Online MBA and DBA Salaries

My other masters in Telecommunications and Technology Management with Information Security. I can't start a business at this point because I am a full-time professional working for a Fortune 500 company with a six-figure salary. I am also a full-time single parent with two little kids who are homeschooling. Until they are 12 years old, I am focusing on my professional job and preparing for the next career moves include starting a business or climbing the corporate ladder.

 

I’m not sure that is supported by evidence.

There is, of course, a wide range of doctoral degrees. According to the Census Bureau, the median salary for holders of doctorates in business is $94K. So, technically, half make less and half make more. But that doesn’t take into account where people are at in their career arcs. If you stratified that data, I think you’d find that more than half of experienced holders of business doctorates make more than $100K.

 

It's a choice only you can make, and having kids changes everything when you make the decision. Leaving the comfort of a good paying career and company, was one of the harder decisions of my life. I don't regret it, but it's certainly not easy. I was really fortunate though, my former employer refused to process my resignation letter for over year, while I stepped into something I love.

 

I agree with Rich that to a certain extent, where you are in your career arc determines your salary post-degree. There is another, more comprehensive, salary database that was organized by the US Census in coordination with the University of Michigan, University of Texas and University of Wisconsin. This is arguably the most accurate of all the degree salary info because it looks not just at a subset but every graduate of that institution who filed a tax return.

More interestingly, the data shows the salaries by years AFTER degree completion. Here is a sample for total masters and doctoral degrees at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor.

What is obvious here is that the value-added of a doctoral degree vs masters is almost nil.

University of Michigan Ann Arbor Median Salaries by Degree Level and Years since Graduation

Doctoral - Research/Scholarship (All Instructional Programs)
Yr 1 = 64,679
Yr 5=86,922
Yr10=104,363

Masters (All Instructional Programs)
Yr 1= 61,907
Yr 5 = 84,646
Yr 10=103,257

Source: PSEO
https://lehd.ces.census.gov/data/pseo_explorer.html

P.S. There is a breakdown here by field of study as well so you will see that the lower paying fields are in Education, social sciences, etc. and the higher paying in business and STEM.

 

Yeah, that surprises me a bit.