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| Bachelor's degree | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Lifetime gain can be huge | |||
Average | $308,588 | Liberal arts | $243,883 |
Business | $349,028 | Social science | $210,080 |
Computers | $443,180 | Science | $283,286 |
Engineering | $497,930 | Education | $108,461 |
Engineering and computers are once again the big money-makers, although the business degree has a higher-than-average present value.
The only squeaker here is the education degree, which makes sense. If you're going to teach in a public school, you probably don't want to blow $110,000 on an Ivy League education if financial calculations are your motivating factor.
More from MSN Money
How master's diplomas pay off
The remaining tables show the present value of the increase in income compared to a bachelor's degree holder:| Master's degree | |||
|---|---|---|---|
A mixed result | |||
Average | $180,010 | Social science | Less than 0 |
Business | $375,780 | Science | $136,873 |
Engineering | $362,092 | Education | $106,388 |
Liberal arts | Less than 0 |
You'll notice two of the degrees have a present value of less than zero. How can this be? Well, the Census Bureau's figures show that someone with a liberal arts master's degree earned just $5 a month more, on average, than someone with a bachelor's in the same field ($3,460 compared to $3,455). In fact, the average liberal arts M.A. earned about $300 a month less than the average bachelor's degree recipient.
Social science master's degrees were slightly more lucrative, but still earned less than the average bachelor's.
Professionals and their huge loans
Does this mean you should never pursue a master's degree in English or an advanced social studies degree? Of course not. But I wouldn't go up to your ears in hock to pay for it.| Professional degree | |
|---|---|
Big-time payoff | |
Average | $716,927 |
Law | $748,865 |
Medicine | $977,601 |
Speaking of hock, huge student loan debts are often the price of a law or medical degree. The good news is that it seems to pay off. The $100,000 or more you borrowed for med school pales next to the $1 million present value of the payoff.
| The PhD | |
|---|---|
Science pays more | |
Average | $187,920 |
Science | $299,190 |
Unfortunately, the bureau's sampling was too thin in the Ph.D. stratosphere to tell us much about payoffs other than the doctoral science degree is more valuable than the average Ph.D. But you really didn't need me to tell you that.
You also don't need me to tell you that averages aren't predictive for the individual. You may earn way more or way less in your chosen field, depending on your initiative, the breaks you get and labor supply and demand throughout your working life, among many, many other factors.
Liz Pulliam Weston's new book, "Easy Money: How to Simplify Your Finances and Get What You Want Out of Life," is now available. Columns by Weston, the Web's most-read personal-finance writer and winner of the 2007 Clarion Award for online journalism, appear every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money. She also answers reader questions on the Your Money message board.
Updated Sept. 28, 2007
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