Jason R. Henske / AP

Dartmouth College graduates Greg Agron and John Agbaje laugh as Conan O'Brien delivers the commencement address in 2011. New research finds that college grads with business degrees may face better job prospects.

If you are heading off to college in the fall and looking to get the most bang for your buck, you may want to major in business.

IBISWorld, an industry analysis firm, took a look at fields that are expected to see the most growth in the next five years. Then, they looked at which of the most popular college degrees a person would need to get a job in those industries.

The analysis found that business grads had the most positive outlook through 2017. That’s because business graduates are most likely to work in industries where higher-than-average job and wage growth are expected.

Those fields include commercial banking, reinsurance carriers and human resources. Jobs typically held by business degree holders pay an average $70,000 a year, which is expected to rise to $77,000 by 2017, IBISWorld said.

A degree in health sciences also is likely to serve you well. The IBISWorld analysis found that job growth in health-related fields such as primary care, dentistry and nursing care will be about on par with the overall economy, but wages will grow at a slightly faster rate.

The outlook is less promising for people who major in social sciences, history and education.

Other research has shown that college graduates are more likely to be employed if they choose a major with a specific career path, including business.  But that research, from Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce, was more bullish on education because of the projected low unemployment rate in that field.

If you don’t have a head for business or an interest in health care, that’s not necessarily a reason to fret. Other research has shown that just going to college should give you a leg up in life over those who don't.

The unemployment rate for people with a college degree or higher was just 4 percent in April, compared with 8.1 percent for the general population. College grads also are likely to make more money than their less educated peers.

Related:

The upside to not saving for your child’s college education

Yes, college degree has value – try $1 million

Getty Images file

New research shows that kids who pay all or part of their college costs are less likely to do things like binge drink.

If you’re doing everything you can to save for your children’s college education, chances are it’s because you think that will give your kids the best start in life.

Here’s a radical thought: Maybe the best thing you can do for your kids is ask them to pay at least some of their own way.

New research from the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University finds that kids whose parents are footing the entire college bill, including tuition, books, housing and recreation money, were most likely to be partying and possibly floundering.

 “Parents who pay for everything -- including their children’s recreation and fun money -- they have children who are more heavily into drinking, drug use, marijuana use,” said Laura Padilla-Walker, associate professor of at BYU’s School of Family Life.

Padilla-Walker’s research also found that the kids whose parents were paying for everything had less of a sense of what they wanted to do in the future than those who were getting little or no help from Mom and Dad. Not surprisingly, they also were less likely to be working while going to school.

The findings, which were based on an analysis of about 400 college kids across the country, suggest that it may be good for kids to at least pay for some of their own expenses while they are in college. Without the structure of a job or the responsibility of having to pay some of their own way, some kids may simply be getting distracted.

At the very least, parents may be able to stop fretting so much about saving for college.

“It doesn’t look like you have to pay all your student’s college expenses in order for them to be successful,” Padilla-Walker said.

You may want to help out somewhat, however. In her study, the kids that seemed the most focused on school and the future were actually the ones that were getting no help at all.

Still, she cautioned that that route also has its pitfalls. Some kids who are footing the bill on their own might take longer to graduate or have to drop out because they can’t afford to keep going to school. They also may not take the time to really figure out what they are best suited for in terms of a career.

A sharper focus on the long-term goal of college, rather than the partying aspect, is clearly beneficial. Padilla-Walker noted that many kids are taking longer than the usual four years to graduate from school, and some aren’t really getting a start in life until they are 28 or 30.

“I think most parents would prefer it to be closer to the 25 range,” she said.

Tip of the hat to The New York Times, which first reported on the study.

Related: Senior citizens owe billions in student loans

When you think of student loans, you think of students and recent graduates -- younger people in their 20s and 30s working to pay off the thousands of dollars in debt from undergraduate and graduate schools.

It's a good bet you don't think of people in their 60s, 70s and even 80s struggling to pay off student debt. But new research shows that Americans 60 and older owe $36 billion in educational debt and account for 5 percent of delinquent student loans.

In some cases, the debt was incurred when adults went back to school later in life. In other cases the debt resulted from co-signed loans taken out by children.

Washington Post reporter Ylan Q. Mui, wrote about the research in The Washington Post and appeared on CNBC to discuss the trend:

Andy Kropa/Getty Images

Students attend commencement at Vassar College on May 23, 2010 in Poughkeepsie, New York.

You don’t need a degree in economics or statistics to see that the facts about student loan debt are sobering.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York estimates that Americans owe $867 billion in student loan debt, and a separate estimate from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said the total could even have surpassed $1 trillion.

Part of the issue is that education is getting more expensive. Tuition rates at both public and private colleges have risen substantially in the past decade, even when you adjust for inflation.

But all hope is not lost. This week, Consumer Reports released a report on how to manage -- or better yet avoid --  student loan debt.

If you already have student loan debt, Consumer Reports recommends taking control of the situation. Figure out how much debt you have, to whom you owe it and what repayment options you have.

If you can’t afford your payments, you may be able to get a deferment or even take a job or do a volunteer program that would qualify you for loan forgiveness.

If you’ve exhausted all those options, let the lender know right away that you can’t make your payments. Avoiding the problem will definitely not make it go away.

The best course of action is to avoid taking on debt in the first place. With many people preparing for the coming academic year, now’s a good time to consider some of these tips.

One big piece of advice: Carefully consider going back to school to avoid unemployment. Although hiding out in grad school may seem like a good idea when you can’t find a job, consider whether the extra education will really pay off in terms of salary and career advancement, once you factor in the student loans.

Consumer Reports also recommends that you try to live as frugally as possible and don’t take on student loans for things like furniture for your dorm room. Look to federal loans before considering private loans, since the federal loans will have a fixed rate and the private loans may be variable.

Another tip: Try not to borrow more than you expect to make in your first year of employment.

Consumer Reports also recommends taking whatever courses you can at community college before transferring to the school where you will eventually earn your degree.

It’s also worth considering whether you can get the education you need at a state school rather than splurging for a private school.

A little more than half of public college students graduated with student loan debt in 2009, according to the College Board, and the average debt was $19,800. More than six in 10 graduates of private, nonprofit colleges took on debt with their degree that year, and on average those 2009 graduates owed $26,100.

What are your tips for getting an education without a lot of debt? Share them in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.

Related:

Mounting student loans a 'debt bomb' waiting to explode

Americans are now more educated than ever

Loving the job but hating the student loan debt

Did you opt not to go to college, or were you unable to continue your education after high school?  If so, we want to hear from you for an upcoming story on how career prospects for high school graduates have changed over the years.

If you’re interested in being part of this project, please e-mail us here.

Please share some details, including when you went to high school, why you didn’t go to college, what jobs you’ve held over the years and whether other people in your family went to college.

Also, let us know how to best reach you! Selected responses will be used in upcoming stories.

AP/file

Since her husband was laid off last fall, Julee Schirmacher has found herself in a spot that has become familiar to many families over the past few years. She works full-time for a marketing company and, for now, her husband stays home and takes care of the couple’s two kids, ages 5 and 2.

“Money worries me constantly,” said Schirmacher, 29.

The number of women earning more than their husbands had gradually been rising for years, but the pace appeared to quicken during the Great Recession of 2007-09.

Nearly 38 percent of wives earned more than their husbands in 2009, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, up about 3 percentage points from 2008.

As Schirmacher's case shows, in some cases women are earning more than their spouses not because the women are getting ahead, but because their husband has experienced a setback. Schirmacher's husband has been unable to find a job since getting laid off last September.

“Ideally, I would like us just to be working and in stable jobs,” Schirmacher said. “I don’t need to make a $100,000-a-year salary. I just want to be able to make money to be able to pay my bills on time, pay for the school for my kids. I just want to be able to have, like, nice Christmases with them. I want to be able (to say), on Friday when I get home from work, ‘Yeah, we can go to Friendly’s for dinner.’”

The BLS figures include families like Schirmacher's in which the husband may not be working at all. Looking more narrowly at families where both husband and wife are working, 28.9 percent of wives earned more than their husbands in 2009, up from 26.6 percent in 2008.

Mary Gatta, a senior scholar with the advocacy and research organization Wider Opportunities for Women, said it’s hard to say exactly what is behind the trend.

“The recession is a significant factor here in that during the recession we saw higher numbers of men lose their jobs,” Gatta said.

The official period of economic contraction, from December 2007 to June 2009, was so hard on men that some people dubbed it the “mancession” because so many men lost their jobs.

However, in the years of weak economic recovery that followed, women were harder hit while men started to gain jobs again. The trend appears to have started to even out in recent months.

Still, Gatta noted, that there are other, longer-term factors at work. For example, women have been graduating from college at higher rates than men for years. Workers with a college degree generally have higher earnings potential than those without one.

“It’s more than just the recession,” Gatta said.

In general, women’s earnings have become a much more intrinsic part of a family’s financial well-being over the past few decades, said Ellen Galinsky, co-founder of the Families and Work Institute. Her research from 2008 found that in dual-earning households, women were contributing about 45 percent of a family’s income on average.

Even in the families where wives make more than their husbands, she notes, many are struggling to get by – whether they have one or two salaries. In some cases women may be earning more their husbands because he lost a job or endured a pay cut.

“We have an image of (the wives) being the CEO of Xerox or something,” Galinsky said.

In fact, she said, many families in which both spouses work are in lower income brackets.

Galinsky expects that women’s earnings will continue to be key to many family’s financial survival.

“My view about the recession is that … it didn’t shift the course,” she said. “It accelerated the course we were already on.”

Schirmacher, who lives in Pottstown, Pa., always expected that both she and her husband would work.

She was actually the first to get laid off, in 2009. She ended up being out of work for more than two years, during which they had a second child and moved from Rhode Island to the Philadelphia area, where he got a better job.

In February 2011, she landed a job with a marketing company, and it seemed like the couple was getting back on financial track.

But then in September her husband lost his job as a property manager. That’s left him looking for a new job and taking care of the kids so they can save on child care costs.

Schirmacher said the situation is stressful for both of them. She recently took a promotion and has been working long hours, which means she doesn’t always get much time with the kids. Meanwhile, her husband is feeling the frustration of not being able to land a new job.

With just one income, the couple struggles to save money and worries about unexpected expenses. She recently had to borrow money from her parents for a major car repair.

“We can’t really catch a break,” she said. “We’re getting by but definitely not living the way that we were.”

Related:

More women seeking MBAs, but pay gap persists 

U.S. Cenusu Bureau

Amid all the chatter recently about whether President Barack Obama is a “snob” for wanting Americans to be educated or Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorumis anti-education for critizing Obama, many may have missed an important milestone.

The Census Bureau reported last week that a record 30 percent of Americans ages 25 and older have at least a bachelor’s degree. The data, from March 2011, marks first time ever that such high a proportion of Americans have had at least a four-year degree, and it follows decades of gradually improving higher education rates.

In the long term, experts say, that’s good news for the U.S. economy. After all, the majority of the U.S. economy is service-oriented, and that means many Americans who want to get ahead need to find ways to succeed in white-collar settings. Many also believe a highly educated, innovative workforce is one of several key ingredients succeeding against global competitors.

“The future of the U.S. economy is not assembling the computer. The future of the U.S. economy is coming up with a novel design for a semiconductor that gets into a computer, that will then be assembled in some emerging economy,” said Adolfo Laurenti, deputy chief economist with Mesirow Financial.

And yet, such long-term thinking may not feel so great to the many Americans out there who have a degree but either don’t have the job they want – or don’t have a job at all.

The unemployment rate for college graduates, which stood at 4.2 percent in February, is half the unemployment rate for high school grads but still high by historical norms. Also, although a college degree also generally leads to much higher lifelong earnings, many young grads in particular are feeling squeezed these days by low starting salaries.

“(There are) people who are very disappointed that, yes, they can get a white-collar job but that does not imply the financial success that it used to imply for their father’s generation,” Laurenti said.

In addition, many are burdened by student loan debt from earning that degree.

Another issue that has slowly been gaining attention over the past few years is whether every kid should be aiming to go to college. Manufacturers in particular are increasingly complaining that they can’t find skilled workers to run the more complex, sophisticated factories that are now the norm in America.

These people are calling for a return to the type of vocational training that fell out of favor over the past few decades, amid a push to get more kids to go to college.

Laurenti, the economist, said he is tentatively encouraged by more discussion about how to provide that kind of training to keep those types of factories running. But he thinks high schools need to be doing more to help prepare kids who would do well in those type of skilled factory jobs.

“They are not much interested in people with a bachelor’s degree in political science, but it’s not enough to get people who drop out of high school, either,” he said.

 Related:

Role reversal: Employers say they can't find workers

The majors with the best job prospects 

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

When it comes to churning out young workers with college degrees in math and science, the United States lags well behind other advanced democracies, ranking just behind Turkey and Spain, according to a new analysis.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development analyzed education rates in its member countries and found that the U.S. is below average in the relative number of 25- to 34-year-old workers who have a degree in so-called STEM fields such as science, engineering, computing and statistics.

That’s a potential problem because research has shown that innovation in any economy depends on how many workers have such degrees, said Ronald Ehrenberg, director of the Cornell Higher Education Research Institute.

“It is something that we should be concerned about,” Ehrenberg said

There are about 1,472 math and science grads for every 100,000 employed 25- to 34-year-olds in the United States, according to the data. The compares to more than 3,555 in Korea, which leads the chart, according to the OECD figures based on 2009 data.

The United States falls between Spain and Iceland on the chart, and is noticeably lower than the OECD average. The figures do not reflect how many people with STEM degrees are actually employed in their field or using the skills they learned.

Jobs available for graduates with degrees in math, science and engineering tend to pay well, said Anthony Carnevale, director of Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce. But there are plenty of ways in which American culture dissuades its most promising kids from going into those fields.

For starters, many young Americans believe they can make more money with a degree in a business, finance or a related field, Carnevale said. Americans also seem to place more value on jobs in those fields.

“(If you’re) a smart high school kid, doing well, your image of what you want to do is not to wear a white smock every day and sit on a stool with a beaker,” Carnevale said. “You’re in a culture that drives you toward more convivial and more social kinds of work, and it pays better.”

Young Americans may also not be getting enough exposure to math and science, said Cornell’s Ehrenberg.

At the K-12 level, he said, it can be tough to recruit great math and science teachers because college graduates who specialize in those areas can probably find better-paying work outside teaching.

In addition, some students may have a hard time finding the right role models in college math and science departments, said Ehrenberg, who noted that many science and math faculties are dominated by white and Asian men.

Ehrenberg said many colleges and universities have tried to recruit faculty from more diverse backgrounds and to develop more family-friendly policies to retain women and non-traditional students in the fields.

“I think role models do matter,” Ehrenberg said.

For now, at least, Carnevale said many companies are simply poaching talented young science and math graduates from other countries. But as those countries ramp up their own businesses, that may be tougher to do.

Still, he said it also may be hard to fight the biases that have come to value lucrative non-scientific fields such as finance and law.

“A labor market is a social institution as well as an economic one,” he said.

Related:

The majors with the best job prospects

Where the (good) jobs are coming

Financial aid season kicks in this month, which means that many high school seniors and their parents are scrambling around for help.

According to Princeton Review's Robert Franek, 86 percent of college students need some form of financial aid in order to afford their education. But there is good news: About $170 billion in student aid is available. 

Here is an excerpt from The Best Value Colleges - 2012 Edition: The 150 Best-Buy Schools and What It Takes to Get In  (Published by Random House / Princeton Review Books Copyright © 2011 by The Princeton Review, Inc.)  Reprinted with permission.

Paying for College Tips 

When it comes to actually paying for college, there is a lot of information out there. A great resource is the book Paying for College Without Going Broke by Kal Chany. Here, we have some tips from Kal for applying for financial aid and ways to trim the costs of college.

1. Get the best score possible on the ACT or SAT.

Colleges don’t just consider your standardized test score(s) in their admissions decisions—they consider them in their financial aid decisions as well. Even a 10-point increase in your SAT score, for example, could save your family thousands of dollars. Simply put, colleges want students with high test scores and they give better aid packages to these students. You should enroll in a test preparation course or, at the very least, buy a book with practice tests or sample questions. 

2. Be a smart shopper.

Check schools’ financial aid statistics on PrincetonReview.com. Your chances of getting significant aid will be better at schools that give generous financial aid packages. Make sure you pay attention to our Financial Aid Rating for each school. 

3. Don’t immediately rule out a college because you think it’s too expensive.

The higher the cost, the more aid you may receive. Many colleges—especially the private ones—have increased their aid budgets to attract applicants whose families are now more cost-conscious given the state of the economy. A generous aid award from a pricey private school can make it less costly than a public school with a lower sticker price. But have some back-up schools in case you don’t receive enough aid to attend the pricier schools. 

4. Apply to “financial aid safety schools.”

You should purposely apply to some schools where your test scores and academic record exceed the school’s admission standards. These schools, in addition to being “safety schools” in the traditional sense, are much more likely to give you merit-based aid or a better need-based aid package (i.e. one with more scholarships or grants and fewer loans). You should also apply to schools that you can afford without much—or any—aid. Most likely this will mean applying to a public institution in your home state as well as a nearby school that would allow you to live at home and skip the cost of room and board. 

5. Consider attending a community college for two years.

After two years, you can transfer to a pricier school to finish your bachelor’s degree. The diploma won’t say “transfer student” on it but it will be identical to the one earned by a student who paid high tuition for all four years. Just plan ahead and be sure that the college to which you expect to transfer will accept the community college’s credits. 

6. Be realistic about outside scholarships.

These scholarships account for less than five percent of all aid awarded. Research them at PrincetonReview.com or other free sites. Steer clear of scholarship search firms that charge fees and “promise” scholarships. 

7. Earn college credits while still in high school.

You should take AP classes as many colleges award credits for high AP exam scores. Also take “dual enrollment” classes if they are offered at your high school. Dual enrollment classes are special classes at your school that will earn you credit at a nearby college. You’ll be able to take these credits with you when you start college. If your high school doesn’t offer dual enrollment, consider taking CLEP (College-Level Examination Program) exams in the subjects you take in high school. Depending on the college, a qualifying score on any of the 33 CLEP exams can earn students 3 to 12 college credits. Some students have cut a year off their college tuition through AP classes, dual enrollment, and/or CLEP. 

8. Explore whether “cooperative education” (co-op) programs are offered at the colleges on your list.

More than 900 colleges allow students to combine their college education with a job. It can take longer to complete a degree this way, but graduates generally owe less in student loans and have a better chance of getting hired after graduation. 

9. Talk to your parents about maximizing your family’s aid eligibility.

Financial aid awards for your first year of college will be based in part on your family’s income for the calendar year beginning Jan. 1 of your junior year and ending Dec. 31 of your senior year of high school. For this reason, it is not too early to begin planning when you are in the 9th or 10th grade. Your family should consider making the appropriate adjustments to its assets, debts, and retirement funds. If your family has a complicated financial situation, it may be beneficial for your parents to hire an independent financial aid consultant. 

10. Apply for financial aid regardless of your family’s financial situation.

There is no automatic cut-off if your family makes a certain amount of money; you should assume that you’re eligible. Even if you don’t end up being eligible for need-based aid, some merit-based aid (for academic ability, athletic ability, etc.) may only be awarded if you have submitted financial aid applications. 

11. Don’t wait until you’ve been accepted to a school to apply for financial aid there.

Meet each school’s financial aid deadlines. A school’s financial aid office website is the best place to find its filing requirements and deadlines. Most schools have deadlines between January 31st and March 15th. If you submit your forms after a school’s priority filing deadline(s), the amount of aid you are awarded may be reduced. 

12. Complete all of the required aid forms.

All students seeking aid must submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). However additional forms, including special-state aid forms, the College Board’s CSS PROFILE, or the school’s own forms may be required. Check with each school for specifics. For the FAFSA and, if applicable, the CSS PROFILE you will need to meet the earliest deadline for that form among the schools to which you are applying. 

13. Don’t fear the PROFILE.

While this form requests more information than the FAFSA does, don’t be dismayed if a school requests it. This form can actually lead to more aid in many circumstances as schools that require the PROFILE generally have more of their own aid to give out in addition to state and federal assistance. 

14. If your parents’ or your own tax returns cannot be completed prior to the deadline for a financial aid form, estimate income and other tax information.

Aid applications ask for tax return information for those who file or will file taxes. If your parents’ or your own taxes (if applicable) won’t be done in time to meet a deadline, you can put estimated numbers on your aid forms; it is more important that you submit each aid form by the appropriate deadline than it is to be 100% accurate with income and expense figures. You will be able to provide the final numbers later, after taxes have been done. But don’t forget this last step — many schools will request a copy of tax returns or non-filer statements to verify the information on your aid applications. 

15. Don’t rush.

Financial aid forms are like the SAT—you get the most credit for being right and on-time, not “first in line.” To get the most aid possible, you should have some understanding of how each question on each form will impact your aid eligibility. As this information is not provided on the aid forms themselves, you should refer to a consumer-friendly publication for assistance. (Paying for College Without Going Broke, for example, provides line-by-line strategies for completing the FAFSA and PROFILE to your best advantage.) If your financial situation is complicated, you might consider hiring a financial aid consultant to assist you. 

16. If you don’t already have your U.S. Department of Education PIN (Personal Identification Number), apply for it now.

A PIN allows one to sign the FAFSA electronically, which reduces processing time. You can either go to the PIN web site(www.pin.ed.gov) or request a PIN as you complete the FAFSA on the Web. Note: students who are required to provide parental information on the FAFSA will need to have their parent(s) (or custodial stepparent, if applicable) sign the FAFSA. Each person who wants to sign the FAFSA electronically must have for their own PIN. 

17. Frequently check your email and log onto school websites to track the status of your financial aid applications.

Once the schools have received your financial aid forms, they may require additional info (e.g., your parents’ tax returns) that they haven’t already mentioned. Be on the lookout for updates regarding your status. 

18. Know that the schools are the ones in charge.

The FAFSA and PROFILE processors just give a school’s financial aid office the information it needs to make their financial aid decisions. The financial aid office will determine the types and dollar amounts of the aid you will receive; it can override the analysis done by the form processors. If your family’s circumstances have a taken a turn for the worse since last year, you can request additional aid directly from schools’ financial aid office. But expect that supporting documentation will be required. 

19. Learn as much as you can about how the aid process works.

In theory, financial aid funds are supposed to go to those who need the money the most. The reality, however, is that financial aid funds flow to those who know how to navigate the aid process to their best advantage. The more you know about the process, the more confident you can be that you will get the most aid possible!

***

Top 10 Best Value Public Colleges  

1. University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill NC)

2. University of Virginia (Charlottesville VA)

3. New College of Florida (Sarasota FL)

4. State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton NY)

5. University of Wisconsin (Madison WI)

6. College of William and Mary (Williamsburg VA)

7. University of Florida (Gainesville FL)

8. University of Georgia (Athens GA)

9. University of Washington (Seattle)

10. University of Texas at Austin  

Top 10 Best Value Private Colleges  

1. Williams College (Williamstown MA)

2. Swarthmore College (Swarthmore PA)

3. Princeton University (Princeton NJ)

4. Harvard College (Cambridge MA)

5. Rice University (Houston TX)

6. Pomona College (Claremont CA)

7. Washington University (St. Louis MO)

8. Yale University (New Haven CT)

9. California Institute of Technology (Pasadena CA)

10. Hamilton College (Hamilton NY)  

The Princeton Review chose the 150 colleges (75 public and 75 private schools) on its "Best Value Colleges for 2012" list based on institutional data and student opinion surveys the Company conducted from fall 2010 through fall 2011 at 650 colleges and universities the education services company regards as the nation's academically best undergraduate institutions. The selection process reviewed wide range of factors that analyzed more than 30 data points in three areas:  academics, cost of attendance, and financial aid.

Bureau of Labor Statistics

We already know that one key way to make more money and stay employed is to get more education.

Now a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics adds another piece of evidence that it usually pays off, literally, to shoot for that master’s degree or higher.

The BLS this week released a detailed forecast for how it expects the job market to change in the current decade (the '10s?).

Among the findings: Jobs that require some sort of postsecondary degree for entry are expected to grow at the fastest clip from 2010 to 2020.

The report found that jobs that require a masters’ degree or more are projected to grow by 21.7 percent over that decade, to a little more than 2.4 million total jobs, compared with just 12.2 percent growth in jobs that require only a high school diploma.

The number of jobs that require a doctoral or professional degree will grow by 19.9 percent, to nearly 5.3 million, while the number that require a college degree is expected to grow 16.5 percent to a total of 25.8 million.

Despite the higher rate of growth, there will still be fewer total jobs requiring those advanced degrees, and many more that just require a high school degree.

The BLS predicts that by 2020 about 69.7 million jobs, or nearly 43 percent of the total, will only require a high school diploma to get in the door.

Of course, plenty of people who are college educated are working as baristas, store managers and other positions that may not require a college degree.

Overall, the Labor Department expects about 20.5 million new jobs to be created between 2010 and 2020 as the job market picks up steam after a deep recession and weak early recovery. Last year the economy created about 1.6 million new jobs, according to preliminary figures.

Many of the net new jobs to be added in coming years will be in health care and social assistance fields, reflecting our aging population and increased medical needs.

Other industries expected to see big job growth will be playing catch-up from the recession. For example, the outlook calls for about 1.8 million new construction jobs to be created in coming years, making it one of the sectors with the highest job growth. But the BLS notes that even if the projections are correct and construction employment reaches nearly 7.4 million, that will be fewer jobs than before the recession began in 2007.

Related:

Here's where the jobs will (and won't) be in 2020

The majors with the best job prospects

Do you think it pays to get a graduate degree or higher level or education? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce

Hey college students, do you want a job? Then you may not want to study architecture or the arts.

A new analysis of government data finds that recent college graduates with degrees in fields such as health and education have much lower unemployment rates than those who earned degrees in architecture and the arts.

Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce crunched government data from 2009 and 2010 to find out which majors are the most likely to land you a job right out of college.

In general, the researchers found that people are much more likely to get a job out of college when they choose a major that puts you on a specific career path, such as business. By contrast, people who get more general degrees in things like humanities and liberal arts may find it tougher to land a job, especially given the current job market.

“Your degree matters less and your major matters more,” said Anthony Carnevale, the Georgetown center’s director.

That’s a change from past thinking, when conventional wisdom held that just getting a college degree would be enough to set you on a lucrative career path.

Still, even some very specialized degrees don’t guarantee a good job. Saying you’re an architect may impress people (or at least George Costanza always thought so), but Carnevale said it’s long been a very competitive field.

“It’s like being a chef,” he said. “You may end up being a cook instead of a chef.”

The recent slump in construction has made the job market for architects even worse, and that could last for years. The unemployment rate for recent architecture grads was 13.9 percent, according to the report.

The findings also show that there continues to be strong demand for people with degrees in engineering, math and some computer science fields.

Still, the overall unemployment rate for people with computer and mathematics degrees was a little high, at 8.2 percent. Carnevale said that’s because there are a growing number of less technical computer information specialists degrees, and hiring in those fields slows down in recessionary periods.

The unemployment rate for education grads also was particularly low, at 5.4 percent. Although there have been cuts in education in recent years, Carnevale said it’s continued to be a good bet for jobs because there are lots of older teachers who are retiring.

The good news for all college grads, regardless of major: As time goes on, unemployment rates generally go down.

“The truth is, if you get a four-year degree … you’ll do OK,” Carnevale said. “It’ll be worth some money.”

Tip of the hat to The Chronicle of Higher Education, which first reported this story.

Related:

Loving the job, but hating the student loan debt

To get your kids ahead in life, get a college degree

Jim Seida / msnbc.com

Vanessa and Chris Christman love their jobs as law librarians but struggle with student loan debt.

ROSEVILLE, Calif. —  Here’s one thing that’s obvious about Vanessa and Chris Christman: They love their jobs as public law librarians for the state of California.

Here’s another: They don’t love the more than $150,000 in combined student loan debt they are carrying and struggling to pay off even though their joint income exceeds $100,000 a year.

“We are swimming in it,” Vanessa Christman said.

The Christmans are among the many Americans who have sought out careers that often require a lot of education but don’t guarantee huge pay in return.

The weak economy and sluggish job market have made it even more difficult for some people to find good jobs in fields such as library sciences, social work and education. Meanwhile, many are facing the prospect of having to pay down tens of thousands of dollars in debt they took on to finance their advanced training.

“It’s the kind of perfect storm problem,” said Debra Stewart, president of the Council of Graduate Schools, which represents more than 500 colleges and universities.

In general, Stewart notes, taking on debt for undergraduate and graduate school often makes sense because the more education a person has the more they can usually expect to earn.

But as more people like the Christmans struggle to pay off mountains of student loan bills, some are questioning whether student borrowing is getting out of control.

About 73 percent of master’s degree students graduated with student loan debt in 2008, according to the College Board. Among those who took out student loans, the average debt was $51,950, according to College Board data.

In all, Americans owe about $865 billion in student loan debt, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s latest figures, exceeding credit card debt.

Christman, 30, got her master’s degree in library science from Drexel University in 2008, just as the economy was beginning to take a deep dive.

It took her more than two years to land a full-time job at the El Dorado County Law Library in Placerville, Calif. At one point during that arduous job search, she was working four temporary jobs to support herself and her son, now 5, plus volunteering in her field to keep her skills sharp.

She couldn’t afford health insurance for herself, so until recently she wasn’t able to get regular treatment for a thyroid condition.

Her job as a law librarian pays about $44,000 a year and doesn’t offer health insurance. She gets coverage through her husband, whom she married in October.

“I do make a pretty decent salary as far as public law librarians go, but a good majority of that goes to student loan payments,” Vanessa said.

The median wage for all librarians is $54,500, according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Chirstman estimates that a little more than half of her take-home pay goes toward paying off the approximately $105,000 she owes in student loans. Some months, she isn’t able to make all the payments.

“Our priority is always on paying the mortgage and then after that eating food, and then after that I don’t consistently make my student loan payments. It’s just impossible for me to do,” she said.

Chris Christman, 46, is also a law librarian, at the Sparks Law Library of Placer County, Calif.

Besides a master’s degree in library science he also has a law degree. Although he received his last degree in 1995, he still has about $56,000 of his approximately $100,000 in student loan debt left to pay off. He makes about $75,000 a year.

The law libraries, which are funded by court fees, once were used primarily by lawyers. But now both Christmans say many of their clients are regular people who can’t afford lawyers and are trying to navigate the legal system themselves.

Jim Seida / msnbc.com

Vanessa Christman

One day in December, the stream of people who came through the doors of Vanessa’s small library were trying to fight foreclosures, file for divorce, deal with creditors or resolve child custody issues on their own. Some were seeking help from a legal clinic that is offered there every week.

The Christmans say they find the work incredibly rewarding.

“I like the job that I have. We help people every single day, and people are so thankful that there’s someone there,” Chris said.

Still, Chris says it is frustrating to feel he may not end up as financially secure as his parents, who were both teachers.

“Growing up, I was middle class, and I (figured that I) would do at least as well as my parents. I mean, I was more educated,” he said. “But I don’t know, it just doesn’t seem like it worked out that way.”

It’s a concern that’s being echoed in other fields as well.

Tracy Whitaker, director of the National Association of Social Workers’ Center for Workforce Studies, said it can be discouraging for social workers to realize that they owe more in student loan debts than they will earn in their entire first year on the job.

In a survey of the organization’s members, conducted a few years ago, nearly half of the respondents said their debt load was “unreasonable,” while about two in 10 called it “unmanageable.”

“We’re pretty concerned about the kinds of debt that social workers are graduating with,” Whitaker said. “That debt load is considerably different from 20 or 30 years ago.”

Still, Whitaker said it’s hard to say whether the cost of education is keeping people from pursuing a master’s degree in social work, a key stepping stone in that career.

She noted that most people don’t go into a field like social work expecting to make a lot of money.

“Social workers are really drawn to this kind of work, and so sometimes the work overrides some other factors,” she said. “We see the need, we see the ability to intervene, we see the ability to make a difference and not always the dollar signs first.”

Related:

Yes, college degree has value - try $1 million
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