The Advantages of an Academic Master's Degree

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics states that academics with doctoral degrees earned a yearly average of $73, 892 in 2005. If the salary and academic prestige of a doctoral degree appeals to you, an academic master's degree might be a great way to prepare yourself to enter a PhD program.

Get Ready For Your PhD

If you're interested in pursuing a PhD, an academic master's degree offers distinct advantages over a professional master's degree. For instance, professional master's degrees don't typically involve a thesis, but academic master's degrees usually do require one. Your thesis will help you practice for your PhD dissertation, and it will also prepare you for a life as a professional academic.

Research-Based Jobs

If you're interested in a career that requires lots of research, such as a position in biotechnology, an academic master's degree could be the way to go. In your academic master's degree program, you will be required to do much more original research than in a professional master's degree program. Even if you don't choose to pursue a PhD, your academic master's degree can help you gain important fact-finding skills that will be valuable for your future career in research.

If you aim to enter a PhD program, or if you want a career in research, an academic master's degree is a great way to prepare yourself.

Sources:

"Graduate Education in the U.S.," Education USA

"Median Usual Weekly Earnings of Employed Full-Time Wage and Salary Workers 25 Years and Over by Educational Attainment and Sex, 2005 Annual Averages," Bureau of Labor Statistics

Higher Education

Higher education is education provided by universities, vocational universities (community colleges, liberal arts colleges, and technical colleges, etc.) and other collegial institutions that award academic degrees, such as career colleges following the completion of a school that provides secondary education, such as a high school and secondary K-12 schools.

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