There are many reasons to get a master’s degree. Earning a master’s degree may be your best bet for safeguarding your future employment, and if managerial positions or jobs in certain fields are what you aspire to, a master’s degree might actually be a requirement to reach them. Attending grad school for just one year shortens the time you’ll have to make and develop these connections. However, it’s not just a matter of deciding on a discipline, but also about whether a one-year or two-year course of study best suits your needs. Not to keep harping on the money thing, but the fact is that student loan debt is a harsh reality for loads of people. This means some schools are more expensive while others more affordable. One year, however, affords you the same opportunity for advancing your career without missing two years of working. Between tuition and living expenses, a two-year master’s degree program is a much more significant financial investment. Would it put you at better standing for a PhD application? Grow your leadership and management skills to get the most from your IT team and work more efficiently on projects. Well, we’ve got a few reasons that make two-year master’s degree programs a good bet, including the following pros: The job market is dynamic, and won’t always be in your favor. Therefore, look at it the way you would any other financial commitment. While a two-year master’s degree covers the same material as a one-year program, it does so over an extended period of time. Anesthetist. Much like Hamlet's existential struggles, the question about a Masters degree's value in one's life is a contemplation faced by all Masters candidates. Enrolling in graduate school often requires people to take on debt—students who pursued graduate and professional degrees account for 40% of the $1.5 trillion dollars of outstanding national student loan debt, the College Board reported in 2017. Also, the institution at which you can make a … Grad school isn’t right for everyone, especially when you consider that the cost of tuition alone can reach well into the six figures. They Have Transformative Potential for Your Resume. In order to finance their education, many people choose to work full-time while they get their master’s degree; however, that can be a hard juggling act, warns Julie Cohen, leadership coach and CEO of Work Life Leader. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average median weekly earnings for a person with a master’s degree is $1,434, compared to $1,198 for people with a bachelor’s degree and $730 for people with a high school diploma. Not only that, but you’ll also be forfeiting your real-world salary for two full years instead of one, and there’s no guarantee that you’ll recoup those costs. “For certain programs,” Bardaro says, “the salary boost that you’ll see might not actually be that much relative to how much you have to pay for the program.” In light of this info, ask yourself again, “Is a master’s degree worth it?” (As in, is it literally worth it?). One-year master’s degree programs offer appealing middle-ground: all of the advantages of an advanced degree at a fraction of the cost. Think again. Plus they attract student from all over the world and they are recognised as having value. In the end, a person’s pay will depend on the demand for that job, the level of difficulty of the degree and whether a master’s is needed to advance in the field, Carnevale says. Specialized jobs may require you to have a master’s degree. Master’s degrees can be an invaluable differentiator in a crowded and competitive job market. The application process for bigger companies tends to have many stages and can span the course of months. But it still comes with obvious and hidden costs. There are a few major financial implications of an advanced degree: tuition costs, loan deferment, and salary/potential worth upon completion of the program. So what are the specific benefits of one-year master’s degree programs? Was it worth it, in my experence it was worth it. 1. The average tuition and fees for a master’s degree program is about $17,385. “If you’re taking on more student loans, you need to crunch the numbers and see whether you’ll actually be able to pay that money back” without defaulting, says Artem Gulish, senior policy strategist at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. Then again, graduate school is pricey: Tuition costs about $30,000 a year at public schools and $40,000 a year for private programs. Which begs the question: why would you opt to spend more time and money for what is essentially the same thing? Dentist. ... That’s an increase of 1% on this time last year, despite a 1.9% dip in the country’s population of 18-year-olds. They Offer Specialized Knowledge, But In a Hurry. Integrated master’s degrees originated from the need for working engineers to have a higher qualification, closely followed by sciences where industry demands more than a first degree