Reviewed By OMC Staff
The average salary with a master’s degree is highly subjective. Salaries vary widely depending on the field of study, the job position, the candidate’s work experience, and the geographical location. Generally, people with advanced degrees, such as master’s, tend to earn higher salaries than those with only an undergraduate degree. However, many other factors affect pay, so it is difficult to determine the exact average salary of those having a master’s degree. There are also a few instances where a master’s and bachelor’s degree holder’s salaries are almost similar.
Nevertheless, as an indicator, here is a list of popular master’s degrees and their average salary compared to bachelor’s degrees:
| Degree/Major | Bachelor’s Average Starting Salary | Master’s Average Starting Salary | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biology | $37,182 | $69,353 | 86.5% |
| Business Administration / Management | $54,392 | $82,372 | 51.4% |
| Computer / Information Technology Administration & Management | $59,032 | $86,695 | 46.9% |
| Communication & Media Studies | $42,345 | $62,166 | 46.8% |
| Systems Engineering | $73,559 | $106,640 | 45.0% |
| Registered Nursing | $58,626 | $84,673 | 44.4% |
| Psychology | $37,006 | $52,786 | 42.6% |
| English Language & Literature/Letters | $38,597 | $54,102 | 40.2% |
| Social Work | $35,622 | $48,711 | 36.7% |
Source: Summer 2021 Salary Survey, National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)
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Southern New Hampshire University
PROGRAM: Online Masters Degrees
Southern New Hampshire University is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution with more than 3,000 on-campus students and over 60,000 online students, making us one of the fastest-growing universities in the country. Founded in 1932, we’ve been relentlessly reinventing higher education ever since and have gained national recognition for our dedication to helping students transform their lives and the lives of those around them.
We’re proud to provide affordable, accessible education that students can pursue on our 300-acre campus in Manchester, NH, over our innovative online platform or at our regional centers in Manchester, Nashua, Portsmouth and Salem, NH, and Brunswick, ME.
SNHU has earned the GetEducated.com Best Buy and Best of Business – Best Online Degree awards and is consistently ranked as a top Military Friendly® School by G.I Jobs®.
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