Income difference Occupational vs Liberal degrees

The long-term income difference between those who obtain occupational degrees versus those who obtain more general or liberal arts degrees.

It is a general understanding that education provides individuals with a number of labor market benefits besides increased income. More educated persons tend to be autonomous, more mobile and flexible, enjoy higher job security, and experience higher levels of employment (Lee, 2014). However, income usually receives the highest attention, even though it may not capture all these advantages of employment. As much as all graduates experience these effects of education, this experience is never uniform. Huge differences do exist when it comes to the income and status of occupation of graduates. There have been many investigations trying to find out what brings these variations and one factor that has featured significantly is fields of study. There are different groupings of fields but generally an individual obtains either an occupational specific degree or a more general or liberal arts degree. The fact that individuals in these different fields have a variation in income is not in contention, what is a subject of discussion is who earns higher and who records higher growth rate in the industry. The general expectation is that the occupational specific degrees, such as engineering, economics and health-related fields, would attract higher earnings as opposed to the liberal arts degrees. The fields of study not only affect income but also have an influence on unemployment risks and occupational status (Lee, 2014).

In order to conclusively find out which fields yield higher income, especially in the long run, a number of studies have been carried out. One such study was done by Roksa and Levey (2010) and it showed that there is a clear distinction of entry points into the labor market as well as in the occupational trajectories taken in the long run. Graduates with occupational specific degrees tend to have higher incomes when they enter the labor market, on the other hand graduates whose degrees are less specific occupationally have lower incomes at the point of entry into the labor market. There is also an indication that the graduates with high occupational specificity enter the labor market at a higher occupational status as compared to their colleagues with low occupational specificity. However, this advantage enjoyed by the occupational specific graduates does not last over time since occupational specific graduates register the lowest occupational status growth in the long run. The liberal arts graduates are disadvantaged at the entry point but enjoy high occupational status growth in the industry. The long-term effect of this is that the liberal arts graduates will end up closing the income as well as occupational status gap between them and the occupational specific graduates.

There have been attempts to explain this kind of occupational trajectory difference with several explanations emerging, one such explanation points to graduate education. There are suggestions that general degree graduates have a higher likelihood of pursuing graduate degrees compared to the occupational specific degree graduates. In the first few years of completing college the general degree holders are more likely to obtain enrollment in graduate school while the occupational degree holders would be engaged in fulltime jobs (Roksa and Levey, 2010). So how does this choice influence their occupational trajectory and eventually their income? It is the expectation of most employers that their employees at least possess some general skills. This therefore means that these general skills make an individual to be mobile and flexible in the labor market. The general degree holders tend to pursue these general skills more than the occupational degree holders. This gives them better opportunities to grow their status in the industry since they are preferred by most employers. They are considered to have better managerial skills and can thus fit in a several sectors in the labor market. It is thus obvious that the general degree holders will be given priority in promotions especially in managerial levels and with this they get the chance of improving on their income faster as compared to the occupational specific degree holders who may start at higher level but rise very slowly through the ranks thereby recording minimal growth in their income.

There is no doubt as to whether there exists a disparity in occupational status and eventually income between students with degrees considered to be highly occupational specific and those with less occupational specific degrees. This disparity has been found to be widest at the point of entry into the labor market both in terms of status and income. The graduates with high occupational specificity tend to be on the side of advantage throughout the working life, even though this advantage becomes less pronounced over time. The reduction in this gap is majorly brought about by the fact that the general degree holders grow faster in occupational education which eventually contributes to their growth in both status and earnings. However, they are never able to surpass their occupational specific graduate peers in terms of earning since these fields have always enjoyed decent salaries, even during tough economic times. In fact, in difficult economic times such as the Great Recession the wages of most general degree holders may fall which is never the case with the high occupational specific degree graduates. Simply put, individuals with occupational degrees get higher income than those with general or liberal arts degrees, however, in the long-run the gap reduces but not enough to make them equal or change positions.


References
Lee, J. (2014). The attainability of university degrees and their labour market benefits for young
Australians. Higher Education, 68(3), 449-469. doi:http://dx.doi.org.sc4.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s10734

Roksa, J., & Levey, T. (2010). What can you do with that degree? college major and
occupational status of college graduates over time. Social Forces, 89(2), 389-415. Retrieved from https://sc4.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.sc4.idm.oclc.org/docview/859591987?accountid=41091