Will A Masters Degree Increase My Salary Scholarly Article

If yous're considering going dorsum to higher , you may exist considering the diverse arguments for and against the value of earning a bachelor'southward caste.

Many professionals cite "the power to make more money" as the motivating cistron behind why they chose to pursue a higher degree. Just does earning a higher degree actually lead to a higher salary? And if then, how much higher? Is the increase in pay ultimately worth it —worth the fourth dimension, attempt, and money spent earning it?

The short respond is: Yeah! Advancing in your pedagogy does typically lead to higher annual and lifetime earnings, at all levels of education.

Below, we explore the average salary earned at each educational level so you lot tin can better empathize your current earning potential and make a smarter conclusion as to whether or not earning a higher caste makes sense for you.

[Editorial Note: All salary data is sourced from the U.Southward. Agency of Labor Statistics (BLS) .]

Boilerplate Bacon by Education Level

Chart depicting BLS data of median annual earnings & unemployment rates by education level

Average Salary with Less Than a High Schoolhouse Diploma

Median Weekly Earnings: $592

Median Annual Earnings: $30,784

Average Unemployment Rate: 5.4%

Perhaps unsurprisingly, individuals without a high school diploma or an equivalent (such as a GED) earn the lowest salary compared to all other pedagogy levels: $592 per week, or roughly $thirty,784 per year. These individuals too have the greatest risk for unemployment, with an boilerplate unemployment charge per unit of 5.4 percent.

If y'all oasis't earned a high schoolhouse diploma, finishing your education or earning a GED can bring substantial benefits, including an average increase in annual income of more than than $8,000 along with greater job security. Additionally, earning your high school diploma will further allow you to pursue higher didactics should you choose, and all of the benefits associated with information technology.

Boilerplate Salary with a High Schoolhouse Diploma

Median Weekly Earnings: $746

Median Almanac Earnings: $38,792

Average Unemployment Charge per unit: 3.seven%

High schoolhouse graduates earn an average of $746 per week, or $38,792 annually, and lower their risk of unemployment to 3.7 percent. Merely completing a high school teaching tin can increase your expected income by more than $8,000 compared to non earning a loftier school diploma.

For each level of education that an individual achieves later loftier school, this earning potential increases. Earning an associate degree brings an average pay increase of more than $vii,000, and earning a available'south degree brings an average increase of more than $26,000.

Average Salary with Some College merely No Degree

Median Weekly Earnings: $833

Median Almanac Earnings: $43,316

Average Unemployment Rate: 3.3%

Individuals who have completed some college courses but did not graduate earn an boilerplate of $833 per calendar week or $43,316 annually. This group of students has an average unemployment charge per unit of 3.3 pct.

While these individuals enjoy higher pay and lower unemployment compared to those with only a loftier school diploma and no college experience, they are unable to realize the benefits associated with earning a degree. Past returning to school and earning an associate degree, these individuals can look to earn an average of $ii,808 more than they are currently earning. Completing a bachelor'southward degree, nevertheless, stands to increase their pay even further, by $21,580 onorthward average.

If you started college but didn't finish , there are a number of options that can help yous complete your degree. A caste completion program , for example, is a college program specifically designed for individuals who have started and not finished their degrees. These programs accept as many previously earned credits equally possible and then that students can graduate more quickly than if they were to start over entirely. Information technology may also be possible to earn credit for your prior work experience , further accelerating your caste completion.

Average Salary with an Acquaintance Caste

Median Weekly Earnings: $887

Median Almanac Earnings: $46,124

Boilerplate Unemployment Charge per unit: 2.7%

Those who have completed an associate degree earn an average pay of $887 per calendar week or $46,124 per year. In keeping with the economic tendency, their take a chance of unemployment also decreases compared to those with less pedagogy, to 2.7 percentage.

Associate degree holders earn more than than $7,300 more per yr than their peers whose teaching stopped after high school—a substantial increment, which translates into more than $293,000 over a typical 40-year career. And by advancing from an associate caste to a bachelor'southward degree, average annual pay increases by an additional $eighteen,772.

For this reason, information technology is non uncommon for an individual who has earned an associate degree to go back to school in society to convert their associate degree into a bachelor'south degree and obtain the higher earning potential that typically comes with a four-year degree. Wages aside, considering a available'southward degree is a prerequisite for most graduate-level courses, associate degree holders with a want to pursue more advanced degrees sympathize that doing so is the next logical footstep for them to take.

Larn More than: Associate Degree vs Available's Caste: 5 Key Differences

Average Salary with a Bachelor's Degree

Median Weekly Earnings: $1,248

Median Annual Earnings: $64,896

Average Unemployment Rate: 2.2%

Bachelor's caste holders earn an boilerplate weekly pay of $one,248, or $64,896 per year. Their unemployment rate is two.2 percent, which is nearly one-half the unemployment rate of high schoolhouse graduates.

While each previously mentioned increase in education brought with it at least some increase in pay, the divergence in average pay between an associate degree holder and a bachelor's degree holder is stark. Bachelor's degree holders volition earn an average of $18,772 more each year than associate degree holders. Over the course of a xl-yr career, this equates to more than $750,000 in additional income.

Clearly, earning a available's degree still makes a lot of financial sense. But according to Anna Hughes, Senior Assistant Director of Enrollment Services at Northeastern University, the benefits are more than than financial.

"Earning a bachelor's degree brings a lot of what I call soft skill evolution," Hughes says. "I call back that learning to piece of work together at a college level with classmates is a huge opportunity to build self-confidence and resilience, which tin be difficult to obtain elsewhere."

Additionally, if an individual would like to eventually earn a primary's degree, doctorate, or professional caste, information technology is most impossible to do and then without first earning a bachelor'south degree. In this style, earning a bachelor'due south degree can serve every bit a means of unlocking further educational opportunities and the benefits they bring with them.

While available's degrees are oft referred to every bit 4-year degrees, accelerated bachelor's degree programs can be completed in equally little as 12 to 18 months, assuasive students to realize their benefits even more quickly.

Read More: 10 Benefits of Having a College Degree

Boilerplate Bacon with a Master'south Caste

Median Weekly Earnings: $1,497

Median Almanac Earnings: $77,844

Average Unemployment Rate: 2.0%

Individuals who keep their education to the graduate level and earn their chief's caste earn an average wage of $one,497 per week or $77,844 per year. At 2.0 percent, their unemployment rate is slightly lower than bachelor's degree holders.

The wage gap that exists between master's and bachelor's caste holders is less substantial than the one between an associate degree and a available's degree. Even still, master's caste holders earn nigh $13,000 more per year than 4-yr degree holders—a substantial render on investment for well-nigh graduates. And just as earning a bachelor's degree is a prerequisite for earning a master's degree, earning a master'southward degree is typically required if your eventual goal is to earn a doctorate or professional person caste.

Average Salary with a Doctorate or Professional Degree

Median Weekly Earnings, Professional person Degree: $i,861

Median Annual Earnings, Professional Degree: $96,772

Average Unemployment Charge per unit, Professional person Caste: 1.6%

Median Weekly Earnings, Doctoral Degree: $1,883

Median Annual Earnings, Doctoral Caste: $97,916

Average Unemployment Rate, Doctoral Degree: ane.1%

Doctoral and professional degrees are often termed "terminal degrees" because they typically represent the furthest that an individual tin accept their education in a given discipline. Equally such, they're oft discussed together in terms of pay and employability.

Those with a professional degree earn an average of $one,861 per week, or $96,772 annually, and take a depression rate of unemployment at 1.6 per centum. Doctorate holders earn an boilerplate of $1,883 per week, or $97,916 annually, and savor the lowest charge per unit of unemployment at ane.ane per centum.

The increase in average pay that comes from a chief's degree holder advancing to a doctoral or professional person degree is comparable in magnitude to the difference that comes from an acquaintance degree holder earning a available'southward degree. Individuals with professional person degrees earn near $19,00 more than master's caste holders on average; for individuals with doctorates, that number is over $20,000. Over the course of a 40-year career, this ways that those with professional degrees and doctorates tin can earn as much as $760,000 and $800,000 more than their peers with master'due south degrees, respectively.

Making the Correct Decision for Your Time to come

The bacon figures and unemployment rates higher up demonstrate that, for many individuals, earning a bachelor's caste (or graduate degree) leads to a positive return on investment. Simply according to Hughes, that isn't plenty to conclude that earning a college caste is necessarily the right path for anybody.

"I don't think anybody needs a bachelor's degree," Hughes says. "For example, a lot of individuals who go to vocational schools probably have the background they need to be successful in their trade. Of course, to progress in their career, they might have to go back to school, but that should be an individual determination that you make for yourself."

Read More: Do I Actually Demand a Bachelor's Degree?

That being said, if you do decide that earning a degree volition help you reach your personal and professional goals, it's of import that you find a program that aligns with those goals.

Hughes specifically recommends that students evaluating potential programs should examine the school'due south price point and the type of academics being offered. The program that you choose needs to fall within your budget, offer y'all the flexibility and support you'll need to consummate your degree while juggling other responsibilities , and arm you with the experience that will aid you land a job after graduating.

The Bachelor'southward Degree Completion program at Northeastern Academy delivers on all of these elements. Flexible learning options such as online and hybrid courses permit students to learn whenever and wherever is most convenient for them—making the plan ideal for working professionals seeking to terminate their caste. A generous transfer credit policy means that individuals can finish their caste speedily and affordably. And experiential learning opportunities such as co-ops and internships allow students to proceeds real hands-on experience that employers are looking for.

"I thing that Northeastern is truly known for is its co-ops, which give students the opportunity to proceeds tangible piece of work feel prior to graduating," Hughes says. "We believe that learning should get across what'due south in the textbook."

Do you call up that a bachelor'southward degree completion program could be right for you? If so, we assure you that it's within your accomplish ! To learn more than, explore Northeastern'south bachelor's caste completion programs or get communication from an admissions counselor today.