, internships do provide practical experiences and networking opportunities that lead to positive labor market outcomes, regardless of GPA.
Click to expand.
The usual disclaimer: Earnings are not the only outcomes of college
This analysis does not assume the goal of a university is to prepare students for careers. Nor does it assume earnings are the only or best outcome of higher education. Higher education is associated with all kinds of non-economic benefits to individuals and society. These include health and wellness, the environment, human rights, and democratic engagement, to name a few. Walter McMahon has covered these benefits extensively.
Most studies show a positive correlation between GPA and earnings. However, nearly all of these studies only look at the first year or two. The impact of college is lifelong. The first few years are messy. I call it “living in my high school bedroom until I figure things out” phenomenon. Reporting earnings for only the first few years paints an incomplete picture of the lifetime earnings of college graduates. And misses the high returns on public investments in higher education.
Still, for many students, a college degree represents an escape from poverty and ending a cycle of intergenerational inequality. It represents a job with health care, retirement benefits and meaning. It doesn’t mean everything, but it counts for something.
