As children in the United States, we are raised to believe that receiving a college education is essential to being successful and ultimately having a good paying job. There are countless examples of scientific studies in which data is presented that supports the idea that men and women who obtain a college degree on average make more money annually than those who never attend college.

The majority of people who read this fact immediately assume that obtaining a higher income is a direct result of attending college and earning a degree. However, the plain truth is that there is no way for us to know this fact. I recently read an article by Edwin Rubenstein entitled The College Payoff Illusion in which he stated, “this simple calculation,” which displays that college graduates make more on average than non-college graduates, “ignores the fact that college graduates tend to come from higher socio-economic levels, are more highly motivated, and probably have higher IQ’s than non-graduates.

Although these factors influence incomes, they are not results of college attendance.” There are so many factors involved in earning a greater income, that it is impossible for us to know what the root cause is. In the minds of some, a high level of motivation is what causes men and women to have a higher annual income. This in some ways explains how there are a few people who do not attend college, but who work their fingers to the bone because they are motivated, and they out-earn many college graduates. Perhaps it the secret is the environment in which they were raised. At the end of the day, it is impossible for anyone to definitively say what causes college graduates to make more money.

In order to better explain this concept, I observed a parallel example in an article by Roni Rabin in which the effect of alcohol on the heart was discussed. First, it has been proven that people who drink moderately have fewer heart problems on average than both heavy drinkers and those who abstain from drinking completely. There is no disputing this fact. However, Rabin points out that it is possible that “moderate drinking is just something that healthy people tend to do.”

We as humans have a habit of jumping to conclusions. We misconceive the facts, and believe that what this fact tells us is that a moderate amount of alcohol is beneficial for one’s health. In the same way we jump to this conclusion, we also jump to the conclusion that a college degree is the reason someone makes more money than someone who doesn’t have said degree. Rabin goes on to explain that there are more differences between moderate drinkers and others than just how much alcohol they consume. The amount of exercise a person gets could be a key piece in the puzzle. It could be that, as a whole, moderate drinkers exercise more than non-drinkers and heavy drinkers.

Another major factor could be pre-existing health conditions that keep someone from consuming alcohol. This could very well explain why those who abstain from drinking alcohol have more heart problems than those moderate drinkers. Due to the abundance of factors that exist at this, it is impossible to truly know which factor causes moderate drinkers to have less heart problems. It could be that moderate drinkers do everything in moderation, as well as attempting to exercise on a regular basis, and the exercise is what causes better heart health.

At the end of the day, it is impossible to conclude that there is one single thing that improves heart health. In the same way, it is impossible to conclude that college raises a person’s income. While there is some correlation between graduating college and earning a higher income than non-graduates, we simply cannot prove that a college degree is the cause of the higher income. The unfortunate truth is that as far as we know, there is no one reason why college graduates on average make more money than non-college graduates. What we do know, however, is there is value in a college education that can help you towards a better future. The rest is on you.