Average Salary

• For increasing earning potential, education is a sound investment. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2010 that a master's degree holder earns an average of $1,272 a week, or $490 a week more than the national average of $782. Based on a 52-week work year, the average yearly salary for a master's degree is $66,144. The Bureau reported that the weekly average for a bachelor's degree is $1,038, or $53,976. This means that for the average person, a master's degree translates to an additional $12,168 per year.
  
  

Lifetime Earnings

• A master's degree represents an average of $180,000 in additional income over a lifetime, according to a 2007 column by MSN Money Central writer Liz Pulliam Weston, a longtime personal finance writer and graduate of the University of California at Irvine's certified financial planner program. Weston noted the variation in earning potential across degrees. A master of business administration (MBA) has the highest return, with recipients of that degree earning an average of $350,000 more over their working lives. The return on a master's degree in education or science ranges from $100,000 to $136,000 in additional earnings.
  
  

Limited Returns

• In contrast to advanced study in business, engineering, science or education, a master's degree in a social science or a liberal arts field offers little or no return, according to Weston. In some cases, master's degree recipients in these fields earned less than the average bachelor's degree holder.
  
  However, that does not necessarily mean your master's degree in sociology or English literature is worthless. In some cases, the degree can lead to greater earnings. For many people, a master's degree in a field that differs from their bachelor's degree major represents an opportunity to change careers and enter higher-paying professions than the ones they left. Moreover, there is always the value of knowledge as its own reward.
  
  

Considerations

• When assessing whether a master's degree will be a worthwhile investment, it is important to consider not only whether the degree will lead to higher earnings, but also the cost of the education itself and the cost of earnings forgone to study for the degree.