The somewhat skewed facts of phD life...(rant)

Given my previous post, I found this interesting.

More women than men get advanced degrees
By Stephanie Chen, CNN
April 20, 2010 1:23 p.m. EDT
(CNN) -- As a growing number of young women obtain advanced degrees, the U.S. Census Bureau predicts more women than men are expected to become doctors, lawyers and professors.

Nearly six out of ten adults holding advanced degrees between the ages of 25 and 29 are women, the census reported Tuesday.

So we ALMOST represent 1/2 of those with advanced degrees between 25 and 29 now. Somehow this doesn't make me think we're taking advanced degrees by storm...

The trend of more women holding advanced degrees than men is occurring among the white, Hispanic and black populations but not the Asian population.

The study also revealed the gap between men and women older than 25 holding advanced degrees has shrunk since 2000.

About 10 percent of women over 25 possessed an advanced degree compared to about 7 percent of women in 2000. In comparison, the growth for men over 25 holding advance degrees was much slower, the Census report shows. About 11 percent of men over 25 had an advanced degree compared to 10 percent in 2000.

The study also revealed an advanced degree can result in bigger earnings. Advanced degree holders earned an average of $83,144 in 2008. In contrast, people with a bachelors degree earned about $58,613 that same year.

First of all - a more advanced degree (master's or doctorate) = more money. Really?? Cuz that's surprising?

The national average with a bachelor's is $58k?? Are they only counting the employed? This also relates back to my previous post. The figures were from a study released in 2006 (so the previous years) but in 4 years, the average for a bachelors in Science, Engineering and health degrees went from $39k to $58k? Really?? That's awesome, if it's true, but that number seems inflated. I'd assume Scientists and Engineers would be among the top earners next to business degrees.

Final part of my rant. Women are coming up in the ranks - but we still make less money. When do they plan on fixing that?