Law degree gives quickest return on cost

A postgraduate law degree has the fastest payback of all postgraduate courses.

Postgraduate degrees can be a ticket to a higher wage.

A postgraduate law degree has the fastest payback of all postgraduate courses, with the popular juris doctor qualification paying for itself in higher income only four years after graduation.

Other postgraduate degrees with quick average payback periods are MBAs (five years), health degrees (five years) and a range of degrees in the society and culture area (six years).

But postgraduate degrees in STEM subjects (science, maths, engineering and maths) take an average 11 years to pay for themselves.

Postgraduate degrees in business (aside from MBAs) also have a long payback period with all business degrees, on average, ­recouping their cost after 11 years.

Richard McKeon, managing director of PostgradAustralia which conducted the analysis, said one reason why postgraduate qualifications in health had relatively high rewards was that some higher-paid health professions, such as psychology, ­required a postgraduate degree.

“Secondly, for (health) professions which don’t require a postgraduate degree to practise, they are still often an enabler for career progression into higher paid roles,” he said. But business postgraduates — apart from MBA ­degree holders — tend to earn less early in their careers, which helps explain why these degrees take a long time to repay the ­investment of time and money.

“The simple takeaway for business professionals is that postgraduate degrees can be a ticket to a higher wage but delaying undertaking the degree until their late 20s or early 30s can maximise their earning potential,” Mr McKeon said.

Overall, people with a postgraduate degree earn $400,000 more over their career, on average, than their counterparts with only a bachelor degree, and the difference is evident in all the main fields of study.

Health postgraduates earn an average of $688,276 more over their career than bachelor-degree holders, society and culture postgraduates (which includes professions such as teaching, communi­cations, public administration, creative arts, humanities and ­social sciences) earn $469,053 more over their career, business postgraduates earn $432,932 more, and STEM postgraduates earn $294,654 more.

The average cost of a postgraduate degree in health is $29,441, in society and culture ($30,324), in business ($36,595), and in STEM ($36,674).

Postgraduate degree include masters, graduate diploma and graduate certificate qualifications.

The payback periods are ­calculated using the average cost of postgraduate degrees in each field, the average income of professionals with a postgraduate qualification compared with those with only a bachelor degree, and taking into account the loss in income while studying.

See the Postgrad 2019 magazine in today’s Australian for more details on the costs and benefits of postgraduate degrees.