Is a Masters Degree Worth the Time and Cost?

As if educational institutions did not already have enough problems, now the value of having a post graduate degree before you enter the work force is being seriously questioned. Is the time delay in entering the job market worth it as the number of laid off workers, with or without degrees, compete for fewer and fewer jobs?

Universities are already experiencing lower enrollments for the second semester of this school year. They are also experiencing declining enrollment by foreign students due to the strong U.S. dollar. On top of those financially negative situations gifts and endowments are drastically declining as private donations from individuals, philanthropic foundations and corporate sponsors are impacted by the disastrous decline in capital asset value of various investments. To counter these negative factors on funds available for operations a trend is appearing where school counselors are more heavily promoting the need for advanced post graduate degrees. In other words they need current undergraduate students to stay longer and spend more money.

Current undergraduates checking with colleagues already in the job market are not getting the same advice they hear from university counselors. With such massive unemployment figures shocking the workforce and with cash pressures on all sizes of businesses the higher salaries expected by Masters Degree holders is working against the job seeker.

We are all aware how small the Internet has made our world and this fact is having an impact on job seekers worldwide. For this very reason it is important to understand what has happened in other countries on this same subject. This trend had already occurred and taken its toll eventually on educational institutions in Asian and European countries. Too many Masters Degree holding applicants expecting too much money resulted in job seekers leaving off their high degree accomplishment on their applications. This was done because having the degree on their resume or curriculum vitae was actually reducing the number of call back interview opportunities.