Perhaps this is rude....

[MD_AJIBULU]

but how much did your degree acquisition actually profit you? Bachelors or Masters...From a salary perspective only (I'm aware of the value it adds to your esteem and family blablabla). I'm looking for numbers here.

Don't share more than what makes you comfortable (if at all) but let's see if there are other incredibly motivating situations amongst us. Was there a substantial shift in your income after you obtained your degree? Yes, of course, "substantial" is relative - but lets say....20% difference between from your non degree life?

[cypster]

but how much did your degree acquisition actually profit you? Bachelors or Masters...From a salary perspective only (I'm aware of the value it adds to your esteem and family blablabla). I'm looking for numbers here.

Don't share more than what makes you comfortable (if at all) but let's see if there are other incredibly motivating situations amongst us. Was there a substantial shift in your income after you obtained your degree? Yes, of course, "substantial" is relative - but lets say....20% difference between from your non degree life?

It is highly probable that for a large number of members on this forum who work to complete their degrees "The value it adds to your esteem and family blablabla" may very well be the primary reason for returning.

That said, Passit's journey might prove helpful to you as you search for financial benefits that might be obtained from earning a degree. http://www.degreeforum.net/general-educa...ccess.html

Hope that helps.

[Synicaal]

I have no issues answering this question. When I was 19 I started working for Time Warner Cable. I was there for 9 years before issues arose and I was let go. I was making around $45,000 a year. This was with NO degree just started young and worked my way up the grade levels. (This position now requires at least a two year degree, a change they made while I was employed) I looked and looked for work and couldn't find anything even close to that pay for a High School Diploma and starting pay. I tried moving from New York to South Carolina and that was even worse. I have now came back to New York and I am actually working for the state as a Tax Information Aide. My current salary is $28,431. With just adding 60 credits to my resume I could see a jump to $36,971 that a pretty decent increase of $8,540. The 60 credits (for most titles) doesn't have to be an Associates degree. Just Credits is fine. With a Bachelor's Degree I am looking at making $55,494. That is an even bigger increase. Almost double my TIA salary. Now there is still State test involved in getting these positions but they are impossible to get without. But I am sure if you compare STARTING salaries a Bachelors degree is going to win out over anything (lower).

The Funny part of all of this is I am actually active on a Grade 27 list for NYS but I will never never never get a job from that list without a degree. Starting pay for this is $88,603 and doesn't "require" a degree to qualify for it. I scored pretty well for it but at 31 and no degree I wasn't even interviewed for it. I was canvassed for three different positions with this title and not even an interview. The list is so small for this title they must have been able to eliminate interviewing 1 or 2 candidates and I was one of them. So in my opinion a Bachelor's degree today does mean a significant amount of money more (when you compare starting pay). My mother is 51 and didn't even finish High School. She makes $87,000 ish not sure how much these days so its situational. I would probably be making more then the average Bachelor's degree holder if I was still at TWC but that is with have 11+ years of experience when a Fresh undergrad can probably expect to bank a minimum of $40,000 out of school. At least for my state in my area. My GF graduated with her Masters in 2014 and she will be making around the $58,000 mark starting next month. Now assuming she gets no further promotions ever she will cap out at the $75,000 mark.

[bjcheung77]

I have no issues answering this question. When I was 19 I started working for Time Warner Cable. I was there for 9 years before issues arose and I was let go. I was making around $45,000 a year. This was with NO degree just started young and worked my way up the grade levels. (This position now requires at least a two year degree, a change they made while I was employed) I looked and looked for work and couldn't find anything even close to that pay for a High School Diploma and starting pay. I tried moving from New York to South Carolina and that was even worse. I have now came back to New York and I am actually working for the state as a Tax Information Aide. My current salary is $28,431. With just adding 60 credits to my resume I could see a jump to $36,971 that a pretty decent increase of $8,540. The 60 credits (for most titles) doesn't have to be an Associates degree. Just Credits is fine. With a Bachelor's Degree I am looking at making $55,494. That is an even bigger increase. Almost double my TIA salary. Now there is still State test involved in getting these positions but they are impossible to get without. But I am sure if you compare STARTING salaries a Bachelors degree is going to win out over anything (lower).

The Funny part of all of this is I am actually active on a Grade 27 list for NYS but I will never never never get a job from that list without a degree. Starting pay for this is $88,603 and doesn't "require" a degree to qualify for it. I scored pretty well for it but at 31 and no degree I wasn't even interviewed for it. I was canvassed for three different positions with this title and not even an interview. The list is so small for this title they must have been able to eliminate interviewing 1 or 2 candidates and I was one of them. So in my opinion a Bachelor's degree today does mean a significant amount of money more (when you compare starting pay). My mother is 51 and didn't even finish High School. She makes $87,000 ish not sure how much these days so its situational. I would probably be making more then the average Bachelor's degree holder if I was still at TWC but that is with have 11+ years of experience when a Fresh undergrad can probably expect to bank a minimum of $40,000 out of school. At least for my state in my area. My GF graduated with her Masters in 2014 and she will be making around the $58,000 mark starting next month. Now assuming she gets no further promotions ever she will cap out at the $75,000 mark.

Question: what does your mom do for a living? Her pay is great, that's awesome for her.
I am just a few grand off, but hope to make he same as her his year around...

[MD_AJIBULU]

My current salary is $28,431. With just adding 60 credits to my resume I could see a jump to $36,971 that a pretty decent increase of $8,540. The 60 credits (for most titles) doesn't have to be an Associates degree. Just Credits is fine. With a Bachelor's Degree I am looking at making $55,494. That is an even bigger increase. Almost double my TIA salary. Now there is still State test involved in getting these positions but they are impossible to get without. But I am sure if you compare STARTING salaries a Bachelors degree is going to win out over anything (lower).

Synicaal, thanks for this! this is just what I was looking for!

Its so true that the money is situational. I've worked in banking/mortgage/real estate for 10 years but the reason I earn what I do is because 1) a coworker at a previous company referred me 2) I sat next to the smartest person here when I got hired and learned ALOT 3) that person got fired for stealing time 4) My supervisors and managers kept quitting because this company (that department really) suuuuuuuucks. So now here I am, still not a big wig, but "an asset" because nobody here knows what the hell they are doing (turn over is too high so either you've been here 16 years and no longer care or you've been here 16 days and never cared to begin with). But management still believes that degrees mean more than knowledge and experience so....I have to play the game. If I play the game well enough, I'll be eligible for more money (I would imagine) but I wouldn't stay here (i.e, the reason Im not paying for school with company money - they require you stay with the company for 24 months after tuition reimbursement or else you pay it all back pro rata.

My mom has been teaching for as long as I can remember, had a great job at a wonderful private university - got divorced - her ex husband (not my dad) called and made threat against the staff and students there (alleging that my mom was sleeping with the Dean)....she was fired. and hasn't been able to get back on that saddle. She now works a residential group home for wayward boys, overnight, making $13 an hour. She begins her Masters program at TESU in April. She got her BS in Liberal Arts from there via traditional methods (student loans and online classes).

My sister-in-law works for a government agency, 31 years old, 65k. She has her Masters in....Gerontology. lol.

My husband went to prominent college (near TESU); BS in Psychology....5 years and 65k in student loan debt late....he works for my company (where we met) and makes around 40k. He is now studying data analytics (from various sites online with little structure)- as soon as I can finish my degree program I'm going to enroll in a Masters program and spring for the formal DA classes for him.

Two of my siblings are graduating from CC this year and the youngest starts her Senior year of HS next year -in a program that allows her to be "in college" the entire year. I'm trying to press home the idea that if she enrolls in formal classes she should supplement some credits via all the ways I've learned here. I hope that at 17 she will take the advise and do what none of the rest could. Get it "right" the first time.

[rowan555]

For me, I couldn't have done the work I did without a degree - I worked in juvenile case management and later went on to run a delinquency prevention agency (a position I would never have been granted without my masters degree).

[Synicaal]

Question: what does your mom do for a living? Her pay is great, that's awesome for her.
I am just a few grand off, but hope to make he same as her his year around...

Manager for Cumberland Farms, She started when she was 20 years old or so and she is now 51. Experience was a huge factor back then and still was when I graduated high school. Not employers want people with 10years of experience and a Bachelors degree. I have work experience I just need that piece of paper that says its okay to pay me a decent amount of money to live.


@MD_AJIBULU - I am trying to get my Girl Friends sister started on credits I have learned how to get from here but she doesn't seem interested. She struggles with anxiety issues and I though self paced courses would be the best for her. I feel like me and my girlfriend will be together for a long long time and don't want to see her sister working a dead end job. She is old enough for WGU so I was trying to get her to work on those 90 WGU allows to be transferred and then get her enrolled at WGU but still not working.

[TrailRunr]

I'm an all numbers person. I do get personal gratification from learning, but there are much cheaper ways to get that other than classes.

I think it's very appropriate to tie a number to your BA when your HR requires a BA in CS/MIS/IT to get to the interview. Without HR requiring the degree, maybe I could have gotten the promotion or salary increase anyway with a high school diploma. I think office politics, experience, and skills matter way more than anything else. If you could have gotten the job as a high school grad, I would be reluctant to give any value to the degree.

In my case, my HR didn't care until the past few years. Now I'm senior enough and my HR clamped down so my general BA wasn't worth much more than a high school diploma due to having the wrong major even though it's from a public Ivy. That's why I don't think liberal studies or other general majors are a good idea. Business administration is sort-of a generalized broad major, but it's very useful for getting past HR in many positions like management and marketing.

I'm reluctant to provide a number for my last promotion, but it will pay for itself shortly since my cost for my double major was under $8k all-in. That's expensive for this forum but a lot better than going to UCLA as out-of-state for four years and ending up $200k in the hole for a BA.

Now that I'm looking at master's programs, I'm looking at the jobs I could promote to next. There are far fewer positions that require the MA/MS but that could change shortly due to an ongoing massive reorg. Many of the jobs require the ubiquitous MBA. There was an onsite MBA program at my employer, so that means tons of competition. The WGU MBA looks easy while I feel I am unable to complete the GA Tech OMSCS. The WGU MBA is just $3k and I could get it for free thanks to my employer, so the only cost is time. In the end, I'd have to be convinced that it's likely I will recover the time and money spent on a master's degree.

[MD_AJIBULU]

I'm an all numbers person. I do get personal gratification from learning, but there are much cheaper ways to get that other than classes.

Now that I'm looking at master's programs, I'm looking at the jobs I could promote to next. There are far fewer positions that require the MA/MS but that could change shortly due to an ongoing massive reorg. Many of the jobs require the ubiquitous MBA. There was an onsite MBA program at my employer, so that means tons of competition. The WGU MBA looks easy while I feel I am unable to complete the GA Tech OMSCS. The WGU MBA is just $3k and I could get it for free thanks to my employer, so the only cost is time. In the end, I'd have to be convinced that it's likely I will recover the time and money spent on a master's degree.

You're so right about the time/money equating to the value added in the workplace. The area that I currently live has a strong population of banking companies. The area I intend to move has far more nursing related gigs and government (state/local) employers. What they have of mortgage banking jobs is primarily origination (not my specific experience) so I'm certain I'll need to pursue an MBA just to get in the door anywhere - for the money I would want to make to live there.

[theonlyski]

I think the answer is, it depends.

I have an AOS from a school that long ago closed its doors and was nationally accredited. Technically I think it's a real degree, but I don't count it as one.

I make more than two of my friends who have their bachelors (combined). I also currently make more than my fiance who is a MD (though this is about to change when she finishes her fellowship and starts practicing). I just have a lot of real world communications experience from the military and I let my work speak for me. In my current job, I've been here a bit over 4 years and have risen from the newest Network Administrator to the Network Architect (bypassing the senior position completely), solely based on my work and performance.

I'm pursuing my degree as something that I've always wanted to do and a "check the block" for later in life and I expect no financial improvement on a basis of having one.

It depends on the industry and the type of work you want to do. I love networking and figuring out problems that stump me and my teammates, it just so happens that they pay me well enough that I am fine doing what I am doing for what I am paid. I could go get more, but it's not always about money.