Students expected to pull themselves up by their bootstraps by supporting themselves through college is becoming an antiquated notion. If state minimum wages remain at their current rate by 2030, that will prove impossible. Extrapolating research from the Education Data Initiative, the student-focused news service Intelligent forecasted what it would take for students to support themselves while earning a degree working unskilled jobs in the next decade.
University of Oregon’s Teaching and Learning Center recommends two to three hours of study time a week per class on average, which comes up to about 30 hours a week for a full-time student. Higher education advisor Blanca Villagomez identifies that this workload doesn’t account for students taking more rigorous classes, who face a more robust work schedule.
“Essentially, college students are encouraged to treat their classes and study time as full-time jobs. However, the reality is very different,” Villagomez said. “Right now affordability is a significant concern for many students, as the cost of tuition and living continues to rise, and loans become an inevitable loyal companion.”
Students earning current minimum wage
If college tuition continues its ascent while the minimum wage remains constant, the majority of states would demand students work 60+ hours, three of which would require more than 90 hours. Students in 18 states would have to work between 40 and 60 hours.
Students in all but three (!) states would have to work more than 40 hours a week to pay for school and living expenses. New Mexico, Missouri and Florida all have a minimum wage in the $11 range.
- Pennsylvania (minimum wage: $7.25): 100 work hours to sustain $37,578 annual tuition and living costs.
- Wisconsin (minimum wage: $7.25): 88 work hours to sustain $33,334 annual tuition and living costs.
- Georgia (minimum wage: $7.25): 72 work hours to sustain $27,174 annual tuition and living costs.
- Texas (minimum wage: $7.25): 69 work hours to sustain $26,112 annual tuition and living costs.
- New York (minimum wage: $13.20): 57 work hours to sustain $28,484 annual tuition and living costs.
- California (minimum wage: $15.00): 43 work hours to sustain $33,492 annual tuition and living costs.
States like Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey had some of the highest minimum wages – upwards to $14.25 an hour – and still the average required working hours for students exceeded 50 hours.
Students earning $15 minimum wage
With a federal wage boosted to $15, half the United States would enjoy needing to work less than 40 hours a week. However, states—primarily in the Northeast—would still demand from their students 45+ hours of work. Adding in an average of 30 hours a week a student needs to study outside of class, their “workload” comes out to more than 70 hours a week, which does not include time spent in class or transportation.
Also, of the 25 states featuring students working less than 40 hours a week, 17 of those still required 30-40 hours of $15 minimum wage work.
Even with the federal minimum wage doubled, high tuition costs, like in Massachusetts and Arizona, offsets student ability to pay for school.
- Massachusetts: 65 work hours to sustain $51,024 annual tuition and living costs
- Vermont: 57 work hours to sustain $44,688 annual tuition and living costs
- Virginia: 46 work hours to sustain $35,470 annual tuition and living costs
- Maryland: 45 work hours to sustain $35,388 annual tuition and living costs
- Arizona: 45 work hours to sustain $34,964 annual tuition and living costs
- Illinois: 41 work hours to sustain $31,858 annual tuition and living costs
This is a glass-half-full/half-empty situation: Should we celebrate that half the country can work fewer than 40 hours a week, or should we be concerned that half the country still can’t support its students at $15 per hour?
“In an ideal world, balancing a full-time academic load with 12-15 work hours every week would be ideal for student success,” said Villagomez. “The benefits? It allows students to dedicate the majority of their time to studying and completing their assignments.”
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