Is a degree the answer to reducing poverty?

In 1960, 7.7% of adults above the age of 25 had a degree, today 37.5% over the age of 25 have a degree. Almost 40% of 25 and older have a degree, yet poverty remains unchanged. Is a degree really necessary to make a good wage? Is a degree valuable in the workplace? Just something I stumbled across and questioned.

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OldBrit · 61-69, M

I never had the opportunity for degree - well I missed that opportunity if it ever was there. I joined a company straight from school and was trained up. I took professional exams to move up etc. and achieved chartered status. So in many ways I proved you didn't need a degree. However I pushed both my kids to get one as it gives you distinct advantage.

However - the problem with poverty isn't linked to education it is linked to how people are exploited. all the time we accept very low "living wages", continue to not tackle the black cash-in-hand economy etc. etc. we'll not tackle poverty.

One side note is that poverty is measured as [quote]Households are considered to be below the UK poverty line if their income is 60% below the median household income after housing costs for that year.

Poverty definitions and thresholds | Trust for Londonhttps://www.trustforlondon.org.uk[/quote]

So poverty can never be eradicated by that definition as there will always be people 60% below the median line, that's simply a mathematical reality.

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

@OldBrit [quote] there will always be people 60% below the median line, that's simply a mathematical reality.[/quote]
No it isn't. The median is just the value of the middle item when they are arranged in ascending order.

In this sequence
[quote]1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9[/quote]
the median is 5.
60% below 5 is 2 so if we raise each of the first two items to 3 we have
[quote]3 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 9[/quote]
Now none of them is 60% below the median which is still 5.