The typical college graduate will earn $1.19 million in lifetime earnings in today's dollars. That is more than twice as much as the lifetime earnings of a typical high school graduate ($580,000). The typical Associate degree graduate will earn $684,000 during a lifetime.

But -- within same degree -- earnings differ dramatically; and start salaries to end salaries differ dramatically from major to major.

The Hamilton Project of the Brookings Institution (an economic "think tank"), offers a interesting interactive website that projects earnings by:

Level of Education (you can select more than one level)

Type of Bachelor Major (you can select more than one major)

Annual Earnings from 0 to 45 years in career for your selection

Lifetime Earnings for your selection

To experiment with lifetime earnings of different education levels and different Bachelor degrees, click on the link:  Career Lifetime Earnings

Note:

The Brookings Institution also studied "Where is the Best Place to Invest $102,000 -- Stocks, Bonds, or a College Degree." The answer: "Higher education is a much better investment than almost any other alternative, even for the "Class of the Great Recession" (young adults age 23-24). In today's tough labor market, a college degree dramatically boosts the odds of finding a job and making more money."

"Warren Buffett recently told Columbia Business school students, 'Right now, I would pay $100,000 for 10% of the future earnings of any of you.' He is not a legendary value investor for nothing: When compared to other investment options, a college degree stands out as one of the best investments one can make."