How Much Is a College Degree Worth?

Yes – you can make it big without a formal education. But some companies require a college degree before they’ll even consider a candidate for a job. So it’s logical to assume that if you encourage your kids to get a master’s degree or Ph.D., it will help them make more money. However, depending on the field they intend to go into, it may not make sense.

Census Bureau figures confirm that the average holder of a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts or social science, for example, makes just as much (and sometimes more) than a master’s degree holder. That’s an investment of an extra two or three years and thousands of dollars that won’t return any financial payback. People who plan to go into one of those programs should do it for the love of knowledge – not the love of money.

The best advice you can give your kids might be to stick to the educational path that Michael Masterson advocates: “Get your bachelor’s degree in liberal arts, because that is the best way to achieve the basic skills – reading well, writing well, speaking well, and thinking well.”

(Source: MSN Money Central)

[Ed. Note: Education IS important. One of the best ways to educate yourself about business is to pick up ETR’s Information Marketing Bootcamp DVD Library. Bootcamp attendee Sharon O’Day said about last year’s conference, “It’s like getting a master’s degree in how to build a business on the Internet!” You’ll be learning insider secrets from some of the word’s top Internet marketers – secrets that could make you $1 million or more in 2009.]