Getting a Master’s Degree May Not Pay Off With a Higher Salary
Graduate students are taking on an outsized share of federal loans, and for the first time are set to outpace how much undergraduates are borrowing.
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Is a master’s degree worth it? For decades the answer was clear, but US government economists are increasingly concerned that students are now borrowing far too much.
For the first time, the share of money the government is lending to graduate students annually is on track to eclipse that of undergraduates, exceeding $39 billion, or 47% of federal loans. And it’s becoming clear that those advanced degrees don’t necessarily result in greater earnings, according to the Office of the Chief Economist at US Department of Education.