Income from Educational Attainment throughout Life: Current Calculations for Germany

What are the results of a higher educational attainment? When undergoing an apprenticeship, income losses in comparison to an unskilled job are accepted with the hopes of a higher income later on. This applies even more so to university studies: instead of working full-time, income is foregone for several years in the hope of achieving a higher income afterwards. But is the subsequent increased income sufficient to compensate for the initial losses in earnings? What is the situation for second-chance education? And is this worth more than a master's degree? These questions were addressed by the ifo Center for Educational Economics in a project commissioned by Union Investment. The most important results are summarised in this article. The results confirm that investing in higher education is worthwhile economically. A higher degree is associated with higher monthly income, with a lower risk of becoming unemployed and a total of six-digit growth in lifetime earnings. The income of persons with an apprenticeship is 143,000 euros higher over a lifetime than that for persons without vocational training. For those with a master qualification or technician certification, the lifetime earnings are 129,000 euros higher than for persons with only a completed apprenticeship; in the case of technical university graduates, the figure is 267,000 euros, while for university graduates it is 387,000 euros. There are also large differences, however, according to region, gender and, in particular, the field of specialisation.