There is nothing wrong with struggling in college. We all have that one subject that we just can’t seem to grasp, no matter how hard we try. For me, that was history of any kind. For my husband, it was anything to do with math. Regardless of what you’re struggling with right now, it would be logical for you to look for a tutor that can help you get through the troubles and truly understand the courses you are taking in college. This will probably require you to pay some money though, so you have to be prepared to shell out some dough for a good education. Here are some charts to show what you should probably pay for tutoring services based on different job factors you may come across.

Average Tutoring Rates by Years of Experience

You should probably look for someone to work with that has experience because that people will be a better teacher overall. However, you need to expect to pay more to work with someone who has experience in the field. Here is a chart to show just how much pay rates will range by experience:

• Less than 1 year of experience: $7.93 – $20.19 per hour
• 1-4 years of experience: $8.18 – $29.01 per hour
• 5-9 years of experience: $9.82 – $41.18 per hour
• 10-19 years of experience: $12.45 – $52.01 per hour
• 20 years or more of experience: $12.53 – $58.47 per hour

Average Tutoring Rates by Certification

Your tutor may or may not have a certification, but you can expect to pay more for this or her help if he or she has one. Certified tutors expect to make more money because they have taken tests to prove they know what they are doing. You have to be willing to fork out the money as a result of that. Here is a list of some common certifications you may come across while hunting for a tutor:

• Elementary Teacher Certification (Grade 1-5): $10.16 – $49.87 per hour
• Middle Teacher Certification (Grade 5-9): $8.71 – $31.32 per hour
• Secondary Teacher Certification (Grade 9-12): $9.96 – $45.62 per hour
• Master Reading Teacher Certificate: $14.87 – $60.50 per hour

Average Tutoring Rates by Degree

Your tutor may not have a college degree, but you have to be prepared to pay more money if he or she does. You will probably get better lessons for your money this way, but you still need to think about whether or not you can afford this kind of service. The chart below highlights the average tutoring rates for people with college degrees.

• Associate of Arts: $8.64 – $13.50 per hour
• Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education: $8.07 – $59.60 per hour
• Bachelor of Arts in English: $10.02 – $64.56 per hour
• Bachelor of Arts in History: $10.48 – $40.00 per hour
• Bachelor of Arts in Spanish: $10.00 – $30.00 per hour
• Bachelor of Science in Mathematics: $8.25 – $30.00 per hour
• Bachelor of Science in Physics: $12.00 – $30.52 per hour
• Bachelor of Science in Psychology: $9.38 – $20.50 per hour
• Master of Business Administration: $17.86 – $42.50 per hour
• Master of Education: $25.55 – $49.58 per hour
• Master of Special Education: $17.50 – $38.75 per hour
• Doctorate: $10.17 – $29.48 per hour

Average Tutoring Rates by Location

Finally, the state you live in may influence the money you pay for tutoring services. Some tutors don’t expect to make as much because they live in places with a low standard of living. You may want to research this a little more before you get suckered into paying too much for help. Listed below are the average salary stats for tutors by state.

• California: $9.04 – $31.04 per hour
• Florida: $8.13 – $30.77 per hour
• Illinois: $8.54 – $49.55 per hour
• New Jersey: $7.70 – $46.64 per hour
• New York: $9.59 – $50.68 per hour
• Ohio: $7.57 – $29.42 per hour
• Texas: $9.64 – $40.73 per hour

The idea of being called “Dr. Such-and-such” can be pretty appealing, especially if you are working in a field that has promising job opportunities at the doctoral level. With the array of online PhD programs out there nowadays, it is easier than ever to pursue your grad school education. Nevertheless, the process of getting a PhD can be incredibly time consuming, so you may want to do some research before you dive right in. For some careers, the extra learning may not actually lead to extra earning in the long run. Here is a look at the average salary that someone will make with a PhD, just to help you see if this is in fact the right path for you.

Salary by Profession

Obviously there is going to be a big difference in the pay between one career and another. You may want to do some research about the pay for your prospective profession. Here is a look at some of the most common professions that come from a PhD, along with the amount of money you may make in each of them:

• Higher Education Associate Professor: $49,551 – $103,811 per year
• Higher Education Professor: $51,442 – $151,510 per year
• Physical Therapist (PT): $50,203 – $75,810 per year
• Postdoctoral Research Associate: $33,154 – $61,403 per year
• Research Scientist: $44,573 – $114,887 per year
• Veterinarian: $47,137 – $98,999 per year

Salary by Years of Experience

As you move through your career, you will have a chance to make more money. This is the case for pretty much any profession you may go into. Common pay rates for PhD grads based on experience include:

• Less than 1 year: $62,470 per year
• 1-4 years: $70,148 per year
• 5-9 years: $79,863 per year
• 10-19 years: $97,999 per year
• 20 years or more: $108,671 per year

Salary by Industry

Some industries have higher paying positions than others, so you need to be careful about where you go with your PhD. Here is a list of the average salary you may see based on industry:

• Biotechnology Research & Development: $77,036 per year
• College/University Education: $61,917 per year
• Education: $66,092 per year
• Healthcare: $83,468 per year
• Higher Education: $66,328 per year
• Pharmaceuticals: $109,543 per year
• Physical Therapy: $62,178 per year

Salary by Employer

If you haven’t thought about the place you want to work after graduation, you may want to start thinking now. Here are some statistics to help you decide:

• Company: $98,895 per year
• Contract: $81,295 per year
• Federal Government – $93,260 per year
• Fellowship: $43,187 per year
• Foundation: $75,995 per year
• Franchise: $100,734 per year
• Hospital: $78,622 per year
• Non-Profit Organization: $69,197 per year
• Private Practice: $72,356 per year
• School District: $62,986 per year
• Self-Employed: $80,728 per year
• State & Local Government: $76,716 per year
• Team: $75,000 per year
• University: $61,329 per year

I would never discourage someone from pursuing a high degree. I just want to make sure that I help you avoid a bad experience in college by showing you the truth behind getting a college degree. Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory has a PhD, and he doesn’t even make enough money to afford an apartment on his own. In fact, none of the doctorate holders on that show do. If you are just in the higher degree for the money, you may want to reconsider. Otherwise, I wish you luck in your degree program and whatever career may come of it.

Forensic psychology jobs have become more abundant over the years with the expansion of the criminal justice system. If you have a passion for criminal justice and psychology, this could be the perfect career for you. The problem is that you have to spend over a decade in school to earn a PhD worthy of working in forensic psychology, and most people don’t have the dedication to do that. If you do, you may want to see if the money you can earn is going to be worth the amount of time you have to spend in school. Here is an overview of the possible earnings and education you can have in forensic psychology so you can have a clear plan for your future.

The Classes in a Forensic Psychology Degree

The classes you may take in forensic psychology are not going to be easy. They delve deep into the mind and into the criminal justice system, so prepare for extensive studying if you commit to this. Common classes for forensic psychology degrees include:

• Abnormal Behavior
• Comparative Psychotherapies and Therapeutic Techniques
• Court Processes
• Criminal Justice
• Criminology
• Death and Dying
• Developmental Psychology
• Drugs and Society
• Ethical and Legal Issues in Psychology
• Forensic Interviewing and Evaluation
• Forensic Populations
• Human Sexuality
• Intellectual and Cognitive Functioning
• Intro to Counseling
• Introduction to Forensic Psychology
• Psychology and Law
• Social Psychology
• Statistical Application in Forensic Psychology
• Therapeutic Interventions in Clinical Psychology
• Victimology

If you feel that you are capable of handling courses like that, you should do more exploration into the earning potential you can have with this degree.

The Salaries That Come from Forensic Psychology Degrees

Now it is time to see if the time you will spend in school for this line of work is worth the money you will make when you graduate. There is a pretty wide range of salaries in this profession, so do not be surprised if finding an average is a little difficult for you. Here are some statistics from PayScale.com that will give you a rough idea about your potential earnings.

Salary by Employer

• Company: $14,707 – $105,701 per year
• Federal Government: $35,000 – $105,274 per year
• Hospital: $43,631 – $83,124 per year
• Non-Profit Organization: $24,417 – $80,576 per year
• Private Practice: $35,234 – $127,661 per year
• Self-Employed: $73,698 – $254,341 per year
• State and Local Government: $35,568 – $104,989 per year

Salary by Industry

• <1 year: $36,000 - $70,000 per year
• 1-4 years: $31,123 – $88,569 per year
• 5-9 years: $33,840 – $102,824 per year
• 10-19 years: $29,900 – $242,395 per year
• 20+ years: $50,335 – $248,323 per year

Salary by Gender

• Male: $50,279 – $103,427 per year
• Female: $46,190 – $76,778 per year

For some people, the earnings above are more than enough to justify 10+ years of education. For others, there are better careers in criminal justice that require significantly less time in college. You have to weigh out all of the factors to determine if this is really what you want to do. Otherwise you may end up with a bad college experience just because you didn’t research your earning potential. Think about all of this, and you will surely come up with a plan that works for you.

Everyone focuses on the importance of getting a college degree, but the fact is that some people just aren’t cut out for college. If they are, they can simply make more money in a different career. In no way do I want to insinuate that you should avoid going to Western Governors University or wherever it is you want to go, but I do think it is interesting to see just how many college dropouts turn into huge success stories. It just goes to show the power of the human mind and pure determination. Here are some of the richest dropouts of the modern world.

1 – Bill Gates

Surely you have heard of Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft. This man attended Harvard University for a brief period of time, but he decided to leave the school in pursuit of something more. He is now one of the wealthiest men in the world, worth an estimated $61 billion. That’s after all of the charitable donations he has made over the years! Gates does hold a degree from Harvard now, but it is an honorary doctorate. At the graduation commencement speech, he told the student body “I’m a bad influence. That’s why I was invited to speak at your graduation. If I had spoken at your orientation, fewer of you might be here today.”

2 – Steve Jobs

Most people don’t know who Steve Jobs is, despite using his creations on a day to day basis. This man founded Apple, and he is the brains behind most of the Apple products on the market today. The iPod, iPhone, MacBook, etc. were all spawns of his work. Steve dropped out of Reed College after attending for a mere six months because he could not afford to go to school. With an estimated net worth of $8.3 billion now, I’m pretty sure he could afford to go back to school if he wanted to.

3 – Sergey Brin and Larry Page

Sergey Brin and Larry Page are the founders of Google, and they are worth approximately $16.7 billion each. These men did go to school and earn college degrees, but they dropped out of their PhD programs to create Google. That is why they are on this list. While they may not be considered “college dropouts” for most people, they did leave school I pursuit of their dreams. In their case, the drop was a step towards success.

4 – Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg is the ever-powerful 26 year who founded Facebook. He dropped out of Harvard University, and, just like Bill Gates, he became an overnight billionaire. Facebook is the second most visited site on the internet, teetering between first and second place with Google. Mark is currently worth around $6.9 billion, but the rapid expansion of Facebook suggests that he will be making a lot more in the near future.

5 – Michael Dell

Michael Dell is obviously the founder of Dell computers, but he happens to be a dropout from the University of Texas. Michael’s current net worth is around $14.6 billion, which I think is enough to actually buy the University of Texas, and maybe even Texas in general. I’m actually not a fan of Dell computers at all, but I can respect this man for creating decent devices at affordable prices. Hot damn! I think I just discovered Dell’s new ad slogan. You saw it here first people!

6 – Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren is an iconic name in the fashion industry, which sets this man apart from the others on this list. Ralph dropped out of Baruch College long ago, but he now has $3.6 billion to call his own. His innovative ideas and true passion for clothing make him one of the most respected men to ever cross the catwalk, even if he doesn’t have a college degree.

What does all of this tell you? Stay in school. These men may have made tons of money outside of a college education, but that is no reason for you to give up on your degree. The fact is that they would have probably still created the wonders they created even if they had stayed in school. You can’t assume that dropping out is the answer. Focus on your classes, and do whatever it takes to get through with your studies. If you can make even a fraction of a billion dollars as a result of that, you should be good to go.