So, recently you graduated from high school and you are thinking about starting your career rather than attending college. Perhaps you will just work for a couple of years and then decide to go back to school, right? Not if you knew the income differential between those who hold a college degree and those who do not. The job market is becoming increasingly competitve, thus you must distinguish yourself with superior qualifications and abilities.

A couple of years ago ~85% of the United States had finished high school and ~25% of the population held atleast a bachelors degree. This figure increases every year for the category of holding atleast a bachelors degree. Consequently, the job market becomes more competitve. When the job market becomes more competitive it is imperitive that you distinguish yourself as a unique individual with superior level abilities and qualifications. If not, you may be out of a job or atleast earn far less than those with a bachelors degree. Here are the numbers.

A mean of $50,916 USD for those males over the age of 25 with a maximum of a bachelors degree and a mean of $28,763 USD for those with only a high school diploma. A mean of $31,309 for females with a maximum of a bachelors compared to $15,962 to females with only a high school diploma. This is a quite disturbing gamut between a male and a female; perhaps I will go deeper into that in a later article ;) .

Ok kids, this is an income differential of ~$22,000 for a male and ~$16,000 for a female. Wow, these figures sure make my job easy. The argument speaks in the form of numbers and does the work for me.

So, would you rather drive a BMW or a Kia? I presume you understand my point.

Well, let us first consider your options before you make a huge mistake. First and foremost, you can always take out both federal and private loans from banks. Federal loans generally carry a lower interest rate and are need based. Thus, you should always go for the government loans first. You will need to fill out your FAFSA to see if you qualify.

• A Stafford Loan is offered at a lower interest rate than a private loan through a bank and can be defferred until graduation.

• A Federal Perkins Loan is considered to be need based and is offered for post-graduate education. They carry a fixed interest rate of 5% and also have a ten year repayment period. There are limits on these loans; you can only take out $20,000 in a lifetime with a cap of $4,000 a year.
• PLUS Loan. This is a loan that your parents can take out. They can borrow much more easing your financial woes a bit.

There is also always the option of entering the miltary and letting them pay for it as well. There is something called the GI Bill where the United States government will pay for some if not all of your educational expenses. I have several friends that went this route and it is working out well for them. Many of them are in the ROTC program and well on their way to rewarding careers as Officers in the military. If you have the heart and determination to go this route I urge you to. It sure beats coming out of college $80,000+ in debt, trust me.

Let me stress this important piece of advice for incoming college students. The best way to pay for your education is to get a part-time job with a corporation that is willing to offer something called tuition assistance. With tuition assistance, the company will pay for a large chunk of your education expenses. It is really a great deal and I did not utilize this option until my senior year. I really wish someone would have enlightened me as to this prospect. Large corporations offer these programs and it is best to get in as early as possible in your college career. To find job openings simply check out careerbuilder.com or monster. Your college academic department should also be inquired because they may also have some information as to which employers are hiring.

For business students large banks should be your number one target in order to attain tuition assistance. These corporations are more than happy to mold you into their perfect candidate for a full time job following graduation. Most if not all offer tuition assistance.

Trust me, you will thank me later for this advice when they offer you a full time job in your chosen field when you graduate and your debt is much lower ;)