College and Jobs

I came across a report issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics that detailed the projected job growth for 2010 - 2020 (the report was released in 2012). There were lots of interesting tidbits in the report, but I found Table 10 particularly compelling.

Table 10 presents the "30 occupations with the largest projected number of total job openings due to growth and replacements" for that 10-year period. Particularly surprising was the realization that of those 30 occupations, only six typically require more than a high school diploma for entry.

In other words, according to this report, 80% of the occupations with the largest projected number of job openings do not require a college education.

In another table, (Table 9), the projected employment by education is presented. That table suggests that only 15.6% of job openings will require a bachelor's degree. According to the same chart, 69.2% of jobs require a high school diploma or less.

These data were simply projections and are obviously stale given that we are now in 2018. Still, it is interesting to ponder the relationship between college education and employment opportunities.