The report found advanced degrees in social work and psychology may have a zero to negative return, while medicine, law and pharmacy degrees show the highest return.
By Todd Wallack, The Washington PostGraduates of Harvard Law School wave novelty gavels as they are conferred their degrees. Going to graduate school can boost your career and salary - but some of the most popular advanced degrees are not worth the cost.
That’s one of the main findings of a report released Tuesday by the Postsecondary Education & Economics Research Center at American University.degrees in medicine, law and pharmacy generally have the highest return on investment. By contrast, degrees insuch as social work, psychology, and curriculum and instruction may actually have a zero to negative return after factoring in the full cost. “The message is that we need to provide better information to students” about which programs are worth the time and expense, saidThe study comes at a time when the Trump administration and many education advocates have urged people to carefully consider the cost of graduate programs before enrolling, particularly if they need to take on student loans. In December, the Education Department created a tool to highlight the earnings of college graduates when people apply for federal student aid. The agency is also in the midst of crafting regulations to cut off federal aid for college programs whose graduates earn only meager salaries.To figure out whether a degree makes sense financially, the authors tried to calculate how much it would lift someone’s lifetime earnings. They then adjusted that for the amount that earnings probably would have grown anyway and the total cost of attendance, including lost earnings during school and the amount that students could have earned investing the money earmarked for tuition. The researchers found that earnings close to tripled for students who earned a medical doctorate and increased by more than two-thirds for those who obtained a doctorate in pharmacy . By contrast, they found only a modest increase for some other degrees and no gains for psychology, social work, and curriculum and instruction, after adding in the cost of the university program and any lost earnings. Economists say it can be tricky to figure out whether a particular graduate program is worth the investment. The earnings vary not only by degree, but also by institution; whether students can continue to work while earning their degree; how likely they are to drop out; and how much they may be able to earn while in school. Zhengren Zhu, co-author of the report, said many students just look at the earnings for graduates of a program.students at a particular school may have had high salaries even before they enrolled in grad school. That’s often true for elite business programs, for instance. “At the very least, you should compare what they earned before grad school and what they earn after,” said Zhu, an assistant professor of economics at Vassar College. The report was based on data from about 800,000 students over nearly three decades at public universities in Texas, where some of the most detailed earnings information is available. But the authors noted the findings were similar to those of a research paper that used data from Ohio. The latest report also found graduate degrees generally provided a bigger boost to women, full-time students and people who had lower-paying undergraduate degrees. Law and business programs also generally had a better return if they were highly ranked by U.S. News & World Report. The study did not factor in scholarships and other kinds of grants, which can lower the cost for some students and make graduate programs a better deal in some cases. Preston Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who has also studied the return on investment for higher education, recommended that people try to find out as much as they can about the full cost of a program and how much it helps students boost their salaries. That’s especially true for expensive programs that can lead students to take on debt.“A graduate degree can benefit you financially in some circumstances, but it is a very risky proposition,” Cooper said. “You want to make sure you are working with all the information.” Altonji noted that some people pursue additional education for various reasons. Certain careers - including becoming a lawyer, physician, marriage counselor, clinical social worker and school administrator - often require a graduate degree for licensing. And some students may want a credential for a job they would find personally fulfilling, even if it is not particularly lucrative.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Once-daily pill could help teens with common genetic heart disease, CHOP-led study findsMavacamten has been approved for adults with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy since 2022, but hadn’t yet been tested in adolescents or children.
Read more »
Sleeping 11 minutes longer each night shows surprising health benefit, study findsFox News Channel offers its audiences in-depth news reporting, along with opinion and analysis encompassing the principles of free people, free markets and diversity of thought, as an alternative to the left-of-center offerings of the news marketplace.
Read more »
Shower chances continue through Monday with above normal heat in southern ArizonaHighs are expected to run about 7 to 10 degrees above average through Tuesday, before dropping slightly to around 3 to 5 degrees above normal later in the week.
Read more »
Dogs have been humans’ best friend for 14,000 years, new study claimsA new study finds that the relationship between dogs and humans goes way way back, 14,000 years.
Read more »
Vaping Likely Causes Cancer, Major Study FindsThe Best in Science News and Amazing Breakthroughs
Read more »
Joey Urban Sees Hard Work Pay Off as No. 8 Southern Miss Shakes Off Offensive SlumpThe Golden Eagles broke through their recent offensive struggles in a big way during Sunday's 13-4 blowout win over App State, and senior outfielder Joey Urban played a big role in that.
Read more »