Reuters – Liz Weston
“Steven Polasck of Corpus Christi, Texas, liked math and science in high school. He considered attending a four-year college but ultimately decided to use his strengths to get a two-year degree in instrumentation from Texas State Technical College. He has not looked back. “I went to work on the Monday after graduation,” said Polasck, 27, who monitors and fixes systems at a Valero Energy Corp refinery. “The first year I made almost $80,000.” An associate’s degree has long been considered an inferior alternative to a bachelor’s degree. Now that more states are tracking their graduates’ incomes, however, it is becoming apparent that some two-year degrees offer much higher earnings than the typical four-year degree – at a fraction of the cost. Making more students and parents aware of these better-paying options could help ease the college affordability crisis, which has so far led to more than $1 trillion in student loan debt.”(more)