Education, Student Loans, and Job Readiness

The survey asked respondents several questions about their educational experience and their financing for it, when applicable. They were also asked about their perceived readiness for the jobs of today and the future.

Student Loans

According to the survey, 16 percent of respondents have some debt associated with their education, 7 percent have debt from paying for a spouse's education, 6 percent have debt from a child's education, and less than 1 percent have debt from a grandchild's education (table 9).⁶ Overall, 24 percent of respondents have education debt for themselves, someone else, or a combination. Among those who have at least some education beyond a high school degree, the percent with student loan debt is higher, with 22 percent reporting debt for their own education and 31 percent reporting education debt for themselves or someone else.⁷

Table 9. Do you currently owe any money or have any loans that you used to pay for the education of any of the categories of people below?
Percent, except as noted

	Yes	No
Your own education	15.8	68.6
Spouse/partner's education	7.5	62.6
Child's education	5.7	59.5
Grandchild's education	0.6	52.5
Total number of respondents	4,134

Among those with each type of education debt, the average amount people reported owing for their own education was $25,750, with a median value of $13,000 (table 10). The amounts for spouses' education was similar, though debt loads for children's education was substantially lower. For those with education debt (for themselves and/or others), the average combined amount was $27,840, and the median amount was $15,000. (The median amount of education debt is consistently lower than the average amount of education debt, as the average value of education debt is skewed upwards by a small number of people with a substantial amount of debt.)

Table 10. Mean and median current amount owed on student loan debt incurred (by recipient of education)

	Mean	Median	Respondents
Your own education	$25,750	$13,000	514
Spouse/partner's education	$24,593	$12,000	237
Child's education	$14,923	$8,000	233
Grandchild's education	$16,090	$6,000	20
Combined amount	$27,840	$15,000	849

Note: Among those who currently owe any money or have any loans for each education category and report a positive amount owed.

Just over half of those with debt for their own education indicated that they were currently making payments on at least one education loan, while 34 percent indicated that they had one or more loan in deferment or forbearance. Respondents indicated significant challenges making their payments. Eighteen percent of those who owe money for their own education indicated that they were behind on payments for their own education debt or reported that they had loans in collections. Those who were married or living with a partner were less likely to report that their own education loan was in collections (5 percent) than those who were single and never married (11 percent). However, these effects may be partially attributable to age differences by marital status.

For those who reported the amount of monthly payments on loans for their own education, the average monthly payment was $245, with a median value of $160. For those making monthly payments for their spouse's education, the average monthly payment was $242 ($200 median), and for those making debt payments for a child's education the average monthly payment was $279 ($164 median).

Nearly half of respondents who are currently making payments on their education debt reported that the costs of servicing this debt impacts other spending decisions. Across all respondents making payments, for themselves or others, 11 percent indicated that they had to cut back on their spending by "a lot" in the prior 12 months in order to make their education debt payments, while an additional 35 percent indicated that they had to cut back on their spending by "a little" in order to make their payments.

Among those respondents who borrowed to pay for their own education, 48 percent indicated that they completed the program they had enrolled in, while 27 percent were still enrolled. Nearly one in four--24 percent--had dropped out before completion. Focusing on those who are making payments on their own education debt, 17 percent of those who did not complete their program of study had to cut back on their spending by "a lot" in the prior 12 months in order to make their payments. This amount is almost twice as much as among those who had completed their program (9 percent). Moreover, 37 percent of those who did not complete their program had to cut back by "a little" in order to make their payments, compared with 30 percent of those who completed their program. Thus, in total, 54 percent of those who did not complete their education program had to cut back on their spending in order to service their student debt, compared with 39 percent of those who completed their education.

Respondents appear to be split on whether the financial benefits they have received from their education outweigh the cost of that education. Forty-two percent of respondents with education debt for themselves felt that the lifetime financial benefits from their education outweighed the costs, while 37 percent said that the financial costs outweighed the benefits. Those who did not complete their program of study were far more likely than others to say that the financial benefits of their education were much smaller than the cost (table 11).

Table 11. Overall, how would you say the lifetime financial benefits of your most recent educational program compare to the lifetime financial costs to you of this education?
(by degree completion)
Percent, except as noted

	Benefits outweigh costs	About the same	Costs outweigh benefits
Did not complete degree	22.9	20.6	56.5
Completed degree	41.5	20.1	38.1
Still enrolled in the program	59.3	23.1	17.1
Total number of respondents	566

Note: Among those who currently owe any money or have any loans for their own education and reported their completion status. Responses for "much larger benefits" and "somewhat larger benefits" are aggregated together, as are responses for "much smaller benefits" and "somewhat smaller benefits."

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Educational Field and Financial Well-Being

Respondents with education debt were asked about the major or field of study for which the debt was used to pay. The sample sizes by any one major are too small to yield statistically valid results, so particular caution should be taken in estimating the perceived value of any single field or major. Nevertheless, in aggregate, the results indicate that the respondent's field of study influenced the perceived value of the lifetime financial benefits expected from the education program relative to the financial costs incurred. For example, 63 percent of those who majored in engineering felt the financial benefits of their education outweighed the costs, while only 26 percent of those majoring in computer or information sciences felt the same (table 12).

Table 12. Overall, how would you say the lifetime financial benefits of your most recent educational program compare to the lifetime financial costs to you of this education?
(by educational field)
Percent, except as noted

Category of major	Benefits outweigh costs	About the same	Costs outweigh benefits
Humanities	31.8	16.4	51.8
Social/behavioral sciences	26.0	37.0	37.1
Life sciences	56.0	5.3	38.7
Physical sciences/math	40.4	12.0	47.6
Computer/information sciences	22.0	30.9	47.1
Engineering	63.3	17.5	18.1
Education	38.5	21.1	39.8
Business/management	43.1	22.0	34.9
Health	53.3	19.3	27.4
Law	49.9	9.2	40.9
Vocational/technical	51.5	18.7	29.9
Undeclared	10.9	29.6	54.6
Overall	42.0	18.3	36.7
Total number of respondents	560

Note: Among those who currently owe any money or have any loans for their own education and and reported their field of study. Responses for "much larger benefits" and "somewhat larger benefits" are aggregated together, as are responses for "much smaller benefits" and "somewhat smaller benefits."

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Type of Institution Attended and Financial Well-Being

Across various dimensions, the outcomes for those with education debt varied by the type of institution they attended; however, it should be noted that the results presented here do not control for any differences in the characteristics of borrowers across institution type. Additionally, these results only reflect the respondents who have education debt, and they do not reflect respondents who attended a postsecondary institution but did not take out debt or have completely paid off the debt.⁸

As shown in table 13, the amount of current debt owed for respondents' own education was highest at private not-for-profit four-year institutions, with an average amount of $39,501 and median amount of $20,000. This was followed by private for-profit four-year institutions, with an average debt amount of $30,475 (median $19,900). Those with education debt who attended public four-year institutions owed less debt, with an average of $25,311 (median $15,000).

Table 13. Mean and median current amount owed on student loan debt incurred for respondent's own education (by institution type)

Type of institution	Median	Mean	Standard deviation
Public, 4-year institution	$15,000	$25,311	$28,441
Private not-for-profit, 4-year	$20,000	$39,501	$46,018
Private for-profit, 4-year	$19,900	$30,475	$35,655
Public, 2-year	$7,000	$8,519	$5,968
Private for-profit, 2-year	$10,000	$11,937	$8,701
Overall	$15,000	$26,607	$33,927
Total number of respondents	451

Note: Among those who currently owe any money or have any loans for their own education and reported the school for which they most recently borrowed money.

Although the level of education debt is highest for those who attended private not-for-profit four-year institutions, the median incomes of these respondents were higher as well. Among those reporting income, the median income among respondents who attended and completed programs at private non-profit four-year colleges was $80,000, compared with $52,000 for those who completed programs at public four-year institutions and $40,000 for those who completed programs at private for-profit four-year colleges.

The employment rates of respondents also varied by postsecondary institution type. The share of respondents reporting that they were either a paid employee or self-employed was highest among those who completed programs at private non-profit institutions (90 percent), with those who completed programs at public institutions (86 percent) and private for-profit colleges (74 percent) reporting somewhat lower values.

Among those with education debt who attended four-year institutions, respondents who attended private not-for-profit institutions were more likely to report that they completed their education (63 percent) than attendees of public (48 percent) and for-profit institutions (35 percent). Those who attended private not-for-profit institutions were also more likely to report that they were actively making payments on their education debt (68 percent) than those who attended public (54 percent) or for-profit (35 percent) institutions.

Ability to make payments also varies by institution type. Only 5 percent of those who attended four-year, private not-for-profit institutions reported that they are behind on their education loan payments, compared to 10 percent of those who attended public institutions and 23 percent of those who attended for-profit institutions. Similarly, no one who attended a private not-for-profit institution reported that one or more of their education loans were in collections, compared with 6 percent of those who attended public institutions and 13 percent of those who attended for-profit institutions. Deferment or forbearance were also far more common among those who attended for-profit institutions, with 59 percent reporting at least one loan currently in forbearance or deferment, compared with 35 percent of those who attended a public institution and 28 percent of those who attended a private not-for-profit institution.

Finally, perception of the lifetime financial benefits of the education compared with the costs among those who currently have education debt varied by type of institution attended. In general, those who attended a public college (either two- or four-year) reported the greatest perceived net benefits, followed by those who attended a private not-for-profit, four-year college, and then those who attended a for-profit college (either two- or four-year) (table 14).

Table 14. Overall, how would you say the lifetime financial benefits of your most recent educational program compare to the lifetime financial costs to you of this education?
(by institution type)
Percent, except as noted

Type of institution	Benefits outweigh costs	About the same	Costs outweigh benefits
Public, 4-year institution	45.5	20.3	33.8
Private not-for-profit, 4-year	41.9	16.8	41.0
Private for-profit, 4-year	39.5	22.5	38.0
Public, 2-year	44.6	32.9	22.5
Private for-profit, 2-year	33.8	15.9	50.3
Overall	42.8	21.0	35.9
Total number of respondents	473

Note: Among those who currently owe any money or have any loans for
their own education.

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Job Readiness

The survey also asked respondents questions meant to gauge their perception of their own readiness for the current and future job market. In general, the results paint a picture of confidence about education and work experience. Respondents were asked, "Thinking about your current education and work experience, how confident are you that you have the skills necessary to get the kinds of jobs you want now?" Thirty-nine percent said they were somewhat confident, and 27 percent said they were very confident, that they have the skills and experience to compete in today's job market (table 15). Only 18 percent said they were not confident.

Table 15. How confident are you that you have the skills necessary to get the kinds of jobs you want?
Percent, except as noted

	Now	In 10 years
Very confident	27.3	23.2
Somewhat confident	39.2	38.8
Not confident	18.3	19.2
I am not currently in the workforce and I am not looking for a job	6.9	n.a.
I do not expect to be working 10 years from now	n.a.	8.0
Don't know	6.5	8.7
Total number of respondents	2,864

n.a. Not applicable.

When asked the same question, but this time thinking about the types of jobs respondents believed would be available 10 years down the road, confidence remained high. Thirty-nine percent said they were somewhat confident in their future competitiveness, and 23 percent said they were very confident. Again, about one-fifth (19 percent) said they were not confident.

When asked for all the reasons why they lacked confidence, needing additional education and needing additional job training were cited most frequently as the causes for concern, both for jobs now and for jobs in 10 years. For those concerned about current jobs, education was the most frequent response (49 percent), followed by job training (40 percent), while needing additional job training (48 percent) trumped needing further education (41 percent) as the most frequent cause of concern for jobs in 10 years. However, for both questions, skills being out of date, the rapidly changing job market, and a lack of availability of jobs they are qualified for were all cited as concerns by at least one-fifth of respondents who had expressed a lack of confidence.

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References

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