By Dr. Laura Palmer Noone, CEO, University of the Potomac
It’s everywhere – people sounding the alarm that we have a vanishing middle class in America. Gone are the days when people could graduate from high school, get a job at the local manufacturing plant, join the union and have a secure pathway to a middle class way of life. Those jobs are being replaced by machines or shipped overseas.
Are there jobs for people with only a high school diploma? Yes, but there are fewer and fewer and most don’t pay a wage that would allow for a middle class lifestyle. For purposes of this discussion, let’ assume that magic number is $35,000 per year.
37% of all jobs in 2018 will be for workers without a high school diploma. Compare that to in 1973, when 72% of jobs required a high school diploma or less. There are a few jobs that pay well, (above $35,000 per year) but they fall into areas such as construction, manufacturing, and transportation.
Those workers with an associate’s degree or better generally earn above $35,000. 54% of those individuals with an associate’s degree earn above that amount and 69% of those with a bachelor’s degree surpass that income level.
If we as a nation want to invest in rebuilding a middle class, let’s put our money in education and training. Only in this way can we solve the shortage of skilled workers in the US and provide that all-important road back to a healthy middle class.
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