According to the U.S. Census Bureau, individuals with a bachelor's degree can expect to earn roughly $1 million more over the course of their lifetime than someone with just a high school diploma. People with a master's degree earn $400,000 more than those with a bachelor's degree, and those with a Ph.D. earn almost $1 million more than those with a master's degree.
In a 2009 Time magazine article, Kristi Oloffson writes about how the United States keeps cranking out the college graduates--so many in fact that it's devaluing the degrees that students are getting. She says that while a bachelor's degree was the key to a job 20 years ago, students now need to supplement that degree with a master's degree or work experience in their field of choice.
In an article in the June 12, 2010, Los Angeles Times, the chief executive of a staffing company said college graduates are more attractive in the job market because of the dedication and commitment it takes for them to earn a degree.
A report from ABC News claims that individuals with a four-year degree are more likely to avoid the unemployment in a recession. The article showed that in the most recent U.S. recession in 2008, the unemployment rate for workers with only a high school diploma was 9.4 percent; the unemployment rate for workers with at least a bachelor's degree was 4.7 percent.
A report from the Pew Research Center for Social and Demographic Trends shows that college grads are happier than those who haven't graduated from college: 42 percent of college grads were happy, while 30 percent of individuals with at most a high school diploma claimed to be happy.
Newsweek published a report showing that women who earned college degrees were more likely to be happy in their marriages and less likely to get divorced than women who are married without a college degree.
An article on the Online Education Database Web site looks at a study that illustrates the health benefits for college graduates. The article looks at a study done by Betsey Stevenson, an economist with the Wharton School, that demonstrates how men and women with a college degree are more likely to be involved in healthy activities and engage in a healthier lifestyle. The results of this clean living -- a longer life and less risk of heart disease. According to the study, the healthy lifestyle of a college graduate is often passed down to his or her children.