Many people are heading back to school, looking for a way to increase their earning power. A master’s degree can be a way to enhance your marketability and increase the salary you can command. However, if you aren’t careful, a master’s degree can cost you more than it’s worth.

Increase in Lifetime Earnings

For the most part, having a master’s degree can increase your earnings. The Census Bureau did a study recently, titled “The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings.” The study found that, on average, people with master’s degrees made $2.5 million over the course of their working lives. This is compared with $2.1 million for those with bachelor’s degrees and $1.2 million for those with only a high school diploma.

I know that my master’s degree has been helpful to me. My master’s degree from a prestigious journalism program provided me with solid knowledge of writing, as well as contacts that landed my jobs early on in my freelancing career. I credit my ability to make a comfortable income working from home almost entirely to my master’s degree.

Cost of a Master’s Degree

Of course, there are costs to getting a master’s degree. Mine cost me right around $35,000. According to FinAid, the medial additional debt for getting a master’s degree is $25,000. Of course, where you go to school matters. Some schools and degrees are more expensive than others. You can also look into online degree programs. These might cost less, while providing you a degree that can enhance your earning power. However, you need to be careful of avoiding degree mills and online programs that are not properly accredited. Otherwise, your degree really is worthless.

Choosing Wisely

You do need to be careful when choosing the master’s degree that you decide to get. Some master’s degrees are next to worthless. A master’s degree in business, engineering or some sort of hard science can be quite helpful. There are other master’s degrees that are worth the cost. Some master’s degrees, though, like those in liberal arts or social sciences, might actually be a step backward. Pick a master’s degree that will really help you. Do your homework, maybe getting a professional certification is a better choice.

Paying for Your Master’s Degree with Supplemental Income

If possible, you want to avoid student loans. You can get scholarships (though they are scarce) or get an assistantship to help you pay for your master’s degree. Or, you can use supplemental income. Develop some supplemental income streams that can help you fund your graduate education. Figure out how much a semester of tuition will cost, and divide that number by four. If a semester of tuition costs $4,000, you will need $1,000 a month. You can start saving up early, ahead of your first tuition payment, so that you have the money for your first semester. Saving up what you earn through the summer semester can also help.

Some schools offer payment plans. You might have to pay a small amount of interest, but each semester you are clear, and you aren’t carrying student loans for years to come. You can go back to school to earn a better income – and you can pay for it with supplemental income.