Final answer:
To calculate lifetime earnings, multiply the yearly earnings by the number of working years. A high school graduate will earn approximately $1,908,764, whereas a college graduate will earn around $2,918,980 over their respective working lifetimes.
Step-by-step explanation:
Calculating lifetime earnings based on median weekly earnings for high school and college graduates requires a simple multiplication of the yearly earnings by the number of years worked.
A high school graduate earning $40,612 annually and working from age 18 to 65 for 50 weeks a year will have:
(65 - 18) years * 50 weeks/year * ($40,612 / 50 weeks) = 47 years * $40,612/year = $1,908,764
A college graduate starting at age 22 and retiring at 65, earning a median salary of $67,860 annually will have:
(65 - 22) years * ($67,860/year) = 43 years * $67,860/year = $2,918,980
These computations show the significant impact of education on lifetime earnings.
To calculate the earnings of a high school graduate who works from age 18 to 65 for 50 weeks a year, we need to multiply the median weekly earnings by the number of weeks worked per year and the number of years worked. The median annual earnings for a high school graduate is $40,612. Therefore, the earnings would be $40,612 x 50 x (65-18) = $102,030,000.
To calculate the earnings of a college graduate who works from age 22 to 65 for 50 weeks a year, we use the same formula. However, we need to consider that the person starts working 4 years later.
Since the median annual earnings for a college graduate is $67,860, the earnings would be $67,860 x 50 x (65-22-4) = $153,035,000.