If financial security is an important personal goal, having a university degree certainly helps in the long run.
According to the income and housing data from the 2011 National Household Survey released by Statistics Canada in September, more than two-thirds (67.1%) of the top 1% of income earners in the country had a university degree.
Another 20.3% had a post-secondary certificate or diploma below the bachelor level. Nationally, they were paid a median annual income of $271,600, nearly 10 times the national median income of $27,800.
Incomes are a little less extreme in B.C. To be in the 1% in the province, residents needed to earn at least $191,100 per year, nearly seven times the nation’s median income.
In either case, high-income earners were most likely to have a degree in business, engineering or in a health-related field. Doctors, dentists and veterinarians were the most likely to be in the top 1%.
While demand for professionals with these and many other post-secondary degrees will continue to grow in Canada, challenges remain for students looking to obtain such education.
According to the 2012 BC Student Outcomes report, which surveyed 2010 post-secondary bachelor-degree graduates, students were very likely to need help to pay for their education. While most graduates said they funded their education through employment income, they were also just as likely to need help from friends and family.
A student loan was the third most used funding source. Of those with education-related debt, the median amount was $20,000. But a significant proportion had much higher debt loads. Of the 4,133 survey respondents with debt, 35% had debt loads between $20,000 and $39,000. Another 23% had debts of $40,000 or more.
About 72% of those with student debt had a government-sponsored student loan, and more than three-quarters of these students still had significant levels of student debt two years after graduating.
While the median debt amount outstanding was $12,000, 46% still had debts of $15,000 or more.
At least the vast majority had a full-time job to pay it off. Only 9% had income of less than $20,000 with nearly two-thirds of graduates earning $40,000 or more. •
