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Revised Version: The Value of the American and Denmark High School Diploma



INTRODUCTION

The American and Denmark educational systems are vastly different. One of the places these differences are evident is in high school. In the United States, high school is mandatory and consists of four years of schooling. In comparison, high school, or Gymnasium as it is called in Denmark, is optional and consists of four national upper secondary education programs. The four national upper secondary education programs are the higher general examination program (stx), the higher technical examination program (htx), the higher commercial examination program (hhx), and the higher preparatory examination program (hf) (Ministry of Children and Education). Most programs take three years to complete, except hf, which takes two years. Moreover, Americans’ and Danes’ high school experiences might differ, but they share the same goal of graduating and receiving their diploma. Therefore, I will compare the American and Denmark high school diplomas’ value in their respective countries using job prospects, income, and the unemployment rate as my metrics.

JOB PROSPECTS FOR AMERICANS WITH ONLY A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA

Ninety percent of Americans, age twenty-five years and older, have a high school diploma (US Census Bureau), but only forty-two percent have some higher education degree (“Education”). The job pool they can choose from is very slim for the forty-eight percent of Americans, age twenty-five years and older and who only have a high school degree. A total of 425 occupations are available to Americans with only a high school diploma. Of the 425 occupations, 103 do not require any formal education degree to apply (Torpey). The rest of the 322 occupations require a high school diploma or an equivalent (Torpey).

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects seventeen million job openings annually between 2019 and 2029 (Torpey). The top twenty occupations with the most job openings for Americans whose highest educational attainment is a high diploma will create a total of 6,254,600 new jobs during this time. During this time, the jobs that do not require formal education and typically pay the least are projected to have more openings than jobs that require at least a high school diploma or an equivalent. Three million eight hundred and thirty-three thousand nine hundred of the new job openings will be for occupations that do not require any formal education degree. Two million four hundred twenty thousand seven hundred will be for occupations that require a high school diploma or an equivalent.

INCOME OF AMERICANS WITH ONLY A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA

Americans with a high school diploma earn more than those who do not have one because they have more job opportunities to choose from. The Bureau of Labor Statistic's earnings by educational attainment chart shows that Americans who only have a high school diploma earn an estimated $809 a week (1). That means that they earn $183 more a week than those who do not have a high school diploma, as the same chart estimates that Americans without one earn $626 a week.

So, if we go by the Bureau of Labor Statistic's weekly earnings estimate of $809, Americans with only a high school diploma earn an estimated yearly salary of $38,832. In a lifetime, that is 18 years old, the age most Americans are when they graduate high school; through 67-year-old, the age most workers retire, Americans with only a high school diploma will earn $ 1,902,768. Some Americans with only a high school diploma will earn more than these estimated average earnings. Still, most Americans with only a high school diploma will earn the estimated weekly, yearly, and lifetime earnings.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE OF AMERICANS WITH ONLY A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA

Americans with only a high school diploma do not have many job options that pay well and typically earn less weekly, yearly, and in their lifetime than those with a higher degree. The category Americans with only a high school diploma beat those with a higher degree in is unemployment. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of September 2022, the unemployment rate for Americans twenty-five years and with only a high school diploma is 3.7% (2022). That is 0.8% higher than the unemployment rate of someone with an associate degree (2.9 %) and 1.9% higher than those with a bachelor’s or higher degree (1.8 %) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022).

Americans with only a high school diploma fare worse in terms of unemployment than those with a higher degree when the United States is experiencing a crisis. For example, during the 2007 Great Recession, Americans with only a high diploma had an unemployment rate of 7% at the end of 2008 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009). While the unemployment rate of college graduates was 3.3% (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009). Most recently, at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, the unemployment rate of Americans with only a high school diploma was 17.3% (Nietzel). In comparison, the unemployment rate for college graduates during the same period was 8.4% (Nietzel).

JOB PROSPECTS FOR DANES WITH ONLY AN UPPER SECONDARY EDUCATION DEGREE

Eighty-two percent of Danes aged 25-64 have an upper secondary education certificate ("Education"). Still, only thirty percent ("Educational Attainment") of Danes have a higher degree. The job pool available to them is slim for the fifty-two percent of Danes who only have an upper secondary education certificate. The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training forecasts that between 2013-2025, "most job opportunities will require high-level qualifications (levels 5 and 6)" (2). That means most jobs require applicants to have either a short-cycle tertiary education or a bachelor's or equivalent-level degree. This might be attributed to the fact that it is projected that by 2025, around forty-nine percent of Denmark's labor force will have high-level qualifications (3).

That is not to say that the fifty-two percent of Danes who only have an upper secondary education certificate will be wiped out entirely from the Denmark labor force. A sizable number of jobs they qualify for are in-demand in 2022. Seventeen of the jobs upper secondary education graduates qualify for are in demand (Anna).

INCOME OF DANES WITH ONLY AN UPPER SECONDARY EDUCATION

Like Americans with only a high school diploma, Danes with the same educational attainment level earn more than Danes without an upper secondary education certificate. Statista’s average monthly salary in Denmark, by education level chart, shows that those with only an upper secondary education certificate earn, on average, 35,801 Danish Krones (“Average Monthly Salary”) or $4,685.25 a month. That means they earn an estimated $453.21 more a month than Danes without an upper secondary education certificate, as they earn, on average, 32,350 Danish Krones (“Average Monthly Salary”) or $4,232.04 a month.

If we go by Statista’s average monthly salary of 35,801 Danish Krones, Danes who only have an upper secondary education certificate earn on average 429,612 Danish Krones or $ 56,243.94 a year. In a lifetime, that is 19, the age most Danes are when they graduate upper secondary education, through 67 years old, the retirement age in Denmark, Danes who are 67 years old and who only have an upper secondary education certificate will earn on average 20,621,376 Danish Krones or $ 2,699,678.37. Some Danes with only an upper secondary degree will earn more or less than these estimated average monthly, yearly, and lifetime earnings. Still, the average Dane with only an upper secondary education certificate will earn these average earnings.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE OF DANES WITH ONLY AN UPPER SECONDARY EDUCATION CERTIFICATE

Danes who only have an upper secondary education certificate might have fewer job opportunities and make less than those with a higher degree. Still, the Danes aged 25-64 and who only have an upper secondary education degree have a lower unemployment rate than those in the same age range and with a higher degree. According to Education at a glance’s educational attainment and labor-force status chart, in December 2021, Danes with only an upper secondary education degree had an unemployment rate of 3.6 % (“Unemployment”). In comparison, Danes with a higher degree had an employment rate of 3.9 % (“Unemployment”) during the same period.

Unlike Americans with the same level of education, Danes with only an upper secondary education degree sometimes fare better in terms of unemployment than those with a higher degree whenever Denmark experiences a crisis such as the 2008 financial crisis and the coronavirus pandemic. During the 2008 financial crisis, the unemployment rate of Danes aged twenty-five years and older and with only an upper secondary education degree was 2.3% (“Education at A Glance”). In comparison, the unemployment rate for Danes in the same age group but with a higher degree was 2.2% (“Education at A Glance”). In December 2020, the eighth month of the coronavirus pandemic, the unemployment rate of Danes aged twenty-five years and older and with only an upper secondary education degree was 4% (“Upper Secondary”). In comparison, the unemployment rate of Danes in the same age group but with a higher degree was 4.6% (“Tertiary Education”).

CONCLUSION

Americans and Danes with only a high school education fare better than those without one. However, in comparing the value of the American and Denmark high school diplomas in their respective countries, we see that an upper secondary education certificate is more valuable in Denmark than a high school diploma in the United States. They may have the same job prospects and qualify for the same jobs, but Danes with only an upper secondary education certificate make more than Americas with the same level of education even though they work fewer hours. (37 hours a week (Denmark.dk) vs. 40 hours a week). Also, they have a lower unemployment rate.

                                                                              

                                                                         Works Cited

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Bureau, US Census. “High School Completion Rate Is Highest in U.S. History.” Census.gov, 14 Dec. 2017, https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2017/educational-attainment-2017.html.

“Charts Related to the Latest ‘The Employment Situation’ News Release   |   More Chart Packages.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/charts/employment-situation/unemployment-rates-for-persons-25-years-and-older-by-educational-attainment.htm.

“Denmark - Unemployment Rates of the Population Aged 25-64: Tertiary Education (Levels 5-8).” Denmark - Unemployment Rates of the Population Aged 25-64: Tertiary Education (Levels 5-8) - 2022 Data 2023 Forecast 2009-2020 Historical, https://tradingeconomics.com/denmark/unemployment-rates-of-the-population-aged-25-64-tertiary-education-levels-5-8-eurostat-data.html.

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“Denmark: Average Monthly Salary by Education 2020.” Statista, 23 May 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1166546/average-monthly-salary-in-denmark-by-education-level/.

“Denmark: Educational Attainment 2021.” Statista, 10 May 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/874956/educational-attainment-of-the-population-in-denmark/.

“Denmark: Skills Forecasts up to 2025.” CEDEFOP, 17 June 2021, https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/country-reports/denmark-skills-forecasts-2025.

“Education at A Glance 2014.” OECD, https://www.oecd.org/education/Denmark-EAG2014-Country-Note.pdf.

“Education Levels and Unemployment at End of 2008.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1 Apr. 2009, https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2009/mar/wk5/art03.htm#:~:text=The%20jobless%20rate%20for%20high,percentage%20points%2C%20to%205.5%20percent.

“Education Pays, 2021: Career Outlook.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2022, https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2022/data-on-display/education-pays.htm.

“Education.” OECD Better Life Index, https://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/topics/education/.

“Four National Upper Secondary Education Programmes.” Ministry of Children and Education, https://eng.uvm.dk/upper-secondary-education/national-upper-secondary-education-programmes.

Nietzel, Michael T. “Unemployment Rates during the Pandemic Are Much Lower for Adults with a College Degree.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 8 Sept. 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2020/09/08/unemployment-rates-during-the-pandemic-are-much-lower-for-those-with-a-college-degree/?sh=6d070c5fe29c.

Torpey, Elka. “Education Level and Projected Openings, 2019–29: Career Outlook.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Oct. 2020, https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2020/article/education-level-and-openings.htm.

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