People First - February 2007

Higher Education

The Key to Earning Power

by Mark Keays

The value of education and how it impacts earning power is a topic that has sparked discussion in many households of late. We have all heard the stories about the parking valets, dealers and others who earn a very good income, and education isn’t a factor impacting their earnings. They are the exception, not the rule, when it comes to education and earning power.

The U.S. Census Bureau released the following study information last year: “Adults ages 25 to 64 who worked at any time during the study period earned an average of $34,700 per year. Average earnings ranged from $18,900 for high school dropouts to $25,000 for high school graduates, $45,400 for college graduates, and $99,300 for workers with professional degrees (MD, JD, DDS or DVM).”

While these are national figures ,the bottom line is education makes a significant impact on an individual’s lifetime earning power. The earnings spread continues to widen as more and more organizations are willing to pay more for individuals with higher levels of education as more and more complex equipment, systems and processes become mainstream. Additionally, organizations are looking for people who will help them to gain and keep a competitive edge over others in their industry. If you look in the local paper any given day you’ll see that more and more organizations are looking for individuals with a minimum of a bachelor’s degree to be considered for a management trainee position.

Education is something that once gained can’t be taken away from you and it is never too late to go back to school and increase your earning potential. If you haven’t finished high school, GED programs are available for adults who wish to earn a high school equivalent degree. Community colleges offer excellent programs all around the state, many for working adults, with programs that can be tailored to accommodate a full-time employment schedule. Nevada has several fine universities that offer a wide variety of programs and a number of private institutions have initiated programs specifically focused and tailored to the busy schedule of working adults.

It doesn’t matter if you are 20 or 60, it is never too late to change your life. It does, however, require a decision and commitment on your part to take the initial step toward improving your life. Most organizations do not provide any type of formal career development planning for employees. It is, in the majority of cases, up to the individual to decide where they want to go, determine what they need to do to remain employable with the possibility of advancement. There is no guarantee that doing a good job for 20 years will earn one a gold watch or a retirement check. Education, however, will greatly improve an individual’s chances of being able to prepare themselves for constantly changing job demands and to increase their earning power and likelihood of moving up the ladder of success.

Mark Keays
Mark Keays is president of Desert Management Services, a Las Vegas-based management consulting firm, and a faculty member of the University of Phoenix, where he teaches in the areas of organizational change, human resources and management.