Table of Contents
- Executive Summary
- Explore the Data
- Introduction
- Americans believe well-paying jobs require education after high school.
- Americans believe education after high school creates opportunities.
- Americans want change in higher education.
- Americans believe public colleges and universities are worth the cost but feel more mixed about private and for-profit colleges and universities.
- Regardless of demographic, Americans like their local colleges and universities.
- Americans support workforce-based programs such as apprenticeships.
- Americans believe higher education is a public benefit and that the government should do more to make it affordable.
- Perception versus reality
- North Carolina
- Institutional Profile: Elon University
- Apprenticeship Program Profile: Siemens Charlotte
Americans believe education after high school creates opportunities.
Most Americans (80 percent) believe there are more opportunities for those who pursue education after high school, versus only 14 percent who say there are more opportunities for those who pursue work right away.
Further evidence of the importance of a college credential: 63 percent believe that it is harder to be successful without a higher education degree. When focusing on bachelor’s degrees (also known as four-year degrees), nearly three in four (73 percent) of Americans agree that if you have a bachelor’s degree, you are paid more for the same job than those who do not have a bachelor’s degree. Two-thirds of Americans (66 percent) believe there is a limit to how much people without a bachelor’s degree are able to grow in their careers.
Findings by Party Identification
Regardless of party affiliation, pursuing education after high school is seen as the better path. However, Democrats (83 percent) are slightly more likely than Republicans (77 percent) to believe there are more opportunities for those who pursue education after high school.
While Republicans and Democrats feel that it is harder to be successful without a college degree, only a slight majority of Republicans (52 percent) believe this to be the case compared with 72 percent of Democrats.
Perhaps reflecting the fact that Democrats think it is harder to be successful without a degree, they feel more strongly than Republicans do about the value of a bachelor’s degree for career growth and opportunity. While a majority of Republicans still think a bachelor’s degree opens doors (62 percent), Democrats (70 percent) have a stronger belief that there is a limit to how much people without a bachelor’s degree are able to grow in their careers.
Regardless of party identification, Democrats (76 percent), Republicans (71 percent), and Independents (71 percent) all believe that if you do have a bachelor’s degree, you are paid more for the same job than those who do not have one.
Other Findings
By Educational Attainment
The majority of people across all levels of educational attainment believe that those with bachelor’s degrees are paid more in the same job than those without. But people with only high school degrees or less are the least likely to think that is the case: only 68 percent agree, compared with 75 percent of people with some college, 74 percent of people with undergraduate degrees, and 76 percent of people with graduate degrees.1
Citations
- For the purposes of this survey, “undergraduate degree” attainment corresponds to those with an associate or bachelor’s degree. “Some college” refers to those with some college credits and/or vocational, trade, or technical training. “Graduate degree” includes some postgraduate work or a postgraduate degree.