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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]What is interesting is to look at BLS statistics ([url]https://www.bls.gov/emp/chart-unemployment-earnings-education.htm[/url])

People with the highest degrees have the lowest unemployment rate and highest salaries (ok, prof. degrees are higher than doctoral degrees in salary).
But, PhD's have a 1.5% unemployment rate, and $1743*52=90636 median salary.

You might not be able to directly work in your field but the analytical approaches you learn will have broad applications.  
[/quote]
I've never found this data to be a compelling argument for getting a PhD, because while there is a correlation there is really no great reason to expect causation. When economists point this stuff out, my answer is always, "So, really. People who are willing and able to work for barely subsistence wages through the better part of the 20s, usually with minimal direction, in order to contribute new knowledge to a field don't have a lot of trouble finding paid employment? And I'm somehow supposed to believe it's the piece of paper they got at the end of that slog and not the characteristics they had going into it that is the reason for their low unemployment rate?" I'm actually being somewhat facetious, because I do think there is value in going through that slog...but you have to be careful when interpreting these stats.[/quote]

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