@Amil Zola,
Actuaries do not start at 100K. I have many friends who are actuaries. They start more at $80K on average (Only a bit more than accounting). In order to earn 150K they need to become either an FSA on the Life side, which means passing 10 very tough exams or an ACAS on the causality side and pass 6 very tough exams. it take smore than 2 years unless you are a super star. And i refer to the greater NYC area which is almost the highest pay. One can work in consulting and slave away at 60 hours a week i suppose. But even there it will take about 5 years to make 150K.
Data jobs and program analysts perhaps start at 90K but only rise by say 3% a year.
And the point is what’s $90K worth when you can get $50K net in programs
Re relocation , in this remote world that’s less of an issue
The real issue you need to address is why slave away at a college educated job when you can at minimum earn the same without it and usually you can start off earning more? Even if you earn less, you get so many govt programs that why sweat? It seems to be only worth it once you exceed the 150k mark. I don’t see so many of the career paths listed above exceeding that.
This is a new phenoionim . it used to be that you can’t earn much more than B&H like job at 50K in the frum world.
All the other benefits you mention are nice. I’ll also add that min corporate generally if you get laid off you have 60 day notice plus severance. At a frum place its often just goodbye and then no paransa. But none of those benefits are that alluring to people when the base salary isn’t higher.
You also touch upon a good discussion re a secular HS education. But today so many get into PCS like classes in accounting social work and a slew of other fields without it. They also don’t pursue a career till 5-10 years down the line after HS. I just don’t see its contribution to paransa the same as it used to be. There are other benefits to a HS secular education but from a paransa standpoint this whole idea of college just doesn’t to add up mathematically.