Was the cost of your college degree worth the outcome?

We all acquire some sort of debt when we purse higher education no matter if we paid for it out of pocket or by student loans. However, as I work on my master degree and have taken out my first student loan ever I wonder will this new debt be worth it in the end. I paid for my bachelor completely out of pocket and it was very hard; but when I got my promotion on my job do to my degree, I was very happy. Were I work at now don’t require a masters degree but I’m hoping with a master degree that it will give me much more different option of jobs to apply for.

Basically, it’s the debt that has me worried I feel like I’m taken a huge gamble that I will land a job that will help pay off the degree and increase my salary. I didn’t have these concerns when I took a gamble with my bachelor, but I paid out of pocket with that one. A friend told me it dose not matter what your masters degree is in but she says it will be a big help financially later on for me.
Has anyone’s’ degree been a big help for them financially despite any debt they have had to take on in order to get ahead?

 

No. It hasn't. At least for me.

North Carolina Wesleyan College-15K orginal loan with 20K in interest. Not even close to being worth the degree in the real market time. At least for me.
Thomas Edison State College-BA-paid in installments-paid off
North Carolina Central University-MA paid by semester- paid off
North Carolina Central University-MLS-paid by semester-paid off
University of Houston-PhD ongoing- Paying in installments. I have to work a second and third job(teaching) to pay for it. It is now up to 1000 a class. Unbelievable. They (UH Board ) just approved another tuition hike(www.uh.edu). It made front page.

My two cents.

 

Best return on education...

My wife got a 1 year certificate in programming from CIE (DETC accredited). It cost about $550. Within a few months of graduation she got a programming job that came with a $450 a month raise. 4 years later she makes almost double what she did then.....

 

Yes, my graduate degrees have been worth the cost. Since I work in academia, my degrees have allowed many doors to be opened for me.

Tony Piña
Administrator, Northeastern Illinois University

 

Like the saying goes..."Your mileage may vary".

Determining the opportunity cost of a degree is difficult because it involves time...and in time, things and people change.

 

Avia93

Very often we discuss these costs in dollars, I would like to offer another perspective. Many of us gave up a considerable portion of our lives (in some undesireable locations) to acquire the GI Bill so we could attend college. So while I appreciate the monetary costs I would have to say that the educational attainment for many (including myself) was far more than a monetary investment. And for me, yes it was worth it, if for no other reason than it set the example for my children on the importance of the role of education.

Kevin

 

The company I work for now requires a BS or BA degree if you have an "Engineer" or "Manager" in your title. The degree can be totally unrelated to your current occupation. (my boss has a degree in sociology, mine is in IT - we are both semiconductor engineers).

So yes, the $28G's it cost me for my BSIT from UoP will pay off in about one more year. (based on what I make now verses what I made before the degree).

I doubt the MBA will help very much financially. I am doing it more to show that any C- student from the streets of East Oakland can get an MBA if they try hard enough. More of an ego thing (ok - so I want the MBA ring -- I will be the first to admit it -- and of course the MBA title on my business card - lol).

 

Yes it was worth it, it has given me much more confidence to do do my job. At work it helps with the promotion process. I am also proud to be able to tell my kids that I do have a college degree.

 

My law degree cost me a total (after VA payments and the $1,000 scholarship) of about $2,000 for tuition and fees for all three years. Opportunity cost was probably about $45,000 net and represented the only real expense to me. I wasn't making much in those days as a television broadcast technician.

So, yes, it WAS worth it.

Now, is a J.D. worth $85,000-$100,000 range PLUS opportunity cost over three full time years?

I doubt it. In the vast majority of cases, I seriously doubt it. The figures would tend to show that increased income more than makes up for the initial expense but there is a downside that rarely gets mentioned. The law graduate MUST remain in the law to service his debt even if he discovers that he HATES practicing law. And about HALF do end up there. Worse, he is forced out of working in the more interesting, more fulfilling but very poorly paid public sector by the sheer weight of his debt. He becomes a sort of "debt slave".

There's a whole ABA committee devoted to this issue. Their reports and recommendations are available at www.abanet.org.

One solution is to pursue the J.D. at night over a four year period. That reduces the lost income cost but oh, lordy, what a struggle! And most night programs are found at private schools so you're still stuck with total tuition in the $85,000-$100,000 range.

 

Ummm...without a degree yet, maybe I shouldn't say anything here. But in anycase:

- If you look through Monster.com for jobs requiring say a "four-year" degree you notice thousands come up.
This means then that having a Bachelor's degree gives one access to thousands of jobs more than if one doesn't right?

-I am sure that applies to an Associates degree too.

-For me there's also something else, apart from the financial return on getting the degree: a sense of accomplishment, and renewed self-confidence when going out to find a job. I think that even if it were only because of this, it would make it worth it.

I have a friend who does have a degree and on asking him: So, does it open many more doors? He replies: Well I don't know, but at least it doesn't close them, as not having a degree does.

-For me it's just a matter of having more freedom. That is: Choices. There are so many jobs and things I cannot do because I don't have a degree that being without one is just not an option for me anymore, because I am sick and tired of not having those choices.

 

Yes, it was worth it. Let me clarify. My masters in professional counseling helped me become licensed in my state. The first 3 years post-masters I did not experience an income increase, but experienced a position improvement as a full-time mental health therapist in community mental health. Then, just 6 months ago, I took the leap to private practice. Within 4 months I'd equalled my previous salary. Now, having become credentialled through a number of insurance panels, my income will double that of my previous salary (with my existing clients, who have been paying sliding-fee scale till now). My practice has been full for quite a while now and in constant flux with new clients coming as others transition out. This was only made possible by my DL masters that led to state licensure, that enabled private practice.

Now, that said . . . as soon as I finished my masters I entered the PhD program - same school, slightly different specialty (marriage & family). THree years into my PhD I know that when I've completed the doctorate I won't experience any income improvements at all. I'm maxed financially with my masters and licensure if I continue with private practice, which is my love.

However, the PhD will (in the future) make me more marketable if I choose to offer continuing education seminars to other professionals for CEU's, or if I choose to publish (likely - for fun), or if I choose ever to teach a course or two in addition to my private practice just for diversion. So, even though the PhD won't necessarily increase my income, it will definitely increase my knowledge (I'm a very curious person and avid consumer of knowledge in my field!), my flexibility, and my credibility. Money - not likely. Other stuff - just as valuable, in my opinion.

~Michele Boudreau
M.S. - Capella University - Professional Counseling
PhD Candidate - Capella University

 

I really want a masters and do feel that it will be all worth it in the end. I just need to keep telling myself that every time I look at my student loan bill.

 

I only paid about $1100 for my MS-ITM. The rest was covered by tuition assistance from my employer. If I would have paid out of pocket, about 7K, it would definitely have been worth it.

 

Yes, but I paid next to nothing for my B.S. or M.S.

Freshman - Pell grant, paid nothing
Sophomore - CCAF credits and USAF paid 75% for classes I took at local CC. Probably less than $1000 total out-of-pocket.
Junior - Company TA
Senior - Company TA

Grad school - Company TA

 

I guess so. I outcome from college with degree. Is OK.

 

Results vary. My bachelor's was under $1,000. With it I was promoted from staff sergeant to second lieutenant. The break-even on that was about 2 months' salary. The incremental difference over the past 25 years was clear profit. So, yeah.

My master's was about 10 grand. I can't attribute any one particular promotion to it, but it got me several great jobs I would not have otherwise been eligible for, some of which actually paid okay. I'd say it paid off eventually.

My Ph.D. cost about $60k. Didn't see too much the first two years after graduation--about $10k extra each year. But I'll make up the entire amount this year alone, so yeah.

Bottom line: I simply cannot imagine what I'd be doing for a living at 45 without a degree, so it is hard to calculate the value. I pursued higher education for reasons only slightly connected to career, yet it all seemed to pay off in the end. It's crucial to know one's reasons and goals for pursing a degree--and that they might not always be directly connected to a paycheck. But do cash those checks.

 

Is it worth the cost?

In my field, it is worth it because I love my field and there is no way to get where I want to be without the degrees (Academia). I see others pursue degrees that I doubt will ever "pay off." I read statistics all the time with claims of how much more a person with a BS makes vs. only a high school diploma, how much more one with a Masters makes, and how much more one with a Ph.D makes and so on. Statistics are almost never what they seem. These statistics do not seem to take into consideration that the same people with ambition and brains are the same people who pursue ever higher education and so you can't really tell whether it is the degrees or the ambition and brains that "causes" the increase in income. Of course it is some combination of both, but except in fields where you "can't get there" without the degree, I think the relationship of the degree to income is overrated. My husband makes more than I do with almost no post-secondary education and this is not because he is "a man" or because of any degrees. It is because he works hard and is ambitious and thoughtful about what prospects will be good ventures. I know others without degrees who are very successful and it is definitely possible. Even without pursuing formal education, I believe a successful person must always continue "learning" by reading and paying attention to everything around themselves.
I have not spent all that much $$ on my education up until now since I got grants and financial aid for my BS and my employer (School district) payed for my Master's degree tuition, and so of course it was worth the money (and then some) in my case since I could not even being doing this type of work without the degrees). Now, pursuing a Doctorate, I could not really justify it if it meant putting my family out in some way or getting an "extra job." I chose NCU (the least expensive USA based online RA Doctorate that I know of). I do not know for sure if it will pay off but I have a hunch that it will since I want to move up a bit in academia. If my goal was to work more and harder with my husband in our business, I could be just as successful without the Doctorate. It depends on what one wants to do! Just my two cents.

 

Cost of Degree

My undergraduate (1984) cost about $4000 and my MBA (1997) cost about $6000, with my employer paying for half. I have eight years of college, with well over 200 semester hours, and I personally spent less than $8000 on tuition. Why? I attending state universities. This is not to say that private universities are not worth it; that would be crazy. Many private schools have exactly what some students are looking for. But numerous state supported schools have outstanding reputations, and cost one third to one half of many private schools.

My education was definitely worth the price tag. I knew in advance what I was buying, and I learned how to get the best bang for the buck.

 

Re: Is it worth the cost?

Yes but, under equal conditions, that is, two people who are both hard working, intelligent and ambitious, the one with the degree stands a greater chance of making more money and being more successful in general. If only because it will give him a wider range of CHOICES in which to develop his ambition...

Of course, a person that is hard working, ambitious, intelligent without a degree probably has it better than someone who is lazy, unintelligent, non-ambitious with a degree. But still in this case a degree can make quite a difference in favor of the latter (I've seen this very often).

 

Re: Cost of Degree

Insert joke here.

(No disrespect to Squirrel; we all make typos. But this was too good to pass up!)