Differences in Educational and Employment Histories of Men and Women College Graduates a Decade Later

A new report from the U.S. Department of Education offers data on the educational and employment histories of students who graduated from college during the 2007-08 academic year. Some of the data was broken down by gender.

The study found that a decade after graduating from college, more than 28 percent of women went on to earn a master’s degree compared to 24.5 percent of men. Women were slightly less likely than men to have earned a research doctorate or a professional degree.

Some 63.5 percent of women who graduated from college in the 2007-08 academic year owned their home, a level slightly higher than for men who graduated from college in the same year. But women were more likely than men to have a negative net worth and had more difficulty meeting basic expenses.

Men worked an average of 42 hours per week, compared to 37.7 hours for women college graduates. The average salary for men who had full-time jobs was $91,924. For women college graduates who had full-time jobs, the average salary was $71,518.

Some 54 percent of male college graduates had jobs where they supervised other workers. Only 43.8 percent of women college graduates were employed in positions where they supervised other workers.

The full report Baccalaureate and Beyond: First Look at the 2018 Employment and Educational Experiences of 2007–08 College Graduates, may be downloaded here.