Use this guide from 糖心vlog官网观看 to learn more about master鈥檚 degrees and whether a postgraduate course may help you meet your career goals. We'll outline the advantages, time commitment, costs, types, and alternatives to a master's degree.
Learn more about evaluating whether a postgraduate master's degree is the right decision for your future.
Earning your master鈥檚 degree has many advantages. It can lead to higher salaries, advanced career opportunities, higher-level subject knowledge, and a feeling of accomplishment. But embarking on a postgraduate degree takes time and money.听
Whether a master鈥檚 degree is worth it ultimately depends on your personal, professional, and educational goals, as well as your financial resources. As you evaluate your options, you should take time to weigh your larger objectives and needs. In this article, we鈥檒l review the reasons why a master鈥檚 degree may be a worthwhile investment for your future, and how to evaluate whether it鈥檚 the right decision for you.听
There are several benefits that usually come with earning a master鈥檚 degree, though your return on investment (ROI) will depend on your situation鈥攁nd your potential industry.听
Graduates with a master鈥檚 degree make 拢42,000 a year on average and experience less unemployment than those with an undergraduate degree or a diploma. Undergraduate degree holders make 拢35,000 a year and will land full-time employment at a slightly lower rate (52 percent versus 63 percent for master鈥檚).
Depending on your industry, you could earn significantly more with a master鈥檚 degree. For example, the average salary for a Master of Business Administration (MBA) was 拢46,190 in 2021. Higher-paying jobs also tend to prefer or require an advanced degree.听
Lifetime earnings
While your yearly salary is important, it can help to think about your earning potential over the course of your lifetime. If you plan on working for several more decades, you may be able to add substantially to your net earnings thanks to the higher salaries typically associated with master鈥檚 degrees. A study investigating the correlation between education and lifetime earnings found that graduate degree holders saw rising median incomes into their mid-50s鈥攚ell past the early 40s where bachelor鈥檚 degree holders saw their earnings plateau.
While a bachelor鈥檚 degree serves as the entry point for many careers, a master鈥檚 is a more common requirement for industries such as education, information science, computer science, medicine, and healthcare administration, all of which tend to pay more.听听听
The following roles tend to benefit a lot from a Master鈥檚 degree:听
Job Title | Median UK Salary |
---|---|
Guidance/career counselor | 拢35,000 |
Librarian | 拢46,000 |
Speech-language pathologist | 拢37,890 |
Economist | 拢40,000 |
Physician鈥檚 assistant | 拢32,604 |
Nurse practitioner | 拢34,744 |
Overall, a master鈥檚 degree isn鈥檛 a requirement for every senior-level job, but a growing number of professions prefer candidates with postgraduate education.听
Job candidacy听
Between 1991 and 2019, the number of master鈥檚 degrees awarded rose by 143 percent鈥70-percent faster than bachelor鈥檚 degrees. Given the growing popularity of a master鈥檚 degree as a distinguishing credential, you may be able to stand out from other job candidates after earning one, though experience is still a key component.听
Earning your master鈥檚 degree isn鈥檛 just about your education (though that鈥檚 certainly a critical part); it鈥檚 also about the connections you make in your program. Your professors and even your classmates can add to your network and may lead to new opportunities.听听
A master鈥檚 degree can take anywhere from one to three years to complete, depending on whether you attend full-time or part-time. The cost of earning a master鈥檚 ranges between 拢10,000 and 拢12,000 a year and for MBAs that figure can rise to 拢11,000 to 拢30,000 on average in a year. Tuition can vary dramatically between institutions and courses: The least expensive, on average, is 拢8,925 to earn a master鈥檚 degree at Royal Veterinary College (RVC), whereas the most expensive cost is 拢67,750 at London Business School.听
As you contemplate whether a master鈥檚 degree is worth it for you, make sure you spend time researching the cost of each potential program you鈥檇 like to attend. Think about how cost factors into your needs: Is it the top priority in your decision-making or is program length, faculty expertise, or another feature more important?听听
To answer that question, it鈥檚 good to think about what you hope to accomplish with a master鈥檚 degree and the resources you have to get one.听
Questions to ask before starting a master鈥檚 program:
What are my goals?听
Can a master鈥檚 degree help me achieve them?听
Do I have the time to dedicate to earning a master鈥檚 degree?听
Am I prepared to take on the additional work of graduate school?听
Can I afford the cost of attending a master鈥檚 program?听
Am I comfortable taking out loans if I can鈥檛 cover the cost out of pocket?听
Do I have a plan in place to repay those loans?听
These questions will help you assess your specific situation and whether a master's degree is the best decision for your future needs, plans, and goals.
Your time and money are valuable and should be part of your decision-making. You should have some understanding of your finances before deciding whether to apply for a master鈥檚 degree. If you鈥檙e working, can you take time off to attend a full-time master鈥檚 programme, or will you need to continue working? Can your schedule fit the demands of a postgraduate course load, which is 180 credits?听
While your master鈥檚 degree can yield higher salaries, it may take some time to move into a role that pays more. Having a plan to pay for your master鈥檚 degree beyond student loans can be advantageous because it means you鈥檒l be better informed and better prepared after graduation.听
You should think about your interests, career goals, and resources as you decide which master鈥檚 program to pursue. The three most popular fields of study for master鈥檚 degrees are business, education, and health. Over half of the master鈥檚 degrees awarded were in those areas, and each shows faster-than-average job growth rates.
There are a number of master鈥檚 degrees to choose from, but the most common tend to be:听
Master of Arts (MA): A graduate-level degree typically for students interested in the arts, humanities, and social sciences
Master of Science (M.Sc): A graduate-level degree typically for students interested in tech, natural sciences, and mathematics
Master of Business Administration (MBA): A graduate-level degree for students interested in business and management听
Master of Public Health (MPH): A graduate-level degree for students interested in protecting and improving health in communities听
Master of Education (MEd): A graduate-level degree for students interested in becoming educational administrators
Unlike choosing a subject for an undergraduate degree, a master鈥檚 ideally builds on something you know or want to learn more about. If you鈥檙e already in the workforce and enjoy what you鈥檙e doing, you can get a master鈥檚 in a subject related to your industry. Or if you鈥檝e come to learn about a new area that interests you and want to switch career paths, you can pursue a master鈥檚 in a new subject to gain more in-depth knowledge.听
Online master鈥檚 have grown increasingly popular in recent years, largely because many students choose to work while earning their postgraduate degrees. An online master鈥檚 degree may be a more affordable and flexible option than earning your degree on campus. For example, the average fee for a postgraduate course at University of Oxford is 拢9,000 per annum.
If you鈥檇 like to bolster your subject knowledge and advance your training, there are other options besides a master鈥檚 degree that can add to your ongoing education.听
If you want to demonstrate competency in a specific skill set then you might want to consider a certificate. Certificates can be an excellent way to show employers that you have foundational knowledge in a topic, or do you have good skills in your area. For example, you could do the Google Project Management: Professional Certificate or the IBM Data Science Professional Certificate on 糖心vlog官网观看.
Free courses: If you鈥檇 like to brush up on a topic or learn something new, taking an additional course or a series of courses may be a better option than completing a master鈥檚 degree. You can find many free courses in a range of topics from the University of London, IBM, and other providers on 糖心vlog官网观看 too.
Graduate Management Admission Council. ", https://www.gmac.com/-/media/files/gmac/research/employment-outlook/2021_crs-demand-of-gm-talent.pdf." Accessed November 1, 2022.
New York Magazine. ", https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/08/whats-a-masters-degree-really-worth.html." Accessed November 1, 2022.
Education Data Initiative. ", https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-a-masters-degree." Accessed November 1, 2022.
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This content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.