There is no comprehensive data on this subject, but I think there is a way to get to an answer.

Today, making a success of college is very difficult because Supply exceeds Demand and college costs have exploded. Only about one in three students who matriculate succeed, graduate and score a well-paying, professional job. If you need to work your way through school, success is going to be even more elusive.

Drop Out Rate

There is data on this. Research shows that working more than 20 hours a week makes a student 2.5X more likely to drop out. There are a lot of reasons students drop out of college: financial shortfalls, caretaking responsibilities, academic pressure, mental health, etc. The one nobody talks about is the Stuff Happens Rule. A typical bachelor’s degree requires 120 credit hours. That is 15 credit hours for eight semesters. Today 60% of students don’t earn their four-year degree in four years. Changing majors is one of the major villains; another is work. For example, if work pressure drives that 15 credit hours down to 12, you are looking at five years to graduate. The longer you hang around college, the more likely it is that stuff happens and you don’t succeed.

The Math

I am going to use tuition as my example of how the arithmetic of college costs has changed. I attended a land grant university many years ago. My average annual cost of tuition was $350. Working for $1.25 per hour, it took me seven forty-hour weeks to earn that money. The effects of FICA, federal and state income tax on my take home pay were negligible. Today the tuition at the same university is $14,050. Working for $15 an hour and taking into account a 12% hit for taxes, it would require you to work 26 weeks, a half year, to cover your tuition.

Anything Degree

I graduated in 1962. My degree was in one of the Humanities and because I had been working forty hours per week my GPA was very modest. (Playing a lot of bridge in the cardroom at the Student Union may also have been an issue.) However, when I threw my mortarboard in the air, I had a job offer from the Google of the day before my graduation cap hit the ground because Demand exceeded Supply. Back in the day, if you could get a bachelor’s degree in anything, you were on your way to a middle class or better financial life. Today that resume would find me stocking shelves at my hometown hardware store.

My point is that you have to major in something marketable and those majors are challenging. You might even need to actually study.

Experiential Learning and Networking

I got my well-paying, professional job by answering a newspaper ad. The job market doesn’t work that way anymore. Getting a “college” job is about who you know. Experiential learning opportunities and networking is how you get to know people who might want to hire you.

My youngest grandchild is a college senior. She wants to teach elementary school age children. At her school, experiential learning is built into the Education curriculum. (She might even make a few bucks as a substitute teacher this school year.) What amazes me is that she is an absolute wizard at networking, something I totally neglected. She already has a job lined up for the 2027–2028 school year.

Working is going to make it more difficult for you to find the time to get to know people who can give you a professional job.

Conclusion

Is it possible to succeed today, graduate and score a “college” job, if you have to work your way through college? Yes, it is possible, but working more than twenty hours a week while you are in college is a big hurdle to overcome. Your odds of success are not good.

If you are looking at a situation where you need to work a lot of hours and/or borrow a lot of money to pay for a four-year degree, I suggest you consider a New-Collar job. You can qualify for a lot of these jobs with a two-year degree at a community college which are tuition free in most states for residents.

Notes

If you are interested in a New-Collar job, read A New U.

Ignore the Stuff Happens Rule at your own peril.