Final answer:
The median starting salary of $37,600 and mid-career salary of $65,900 at a university indicates that half of the graduates earned less and half earned more than these amounts, respectively. Holding a bachelor's degree typically results in substantially higher earnings compared to just having a high school diploma, with a median annual salary of $67,860 versus $40,612 for high school graduates.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question involves interpreting the summary statistics for salary data of university graduates - specifically, the median starting salary and the median mid-career salary. When a median starting salary of $37,600 is reported, it indicates that half of the graduates had starting salaries below this amount and half had starting salaries above it.
Similarly, a median mid-career salary of $65,900 means that half of the graduates earned less than this amount while the other half earned more, during the mid-point of their career. These figures provide insightful information into the distribution of wages among the graduates from that particular university.
Additionally, owning a bachelor's degree greatly influences one's earning potential. Data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicates that in 2020, full-time workers over 25 with a bachelor's degree earn a median weekly income of $1,305, totaling $67,860 yearly.
This demonstrates a 67% earning increase compared to workers with only a high school diploma, who averaged $781 weekly and $40,612 yearly.