Conventional wisdom says getting a college degree is worthwhile, but is it worth it to continue beyond the bachelor’s and get a heftier degree in hopes of making a heftier salary?
According to the Department of Labor Statistics, in a report that looked at weekly earnings according to level of education in 2015, the median earnings for those with professional degrees were highest at $1,730 per week. A doctoral degree is only slightly less at $1,623 a week, which is substantially more than a master’s degree at median of $1,341.
We know that to get the bachelor’s degree to begin with is worthwhile: median salary is $1,137 a week, almost double the high school diploma median of $678.
Not all are created equal, though, and the difference a higher degree can make in one’s salary naturally depends on field of study.
Per a study by online lender Social Finance, a person with an undergraduate degree in social sciences will see a 16.3 percent increase in median lifetime earnings if he or she goes for an M.A. or B.A. A fine arts graduate, on the other hand, would earn just 6.9 percent more if with an M.A.
The largest difference is in undergraduate degrees for medicine medical and nursing, which garner a 120.2 percent increase in salary with the possession of an M.D.
If someone with an undergraduate engineering or computer science degree gets a fine arts M.A., his or her median lifetime salary will actually go down 13.4 percent. If that same person gets an engineering M.S., he or she will earn 12.2 percent more in his or her lifetime.
So is it worth it? In short: sometimes.
Hannah Herner is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.