Voice of Reason
Veteran
They could be studying finance or computer science and that still would not close the WEATH GAP anytime soon you idiot.
Negged
Black women prove that education does not close the wealth gap
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They could be studying finance or computer science and that still would not close the WEATH GAP anytime soon you idiot.
Negged
Voice of Reason
Veteran
Incels arrived in this thread too early to have a real conversation.
Voice of Reason
Veteran
Don't understand the difference between wealth and income Incel brehs 
Frangala
All Star
This disturbing that people think like that (anti-higher education) no wonder there is a flood of responses in that California law thread affirmative action saying it does not matter. A lot of dudes do not understand the value of a higher education and how it can change the trajectory of your life and your family's life for the better. Again we can have debates about whether Black people with qualifications and certifications are earning the same income and/or have a the same level of wealth as their white counterparts but to say that we should just give up on higher ed because we ar enot being compensated at the same level as other groups when we complete our studies is just wild.
Black men with degrees out earn those without them. 
Imagine thinking education alone will make up the wealth gap
It certainly helps and is incredibly important, but
it's what you DO WITH IT.
Black men with degrees out earn those without them.
?????
People don't think this is true???
This site is a weird place.
Black women/people aren't getting their education in order to close the wealth gap or build wealth, they're doing it to get a job that pays more money than what they would be getting paid without the degree.
filial_piety
Banned
Unrelated specificlly to the topic of BW and education...
A lot of people are really showing their ages here. I've been out of undergrad for roughly about 18 years now, and what I've noticed throughout this discussion is this misconception that whatever you earn straight out of college, is what you will be earning over a lifetime and that just isn't how it works.
Everyone that I know who started off in social science or liberal arts fields started off on a rough patch income wise, but eventually they found their footing some 5 years in and ended up making double or MORE than triple that over a 10 year period.
Someone with a psychology degree is not going to earn 35k a year for LIFE. Normally that's the expectation after graduation. But after a few years of experience doing something along with a few promotions, and/or a job change here and there, AND with a little more education (either through advanced degrees or certifications)--they end up climbing the ladder somewhere in that 5-10 year range.
I say all this to say that you cannot gauge the value of a college degree based on where someone is income wise within the first few years after graduation; it's completely MISLEADING. You have to really look at where they are at 5,10,15 and 20 years down the road.
And we really have to get off of this horse that STEM degrees are the end all be all of higher income and employability (if that's a word). Some STEM degrees are extremely technical and academically challenging but aren't as profitable or as easily applied to the work force. Undergrad degrees in Biology, Chemistry, or Physics are probably LESS employable than UG degrees in Social Work, Education and anything in Social Sciences.
NOW as someone who has worked in higher education in an admissions office at a top school, I can tell you that Black folks tend to go into fields that are easily translateable into the work force. Generally speaking, I'd say MOST black people go into some sort of Business, Social Work/Social Science or healthcare field...things that can get you a job with DIRECTLY out of college. Although there might be some hesitation to go into tougher technical fields due to the lack of preparation; I think ALOT of people don't see the practibility in majoring in the hard sciences.
Most Black people are not living in areas where they hear about someone or some place looking for Physics, mathematics, Chemistry and Biology majors. BUT THEY do live in places where they see folks getting hired (and are looking for people) in Social Work, Healthcare (which is technically a STEM), Sales (business related) and jobs in Education; so it's easy to understand why a lot of folks tend to gravitate towards those fields while choosing majors in college.
And a lot of that will NOT change until black people gain more exposure to those other fields or UNLESS there is some hardcore recruiting and outreach to get them in there because at the end of the day...people are going to go into fields that makes the most sense for them.
A lot of people are really showing their ages here. I've been out of undergrad for roughly about 18 years now, and what I've noticed throughout this discussion is this misconception that whatever you earn straight out of college, is what you will be earning over a lifetime and that just isn't how it works.
Everyone that I know who started off in social science or liberal arts fields started off on a rough patch income wise, but eventually they found their footing some 5 years in and ended up making double or MORE than triple that over a 10 year period.
Someone with a psychology degree is not going to earn 35k a year for LIFE. Normally that's the expectation after graduation. But after a few years of experience doing something along with a few promotions, and/or a job change here and there, AND with a little more education (either through advanced degrees or certifications)--they end up climbing the ladder somewhere in that 5-10 year range.
I say all this to say that you cannot gauge the value of a college degree based on where someone is income wise within the first few years after graduation; it's completely MISLEADING. You have to really look at where they are at 5,10,15 and 20 years down the road.
And we really have to get off of this horse that STEM degrees are the end all be all of higher income and employability (if that's a word). Some STEM degrees are extremely technical and academically challenging but aren't as profitable or as easily applied to the work force. Undergrad degrees in Biology, Chemistry, or Physics are probably LESS employable than UG degrees in Social Work, Education and anything in Social Sciences.
NOW as someone who has worked in higher education in an admissions office at a top school, I can tell you that Black folks tend to go into fields that are easily translateable into the work force. Generally speaking, I'd say MOST black people go into some sort of Business, Social Work/Social Science or healthcare field...things that can get you a job with DIRECTLY out of college. Although there might be some hesitation to go into tougher technical fields due to the lack of preparation; I think ALOT of people don't see the practibility in majoring in the hard sciences.
Most Black people are not living in areas where they hear about someone or some place looking for Physics, mathematics, Chemistry and Biology majors. BUT THEY do live in places where they see folks getting hired (and are looking for people) in Social Work, Healthcare (which is technically a STEM), Sales (business related) and jobs in Education; so it's easy to understand why a lot of folks tend to gravitate towards those fields while choosing majors in college.
And a lot of that will NOT change until black people gain more exposure to those other fields or UNLESS there is some hardcore recruiting and outreach to get them in there because at the end of the day...people are going to go into fields that makes the most sense for them.
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Field Marshall Bradley
Veteran
Frangala
All Star
smiley no viable counter argument. Here is some data from the US government bureau of labor statistics (i.e not a smiley):
Measuring the value of education : Career Outlook: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Unemployment rates and earnings by educational attainment : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Field Marshall Bradley
Veteran
First and foremost, no one in this thread is anti higher education. That’s what the smiley was used for. You interjected that in attempt to make a bullshyt point. Second, education ain’t never liberated anybody..... Real wealth is through the acquisition of resources and controlling infrastructure, and the powers that be didn’t attain these things via a “higher” education
Frangala
All Star
Yes it is anti-higher education and just using Black female educational attainment as a proxy to make that point (look at the responses). If you can't see that, then that's on you. You literally have people on this thread making up stats like "single white mothers are making 90k and earning more than Black men with ADVANCED degrees" when 90k isn't even the median HOUSEHOLD income for an American family regardless of race and even to pull "stats" out of their asses like what I just mentioned to bolster that opinion. So yes, there is definitely an anti-higher education sentiment among some who responded to this thread.
Secondly, nobody said that there were not systemic issues in access to capital or acquisition of wealth but to realize that problem and state that higher education is invalid because of it is wild. There are groups in the US that do not fall into the category of the "powers that be" but have higher quality of life as a result of earning more income because of their educational attainment and specifically their educational attainment that translate to skills in specific sectors. That is the point that I am making. That's why my response was nuanced by (1) that there are majors and sectors that we should be aiming at and being represented in (2) there are systemic issues/disparities in earning potential even if you adjust for level of skills, educational attainment and qualifications. But it does not mean that higher ed should not be a primary option.
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