New website shows you salaries of Oregon college graduates

(JULY 29, 2022) Do you sometimes wonder about your salary? Do workers with college degrees really earn more money? And does it matter where you study?

Now you can search data with a new tool. It is online, and it is free. The data come from Oregon and the U.S. Census Bureau. You can use the tool to see statistics about graduates from Oregon colleges. For example: How much money do they make after college? Which field of study earns the most money?

Users can look at the data in different ways, such as:

• by field of study (such as biology or English)

• by years since graduation (1 year, 5 years, etc.)

• by industry and region of employment

Here is a sample search: A user can choose a school like Portland Community College. Then the user can choose a field of study, like construction. The results of this search say that students of the construction program at Portland Community College are earning nearly $70,000 five years after graduation.

It is important to think about this information carefully. For example, the Oregon Employment Department has reported fewer jobs requiring a college degree. Nevertheless, this tool still shows the advantage of a college degree in general. The data from this tool show that salaries increase in the five to ten years after graduation from college. In other words, more education means more money.