Study: Israeli university graduates higher earners than college graduates

By EYTAN HALON
University of Haifa. (photo credit: ZVI ROGER/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
University of Haifa.
(photo credit: ZVI ROGER/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
The gross annual wages of Israeli university graduates were approximately 10% higher than graduates of publicly-funded colleges between 2008 and 2015, a new study by the Bank of Israel has revealed.
Graduates from Israel's 12 private colleges earned 6-7% more than their public college counterparts and wage gaps remained the same among graduates even years after concluding their studies.
The wage gap, the study shows, also remained the same when graduates were divided by gender, background and family income.
The gross hourly wage gap between university graduates and public college graduates, however, stands at a more modest 4-6%. This is smaller than the annual wage gap as university graduates work more hours on average.
While wages among public college graduates are lower than university and private college graduates, the survey reveals significantly greater pay for those holding undergraduate degrees from public colleges in comparison with those only completing high school matriculation examinations (bagrut).
The salaries of public college graduates from social science and business administration programs are approximately 30% higher than those with high school qualifications alone, and the wage gap can reach as much as 80% among computer science degree graduates.
In every profession, findings indicate that wages differ according to institution of higher education. The annual and hourly wages of graduates of engineering and paramedical practitioners are higher if they study in universities, whereas in the case of business administration, the salaries of college graduates are higher.
According to data supplied by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the level of completion of post-secondary (or tertiary) education among 25-64 year olds in Israel is the fourth highest in the OECD.
Among 55-64 year olds, Israel boasts a higher level of post-secondary education than any OECD nation.


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