QCOSTARICA – It pays to invest in a university education: more than 90% of college graduates in Costa Rica get employment in a relatively short time after graduation, according to an analysis by La Nacion of raw figures gathered by the National Council of (university) Rectors.
Actually, the figure is more like 95%, according to the analysis of 76,741 university graduates from 2008 to 2010. During this period, it was something like 19 out of every 20 Bachelor decree holders or so-called licenciados obtained employment, the latter being an extended degree course in some fields but less than a Masters.
This 5% unemployment contrasts with the nearly 10% for lessor educated types. Except for the most menial jobs, a high school degree is required for many of the latter. The above figure includes both public and private university grads in something like 107 different professional fields.
The college employed excludes such highly specialized fields that have 30 graduates during the two years studied: Mathematics, meteorology, art history and agricultural education. The survey contained direct interviews with 12,300 persons, nearly even between bachelor degrees and liceniaturas.
The careers wetre, in descending degree of popularity, business administration, primary education, accounting, law and psychology.
Via iNews.co.cr, nacion.com
Great Stats for a CR education. In the USA, Unemployment rates for college grads are 50%. Most live with their parents too.
I always love the way those touting the benefits of education make interpretive errors that in their educations should have taught them to avoid.
Basically, those most likely to complete an education at any level are already on the average more competent as well as privileged than those who don’t, and that same competence and privilege are factors in their higher employment rates and incomes. It’s simply not clear that education is the causal factor, or even much of one.
I’m not opposed to education, even favor it, but am bothered when people who should know better present misleading data about the supposed financial benefits of education. The real relationships are much more complicated.