A new study of B.C. university graduates is reaffirming the value of a good education.

According to the second annual Putting Degrees to Work report, put out by the province’s six research universities, people who graduated in 2012 were earning a median salary of $50,000 just two years later.

That’s considerably higher than the average wage for people 15-24 years old, which is $30,400.

Simon Fraser University president Andrew Petter said the findings should be reassuring for any young people questioning whether higher education is the right choice for them.

“I think students come to university because they want to learn, they want to be educated, but they’re also very focused on where that will help them in terms of getting a job,” Petter said.

“What this study shows is that it will help them get a job, and in addition shows that job is likely to be one that will pay them a pretty good rate.”

The news was even better for health graduates, who were earning an average of $66,560 two years after graduation, and engineering students, who were earning an average of $62,000.

Researchers tracked five graduating classes, from 2008 to 2012, at B.C.’s six research universities – the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, the University of Victoria, the University of Northern British Columbia, Royal Roads University and Thompson Rivers University – and checked up with them two years later.

They found that positive results, such as successfully landing jobs and earning good salaries, are consistent over time.

Pay was lower for 2012 graduates in the arts and sciences, at $42,000 a year, and visual and performing arts, at $36,000, but still well above average youth salaries, according to the study.

Other findings included that the vast majority of students – 92 per cent – said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their education, and 83 per cent said their degrees were very useful to their jobs.

With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Scott Hurst