What will you Earn after your Master’s Degree?

Postgraduation can be a brilliant opportunity for students to acquire advanced training, new skills, and in-depth knowledge of a subject. It is a qualification you should be extremely proud of irrespective of your future plans. But will it make you more employable or help you earn a better salary? Well, let's find out.

Pursuing a post-graduate degree entails a huge investment from the students in terms of time, effort, and money, therefore, it is important for you to know the worthiness of the degree in terms of future aspects. Some students pursue post-graduation in a subject area merely because of their interest and passion for the subject. However, it is not the case with the majority of the students. Several research studies suggest that continuing education after your graduation is not only beneficial but also the need for today's competitive market.

Studies also represent that students with a master's degree are more employable and also go on to earn more in their life. A Master's degree is definitely a great way to increase the overall employment rates of an individual but it does not mean that completing a master's will boost your employability automatically. You need to be capable enough to efficiently sell your skills to employers.

What makes a master's degree more valuable for an employer?

A master's degree helps a student to enhance his current abilities, acquire new skills, and the ability to transmit to an entirely new field. There are multiple graduate degrees you can earn in various fields ranging from business to design.

The benefits of a master's degree that impress an employer are

• Specialized knowledge to enhance your industry expertise.
• Career advancement ability that helps an individual to settle into more senior positions in an organization.
• Increased earning potential because of a boost in the researching, writing, and analyzing skill set.

What salary do postgraduates earn?

Now that it is established that a master's degree can help you become more favorable in the job market and will also help you to find a better job, it is time to understand if a master's degree will play a major role in your earnings or not. There have been studies on this aspect of a master's degree as well and the results definitely show that earning a post-graduate degree tends to increase the paycheck amount of an individual. Here are a few data figures from certain studies that analyze that students with a master's degree earn more than graduate students.

• Institute of Fiscal Studies, in a 2015 report, stated that postgraduates earn around 9% more than graduates over the period of their life.
• A report presented by the Sutton Trust in 2013 also found that postgraduate students earn more.
• According to the studies, a student with a bachelor's degree earns an average of about $61,000 in a year whereas a master's degree holder earns about $71,000 in a year.

Top paying degrees

There are several studies that show that a postgraduate degree or diploma opens up new doors to earning substantially higher wages.

Here's a list of the top 10 career options that require a postgraduation degree and offer the best starting salary packages

• Physician: The average annual salary of a primary care doctor is somewhere around $237,000 and goes up to $341,000 for a doctor who specializes in a certain field. The healthcare industry tops the chart with several high-paying jobs occupying the list with physicians at the peak.
• Nurse Anesthetist: A nurse anesthetist is a person who is responsible for administering anesthesia to a surgical patient. The average earning of a nurse anesthetist lies around $175,000 per year.
• Dentist: Dentistry not only helps a student to improve the smiles of millions all around the globe but also helps him to earn hefty paychecks. The average salary of a dentist is somewhere around $156,000 in a year.
• IT Management: In today's technology-driven era, companies are always looking for individuals who are capable of planning and executing their technological aims. The average salary of an IT manager or IT project manager is around $142,500.
• Pharmacy: Earning a Pharm.D. degree is quite challenging as it involves studying biology, chemistry, and pathology coursework. The average salary of a pharmacist accounts for $126,000 per year according to the sources.
• Law: A career in the field of law is amongst the highest paid in the world. The average salary of an attorney is somewhere around $121,000 per year.
• Nurse Practitioner: Nurse practitioners play an extremely important role in managing patient care. According to sources, the average salary of a physician assistant is $109,000 per year, and for a nurse practitioner is around $107,000 per year.
• Economics: A student who holds a post-graduate degree in Economics has multiple career options available to him and can earn an annual income of around $104,000.
• Engineering: Engineering is one of the most in-demand careers all around the globe and offers various employment prospects to a student based on his program specialization. The average salary of a student holding a master's degree in the field of Engineering is around $94,000 in one year.
• MBA: A master's degree in MBA is like a prerequisite in today's competitive era. A typical MBA graduate earns around $86,000 in a year according to the sources.

From the above-mentioned details, it is clear that most of the top-paying careers are from the healthcare industry including doctors, nurse anesthetists, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. Engineering, business, and law are some of the fields in which an advanced degree can also lead to a rewarding career.

How much can your degree make you earn?

Being a student often means facing a shortage of money or being reliant on the next loan installment or cash from parents to come in but things won't be this way forever. Soon you'll complete your post-graduation and start earning money. If you're talented and lucky enough that can be huge heaps of money. You can start fantasizing about how you'll spend your first salary by looking at the below-added list of post-graduation degrees and the average salary a person can earn for different jobs related to that degree

A PG degree is one of the sure-shot ways of increasing your earning potential. It is advised for you to pursue a career in a high-demand field to secure your professional and academic careers. Keep in mind that there are several factors that will affect how fat your paycheck will be after the post-graduation.

The four major factors are

• The employer company
• The job industry
• The location of the job
• Competition in the job market

There is no denying the fact that some degree disciplines will lead you to big money faster than others but you should never get too hung up on it. Choose something you're passionate about and you're more likely to stick with it, work harder to improve yourself at it, and be open to new challenges and opportunities. And all these are the major routes to a hefty salary. It is just the beginning of new adventures for you thus, do not judge your future career choices on money alone.

Success Could be achieved by owning your own business, traveling all around the globe, or anything in between the two. Keep your eyes on the prize of learning new skills and not on just the paycheck. This approach will definitely help you to find the right route for yourself.