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<p dir="ltr">A new survey of 2,245 Americans commissioned by <a href="https://www.finder.com/college-degree-value">finder.com</a> in July 2017 and conducted by global research provider Pureprofile, found that almost 2 in 5 Americans, or 38.7%, are unsure or don’t think their college degree was worth the money. That’s an estimated 60.96 million Americans. Of these degree holders, 49.6% say they aren’t making use of their degree, while about 1 in 5 (19.6%) say they haven’t been able to find a job in their field.</p>
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<p dir="ltr"><strong>Why was your college degree not worth it?</strong></p>
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<p dir="ltr">49.6% – aren’t making use of it</p>
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<p dir="ltr">19.6% – unable to find a job in their field of study</p>
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<p dir="ltr">16.1% – dropped out of college</p>
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<p dir="ltr">10.0% – changed careers</p>
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<p dir="ltr">4.6% – changed degrees</p>
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<p>Data released on August 15 by the <a href="https://www.newyorkfed.org/microeconomics/hhdc.html">Federal Reserve Bank of New York</a> and analyzed by <a href="https://www.finder.com/">finder.com</a>, shows that student loan debt has grown at a faster pace than any other household debt, by an incredible 457.68% since records began, in Q1 2003.</p>
<p dir="ltr">According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s <a href="https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/college-labor-market/college-labor-market_underemployment_rates.html">Labor Market for Recent College Graduates</a> report, 43.7% of recent graduates (aged 22-27 with a bachelor’s degree or higher) are underemployed, which means they are working in jobs that don’t require their degree. <strong>Out of all college graduates</strong>, <strong>34.4% are underemployed,</strong> meaning $462.3 billion of student loan debt is potentially being repaid by people in jobs that don’t require their degree.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“This trend raises concern over the amount of student debt in America for unused degrees. With $1.34 trillion in outstanding student loan balances according to the Federal Reserve, plus 34.4% college graduates employed in jobs that don’t require a degree, there’s a need for greater discussion and support around those figuring out their career path,&#8221; says <a href="https://www.finder.com/">finder.com</a>&#8216;s Consumer Advocate, Jennifer McDermott. “Being open-minded is good. It’s not a bad thing to take a gap year to research what field you might want to go into or undertake an internship to gain some hands-on experience. This could potentially save you adding to our $1.34 trillion debt of outstanding student loans, while giving you greater clarity that you’re doing something you’ll enjoy and stick with. &#8220;</p>
<h3><strong>Further findings from the survey:</strong></h3>
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<p dir="ltr"><strong>Gender</strong></p>
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<p dir="ltr">More males than females have a college degree, sitting at 69.8% compared to 61.5% of women</p>
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<p dir="ltr">More men think that their college degree wasn’t worth the money, with over 1 in 4 (23.4%) saying so, compared to 17.3% of women</p>
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<p dir="ltr">Females are using their degrees less than men, with 51.2% saying they’re not using their degree (compared to 47.4% of men)</p>
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<p dir="ltr">Men are more likely to identify changing their career as why their degree isn’t worth it, sitting at 12.1% compared to 8.5% of women</p>
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<p dir="ltr"><strong>Generation</strong></p>
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<p dir="ltr">Gen X lead the way in terms of college degree possession (66.4%), followed by Millennials (65.2%) and Baby Boomers (55.0%)</p>
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<p dir="ltr">Baby Boomers most see the value in their college degree, with 72.7% saying it was worth the money, followed by 60.1% of Millennials and 59.1% of Gen X</p>
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<p dir="ltr">More Millennials have dropped out of college (16.8%), changed careers (12.6%), or changed degrees (6.3%) than any other generation</p>
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<p dir="ltr">Gen X are using their degrees the least (56.2%), followed by Baby Boomers (50.0%) and Millennials (44.8%)</p>
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<p dir="ltr">Baby Boomers identify not being able to find a job in that field as the main reason why their degree wasn’t worth the money (25.0%), followed by Millennials (19.6%) and Gen X (18.1%)</p>
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