New data sources make it more plain than ever that the U.S. has oversold college. Lots of young people spend years of their lives and plenty of often borrowed money to earn degrees that don’t lead to financial success. (Nor do they usually lead to much educational enrichment, but that’s another story.)

In today’s Martin Center article, Montana resident Tom Burnett writes about his area, where those without college credentials frequently earn as much or more than those with them. He writes:

I couldn’t help noticing the starting wages offered by Hobby Lobby at their new store in my city, Bozeman, Montana. Store officials said they would be paying full-time employees $15.70 an hour. Many graduates of our land-grant university, Montana State University-Bozeman, with degrees in liberal arts and film/video and photographic arts could find higher pay there than where they’re working.

Even better paying than the entry-level jobs at Hobby Lobby are grounds-keeping jobs for the City of Bozeman.

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Burnett continues:

Among the [University of Montana’s] 203 fields of study, College Scorecard has relevant data on 91. Earnings for those in all the largest undergraduate fields of study pale next to starting wages for Bozeman’s city lawnmower:

-liberal arts, $20,600;

-wildlife management, $23,200;

-English, $23,700;

-teacher education and professional development, $24,200;

-psychology, $24,500;

-natural-resources conservation, $24,500;

-communications and media, $25,200;

-sociology, $27,100; and

-general education, $31,200.

Moral of the story: The conventional wisdom that college degrees are a great investment is wrong. Students need to think carefully about how best to use their time and money after high school.