|
The gap is widening
Education has always paid off, but the income gap between education
levels is expanding. According to the Census Bureau, in 1975 workers
with an advanced degree--that is, a master's, professional, or doctoral
degree--earned about 1.8 times what high school graduates did. By 1999,
those with advanced degrees pulled in 2.6 times the salary a high school
grad could expect to earn.
Why is the gap widening? It's clear that
technological changes have placed a high premium on specialized
knowledge. But there are changes occurring at the lower end of the
educational spectrum as well. According to the Census Bureau, the
strength of labor unions is waning, and manufacturing jobs that don't
require higher education have become less lucrative. Additionally, the
minimum wage has not kept pace with overall salary trends.
The doctoral exception
One significant point stands out at the highest levels of educational
achievement--there is a significant gap between expected earnings for
professional degrees, which lead to careers as lawyers, doctors,
dentists, and veterinarians, and those for doctorates, which commonly
lead to professorships at colleges and universities. The chart above
demonstrates that people with doctorates are very well
compensated--averaging $89,400 per year. Their counterparts with
professional degrees, such as doctors and lawyers, average $109,600 per
year.
What about MBAs?
The Census Bureau study does not break out the lifelong expected
earnings for specific master's degrees, such as MBAs. However, a report
by the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC)--the organization
that administers the GMAT test--reports that MBA students can expect a
64 percent increase in salary from their last full-time job held before
beginning the program. In the United States, average salary rose from
$50,000 before entering an MBA program to $77,000 after completion.
There is no consensus on the lifetime value of an MBA, but the same
report by GMAC indicates a very high level of satisfaction with the MBA
degree in terms of salary and professional advancement. If the overall
career-track trends hold true, the future is bright for MBA students who
make the most of their skills.
The grad school decision
For most prospective students, the decision to enter grad school is
fundamentally different from choosing an undergraduate program. The most
important differentiator is job experience. Students tend to enter grad
school with a much clearer idea of what they enjoy, what they are good
at, and what they want to do in their careers. And in many cases, people
"go back to school" because, after some years in the working world, they
know what they don't want to do. For a businessperson who really wants
to teach, or a drama major who discovers a passion for computers,
graduate school is an opportunity for reinvention.
Even so, the decision to go to grad school is a
tough one. Graduate school is costly, both in terms of time and money.
The numbers indicate that a graduate degree tends to make a difference
in lifelong earnings. But to make a positive difference in your career
and your life, a graduate degree must help you realize your full
potential and pursue something that you care about.
The best first step is to compare graduate programs,
and even types of schools--do you want to go online, on campus, or a
blend of the two? Do your research, request information, get on the
phone with the admissions office. Grad school is an investment in your
future that is likely to pay off, but it's also an important decision,
and the more you know, the more impact your decision will have on your
life and career.
|
