Salary Expectations and Your Degree
For most students, earning a college degree is a means of career growth and leads
to a potential salary increase. A college degree tells an employer that you are
hard working and have the skill set and knowledge required for success.
Earning a degree online is the best way to improve your marketability to employers,
while maintaining your current job and at the same time, costing you less than a
degree from a traditional college.
So just how well do college degrees pay off? Read below to find out.
Associate’s degrees tend to have one of the highest payback in terms of potential
salary earnings. As shown in the chart to the left, an individual with an AA degree
will earn an average increase in income of $116,500 compared to what a high school
graduate would earn.
A Bachelor’s degree will also pay off handsomely, as you are likely to earn
an average of $308,588 lifetime gain in salary. If you equate this with the low
cost of earning your degree online, the payback is really quite large.
The potential salary increase with a Master’s degree varies depending on the area of study.
Liberal arts and social sciences Master’s degrees tend to make no difference in overall
earning potential, whereas an MBA makes a significant difference in earnings potential.