by Brian Dooley

Created on: April 04, 2007   Last Updated: May 02, 2007

Better Earnings after A Master's Degree: A Myth

Four years of books, studying and exams later, you walk off campus for the last time, armed with your Degree. Now you can finally get out into the real world and make some real money. Think again.

The fact is, once a graduate steps off the commencement stage and into the work force, that new Master's degree doesn't guarantee anything. They still have to compete with other graduates, or worse, other graduates and non-graduates who've already established a track record in the work force.

College in and of its self is a great thing. I'm not arguing the enormous value of education, if it's knowledge you're seeking. But survey after survey clearly points out; Nearly all students enrolling in higher education today, are seeking more money, not more education.

So the question no longer is, "Do degreed employees make more money?" as that's already been answered. Instead, today's young adults need to be asking, "What's the best value for my time?"

Here's why.

While it's true that degreed earners make nearly double their non-degreed counterparts (www.uscensus.gov) the data represents over four generations of income earners. Of course that number would be double, in fact I'm discouraged that it's only half. It would be ridiculous to assume that a 55 year-old professional with a degree AND 30 years of industry experience would make any thing less than double what a 20 year old non-degreed cashier makes.

There's an assumption that once you have your degree, employers will suddenly offer you a corner office and stencil your name on a front-row parking space.

Author and Forbes columnist Edwin S. Rubenstein, in his article, "The College Payoff Illusion" points to the real culprit in the earnings gap. "Income levels for the average college graduate have stagnated. After adjusting for inflation, the average income of college graduates holding full-time jobs rose by only 4.4 per cent between 1979 and 1997, or at a minuscule annual rate of 0.2 percent. At the same time, workers with only high-school degrees saw their real income plummet by 15 percent. Bottom line: the much-ballyhooed college wage "premium" is due primarily to the fall in inflation-adjusted salaries of workers who haven't been to college. In fact, if you don't go on to graduate school or are not among the top graduates at one of the nation's elite colleges, chances are your sky-high tuition is buying you no economic advantage whatsoever. In recent decades the flood of graduates

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