So, you’ve decided to go to grad school. Good for you. Particularly nowadays, what with all the societal and economic upheaval, it wouldn’t hurt to have that hard-earned credential in your pocket. The likelihood is that grad school will benefit you a great deal. You’ll likely have to take out loans to finance your education, so, if you can, you should get a graduate degree with a high ROI. The following grad school degrees are worth the debt.
The Issue
It is no secret that, in general, those with advanced degrees earn more than those that do not. In fact, if you do get such a degree, you can expect a median income of $73,100. That’s compared to $50,281 for bachelor-degree holders, and $29,766 annual for the average high school graduate.
The rub, though, is that if all that new cash goes to student loan payments, what are you really doing? So that you get the best return on your investment, Kiplinger figured out which fields provide those with advanced degrees the fastest payoffs and the sweetest careers.
Which Grad School Degrees are Worth Student Loans?
You’ll probably need student loans for your tuition, etc., so you may as well get into a field that makes the debt worth your while. And by the way, Juno has the best undergraduate student loans and help for grad students, to boot.
– Civil engineering. It’s always been lucrative to get a civil engineering degree, but you’ll do around $13,000 better if you get that extra degree, be it a master’s or doctorate.
– Accounting. If you have a doctorate but not much experience, you can count on earning a median of $93,000 annually. Those are no small potatoes.
– Math. To get most gigs as a mathematician, you’ll need a master’s degree anyway. That’s a good thing, since with a master’s you’ll earn a median of $102,440. College math professors have doctoral degrees and draw an annual salary of $65,930.
– HR management. To start, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree. However, for higher levels, you’ll need more education. By next year, HR managers will earn a median of $100,800.
– Information systems. The field is already lucrative: a median of $86,700 by mid-career – and it’s more for those with master’s and doctoral degrees. They start at $62,900 an $77,800, respectively. The crème de la crème – information systems managers – usually have advanced degrees and earn a median of $123,950.
– Business administration. You can go from around $41,400 for a bachelor’s degree to $57,500, if you have a master’s degree – and that’s just when starting out. Those with doctorates make $83,000 to start. Check out this grad school reddit article for more insight.
– Economics. If you’re in mid-career and have a master’s, you can make a median of $115,300. You can draw $129,000 if you have a doctoral degree.
– Computer science. Another lucrative career that can be made even richer by an advanced degree. A PhD holder can pull six figures – to start! It’ll take a college grad a few years to make that.
– Marketing management. Top roles here call for a master’s degree. Marketing managers can demand upwards of $123,220 a year.
Now that you know the grad degrees that are worth the debt, you can go in that direction, if you’re so inclined. One thing’s for sure, it’s a wise idea to further your education in this unstable economic environment, despite the time and expense.