Nothing is Guaranteed - Not Even a Point Estimate of Wages

When students hear about the average wage expected to be earned by those with certain majors/degrees, they don't think of that number as a point estimate with a variance. 

Point estimate?  Yes.  Variance?  No. 

Unfortunately, many think that if the average wage of  people with a degree from a y department is $x, they are entitled to earn $x if they majored in y.   Not necessarily.

In the article "A Bachelor's in Borrowing" (Personal Journal, Nov. 25), Elina Agnoli, a recent law-school graduate, says: "People have this notion of law-school graduates getting $150,000 right off the bat. But that's not the reality for the law grad in 2008. I've got friends waitressing with J.D.s . There's something wrong with that scenario."

Someone should inform the lamentable Ms. Agnoli that, despite her attempts to cloak herself in the victim's mantle, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that scenario. Even granting that America has, arguably, the strongest rule of law in the world, we still have far too many attorneys, concerned with far too much rent-seeking. By any measure -- per capita, per dollar of gross domestic product, per square foot -- we have more lawyers than any country in the world, so we may not pay any additional, freshly minted ones a very good wage. Had the feckless Ms. Agnoli gotten a degree in economics, she would understand that concept.

Sgt. Peter Cook
Forward Operating Base Falcon
Iraq

Damn that supply curve shift.

Comments

[Ironman]

You know what I'd love to see? A bunch of attorneys unable to make money in the legal profession gathered together for a massive class action lawsuit against the U.S.' legal cartel (aka "Big Law"). The sheer entertainment factor alone would justify that kind of tort action!

[Phil Miller]

Hey, could we do that with Big Econ???? ;-)