Graduate study pays

It’s not just a rumour – postgraduate qualifications do improve prospect for jobs and pay. By Antonia Maiolo Pull Quote: The greatest salary advantages from postgraduate qualifications were in the fields of agriculture, business and management, built environment, computing and information technology, economics, engineering and technology, humanities and social sciences, law and mathematics. In a world where the jobs market is becoming increasingly competitive, it’s no wonder a growing number of Australians are choosing to invest in postgraduate education. It’s the idea that extra credentials on the resume could improve employment and salary prospects. Now recent studies back up that thinking. The data confirms the advantages of postgraduate education for graduates and shows that the costs and sacrifices for further study are well worth it. Postgraduate qualifications include postgraduate certificates and diplomas, master’s degrees and doctoral degrees. The Good Universities Guide data manager Ross White says there are obvious differences in terms of employment and salary outcomes for postgraduates versus undergraduates. “The way our data stacks up seems to support the ROI prospects on that investment,” White says. A study by The Good Universities Guide to Postgraduate Courses found that the greatest salary advantages from postgraduate qualifications were in the fields of agriculture, business and management, built environment, computing and information technology, economics, engineering and technology, humanities and social sciences, law and mathematics. For instance, in economics, postgraduates earn an average salary of $92,397, which is a staggering $37,483 more than the average undergraduate salary of $54,914, suggesting that economics is a field where postgraduate study really pays off. Similarly, for anyone taking on a master’s by coursework degree in education and training, findings show that undergraduates’ earnings sit around the $50,000 mark for domestic graduates aged under 25 years. Meanwhile, their postgraduate peers can expect to earn about $70,000. On the other hand, the social work field has one of the lowest salary discrepancies, as postgraduate salaries sit at an average of $64,769 – an increase of just $13,174 on undergraduate salaries, not outstanding considering an average master’s by coursework in the field costs $28,879. “Graduates in the fields of accounting, communications, creative arts, education and training, environmental studies, languages, psychology, sciences, social work and tourism and hospitality all received [even lower premiums for their postgraduate qualifications],” White said. The guide’s survey also found that employment prospects did in some cases improve for those holding postgraduate qualifications. Fewer postgraduates seek employment about three to four months after they finish their course than undergraduates, with the difference being 5 percentage points. As with salary data, the difference in employment figures also fluctuated from field to field, suggesting that prospective postgraduate students should also consider the value of further study in their specific field in terms of gaining employment. The survey also looked at estimated costs for master’s by coursework programs and found that they generally pay for themselves. For example, data showed that the average cost of a course in education and training was estimated to be about $20,000, whilst the added earnings for teachers completing postgraduate qualifications go up by $20,000. “On the whole, it seems to be paying for itself,” White says, given that the average time it would take to earn enough extra salary to equal the cost of the additional study would be just one year. He says postgraduate salary figures vary across universities, with some schools’ graduates better paid than others when measured against the national average. Given this, White suggests shopping around to find the university that bests suits the student’s expectations for completing further study. The latest Australian Graduate Survey (AGS) conducted by Graduate Careers Australia (GCA) also highlights the success most postgraduates have when searching for a job soon after employment – more than 90 per cent find one quickly.. Figures from the annual AGS report – Postgraduate Destinations 2012 – show that just 6.3 per cent of recent postgraduates were still seeking full-time employment at the time of the survey. This number is virtually unchanged from 6.6 per cent in 2001 but notably higher than 3.6 per cent in 2006. Almost 1-in-10 (9.2 per cent) were working on a part-time basis while continuing to seek full-time employment and 84.5 per cent were in full-time employment, meaning a total of 93.7 per cent of new postgraduates have some type of job shortly after completing their degrees. Australian Bureau of Statistics data gathered at about the same time as the AGS was conducted suggest that postgraduates in the wider Australian workforce had an unemployment rate of between 2.5 and 3.5 per cent, compared with 7.7 per cent for those with no postgraduate qualifications and 5.3 per cent for the entire workforce. Data from the AGS show similar earnings outcomes as discovered by The Good Universities Guide research, revealing that the median salary for all postgraduates was $75,000 ($85,000 for men and $70,000 for women). The AGS states that the differences found in salaries by gender are generally a result of variations in factors such as fields of education, enrolment patterns, employers and occupation. Overall, the data shows that postgraduate education – across all fields of study – continues to play a significant role in the education and training of Australians. Between 1999 and 2011, the number of people completing postgraduate awards increased by 127 per cent. In 2012, more than a third of completing higher education students had studied at a postgraduate level. GCA general manager Graeme Bryant says, “Postgraduate study meets a variety of student needs, from updating skills and re-skilling to adding vocational qualifications to a generalist degree in order to stand out from an increasing number of bachelor degree graduates in the Australian workforce.” Now that many universities offer their courses by distance and online, as well as part-time, postgraduate qualifications are particularly accessible – students have the convenience of studying from home on their own time.