現今的大學文憑還能值多少錢?

As the price of a college degree continues to rise, there's growing evidence that the monetary payoff isn't quite as big as often advertised. The best estimate now is that a college degree is worth about 300,000 in today's dollars--nowhere near the million figure that is often quoted.
大學學費年年攀升，而畢業後的工資回報卻未如廣告所大肆宣傳的那樣年年見長。以現如今的美元估計，大學學歷最準確的價值是——30萬美元，遠不及常爲人所引用的100萬美元那麼值錢。
­
"That million number has driven me crazy!" says Sandy Baum, a Skidmore economist who studied the value of a college degree for the College Board last year.
“100萬美元都快讓我想瘋了！” 桑迪· 波美說道。這位斯克迪默學院的經濟學家於去年爲大學理事會研究了大學文憑的價值。
­
Baum's research showed that college graduates earn, on average, about 20,000 a year more than those who finished their educations at high school. Add that up over a 40-year working life and the total differential is about 800,000, she figures. But since much of that bonus is earned many years from now, subtracting out the impact of inflation means that 800,000 in future dollars is worth only about 450,000 in today's dollars.
波美的研究表明大學畢業生的平均年薪只比那些剛畢業的高中生高一點，大約爲2萬美元。根據她的計算，如果加上40年的工齡，總的工資級差將會達到80萬美元。但因爲大多數的紅利都是很久之後的事，所以除去通貨膨脹的影響，並將未來價值80萬美元兌換爲現在的美元來考慮，這個數字爲45萬美元。
­
Then, if you subtract out the cost of a college degree--about ,000 in tuition and books for students who get no aid and attend public in-state universities--and the money a student could have earned at a job instead of attending school, the real net value in today's dollars is somewhere in the 300,000 range, a number confirmed by other studies.
而且，如果除開大學期間的開銷（如果是在州立大學讀書，並且沒拿獎學金，學費和書本費支出大概是3萬美元），並且還要除去一個學生不上大學這段時間所能掙的錢，以現在的美元看，大學文憑淨值30萬美元。這個數字也爲其它的研究所證實。
­
But, especially these days, that still makes a college degree one of the most lucrative investments a person can make, Baum notes.
波美還提到，大學教育，尤其是在現在，仍然是一個人所能做的最爲有利的投資。
­
Better yet, college graduates can go on to earn advanced degrees, which return even bigger payoffs. The average holder of a bachelor's degree earns about 51,000 a year, Baum calculates. But those who've gone on to earn MBAs, law degrees, or other professional degrees earn about 100,000 a year.
但如果大學畢業後還能再往前讀個高級學位，得到的薪水回報將更大。根據波美的計算，一個學士平均年薪只有5萬1千美元，而一個讀了MBA、法律碩士或是其它職業學位的畢業生可以拿到將近10萬美元的年薪。
­
In addition, Baum found that there are plenty of other rewards for a degree. The quality of the jobs college graduates get is far better, for example. College graduates are more likely to get jobs with health insurance. And it is easier for them to find and hold jobs. The unemployment rate for college graduates was just 2.2 percent last year, half the unemployment level of those with only high school diplomas.
除此之外，波美還發現學位可以得到很多其它的好處。例如，大學畢業生所贏得的職位相比而言也更好。大學畢業生更容易取得有社會保險的職位，他們更容易找到工作，並不被炒魷魚。上一年度大學畢業生的失業率只有2.2%，這個數字只是那些高中畢業生的失業率的一半。
­
There are lots of other nonmonetary benefits as well. College graduates are healthier, contribute more to their communities, and raise kids who are better prepared academically, studies show.
當然，還有很多非金錢的回報。衆多研究都表明，大學畢業生身體素質更好，更加關注自己所在的社區，他們的子女也有更好的受教育的機會。
­
Other researchers have found that the payoff of a degree is especially lucrative for students from low-income families, since the education and credential give them a chance to break out of low-paying careers.
其它研究人員也發現學歷所帶來的回報對那些來自低收入家庭的學生尤其具有誘惑力，因爲教育和文憑給了他們擺脫低收入職位的機會。