Engineering: Bachelors vs Masters Salary (1 Viewer)

[cheezcake]

What can you expect to be the difference in graduate salary and long term salary to those who graduate electrical engineering with a Bachelors degree vs those with a masters?

I'm asking because i currently have the option to either do the regular bachelors in 4 years or a masters in 5 and i'm wondering whether the extra uni fees and minus a year of potential pay and work experience is worth it.

 

[Ryan_T90]

If you can get the same degree within 4 years just as a Bachelors, just do the Bachelor. Think about it, you could do the Masters but that is an extra year which in turn results in a larger HECS debt. Also in that year of doing your Masters you could instead be out working in the Engineering field earning money if you did your Bachelor.
If you did leave university with a Masters your salary would start of higher rather than someone who had completed a Bachelors. For example, an engineering graduate who comes out with a bachelors will say start off with $55,000 a year (this is just a random wage, I don't know salaries of engineers). However, a Masters student will start off with something like $60,000. Though, if doesn't make much difference considering the engineer with the Bachelors degree had already earned 55k in the year a Masters student was studying.
I hope this made sense :S

 

[boris]

If you can get the same degree within 4 years just as a Bachelors, just do the Bachelor. Think about it, you could do the Masters but that is an extra year which in turn results in a larger HECS debt. Also in that year of doing your Masters you could instead be out working in the Engineering field earning money if you did your Bachelor.
If you did leave university with a Masters your salary would start of higher rather than someone who had completed a Bachelors. For example, an engineering graduate who comes out with a bachelors will say start off with $55,000 a year (this is just a random wage, I don't know salaries of engineers). However, a Masters student will start off with something like $60,000. Though, if doesn't make much difference considering the engineer with the Bachelors degree had already earned 55k in the year a Masters student was studying.
I hope this made sense :S

if i include the ~$7000 it will cost for the extra year of uni then over the course of their career the person with the masters degree only needs to earn like $1500 more per year to make up for that initial shortfall. and with your scenario of a $5k initial difference in wage, giving them career earnings ~$200k higher ($5k per year) they more than make up for it in the long run

so whats your point general maths

 

[Ryan_T90]

soz brah, just gen maths here don't listen to me.

 

[boris]

the difference in pay will vary more within jobs for those qualifications than it will between those qualifications so it wouldnt worry about it too much both are quite high paying but yes a masters degree will open slightly more doors for you

 

[OzKo]

the difference in pay will vary more within jobs for those qualifications than it will between those qualifications so it wouldnt worry about it too much both are quite high paying but yes a masters degree will open slightly more doors for you

Pretty much.

Don't expect any large difference when you first graduate but with the relevant experience (e.g. 5-10 years) in a particular field, a lot of different paths will open up compared to someone who only did their Bachelors.

 

[cheezcake]

Yep thanks for the replies guys, definitely going with the Master's now. Not just for the pay but for the fact that it becomes much easier to obtain engineering jobs overseas with a Masters apparently, just nice to have more opportunities.

 

[kcqn93]

Just worry about your undergraduate for now and make sure you get a high enough GPA/WAM to even go on to do the Masters.