The experience part is directly relevant to the question of dropping out. Since raises are generally based on one's current salary (which is why it's almost always right to negotiate the largest starting salary possible, even at the expense of other perks), unless finishing a degree gets you enough more initial money than dropping out earlier would, or enough specialized knowledge you can't pick up elsewhere for advancement, dropping out is going to end up with more experience than finishing college, since the drop out is spending those college years working.
For the graduate and post-graduate cases, this is already a pretty well-known phenomenon. The increased salary lifetime often doesn't cover the opportunity costs, lost time working, and expense of getting the advanced degree. It may be necessary in some fields to advance at all (doctors, lawyers, etc.), and sometimes, like with an MBA, it's used as an artificial step for advancement, but for lots of fields, they're basically not cost-effective.
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Date: 2009-04-09 04:11 pm (UTC)For the graduate and post-graduate cases, this is already a pretty well-known phenomenon. The increased salary lifetime often doesn't cover the opportunity costs, lost time working, and expense of getting the advanced degree. It may be necessary in some fields to advance at all (doctors, lawyers, etc.), and sometimes, like with an MBA, it's used as an artificial step for advancement, but for lots of fields, they're basically not cost-effective.