Are Master's Degrees subject to "Credential Inflation?"

It's Back 2 School season--but are you planning on going back to school?
We wrangled together some recent articles on the subject of graduate school for you that might impact your decision.

1. "The Master’s as the New Bachelor’s" by Laura Pappano's:

I graduated from college last year, and at the top of my class (I am only tooting my horn to make a point), yet still found myself working the same types of jobs I could have worked straight out of high school. Pappano makes the same observations:

"Call it credential inflation. Once derided as the consolation prize for failing to finish a Ph.D. or just a way to kill time waiting out economic downturns, the master’s is now the fastest-growing degree. The number awarded, about 657,000 in 2009, has more than doubled.... Nearly 2 in 25 people age 25+ have a master’s, about the same proportion that had a bachelor’s or higher in 1960."

--statistics from Debra W. Stewart, president of the Council of Graduate Schools

Today there are a plethora of masters courses including a masters in 'Fire Science & Administration' and 'Skeletal and Dental Bioarchaeology.' Each of these applied degrees tries to market the individual for future employment by teaching them skills that the market wants. In addition, these programs offer career counseling which includes CV-writing services, and mock interview preps, along with other networking resources that bring students and future employers together. Maybe it's a signalling cue, a shortcut if you will, to employers.

"Given two otherwise equal résumés, the master’s wins. A master’s degree doesn’t guarantee that someone will be much more successful. It says that this person is committed and dedicated to the work and has committed to the deep dive. It gives you further assurance that this is something they have thought about and want.” 

 --Laura Georgianna, in charge of employee development at Welch Allyn

But is the result of all these master's degrees an "over-educated American?" 

"The cost [of college is] borne by the students getting those degrees. The beneficiaries are the colleges and the employers... Employers get employees with more training (that they don’t pay for), and universities fill seats. A master’s in financial economics can be a “cash cow” because it draws on existing faculty (we give them a little extra money to do an overload) and they charge higher tuition than for undergraduate work.

--Richard K. Vedder, professor of economics at Ohio University and director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity

 So, as we have said before in previous articles (see "Is Graduate School Financially Sensible for You?"), consider the ROI of your degree.

2. "R.O.I." By Cecelia Capuzzi Simon:

 A little more than half of students working toward a master’s will borrow an average $31,000, on top of any undergraduate debt they may already have. Before you take the plunge into student debt, consider this advice from Dr. Anthony P. Carnevale, director of Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce.

"Think of grad school as a 40-year investment. Over time, it can move you out of the rank and file into elite positions. The key is determining where the jobs and compensation are. Consider, in your calculation, these variables: institutional quality, tuition costs, debt incurred, and the economic outlook over all and for particular specialties. So-called opportunity costs — lost wages and possible career advancement had you stayed in the job market — also change the cost-benefit picture"

Check out Dr. Carnevale's graph below with Census Bureau data analyzing compensation by major and degree level.

There are a lot of different things to consider about pursuing more education, but whatever you choose, we at the Thrifty Scholar hope you take on a course of study that you will enjoy, will make use of you different innate talents,  and that will challenge you so that your Monday mornings are always energized and your Friday evenings give you a sense of accomplishment.