If someone offered you $30,000 to $45,000 more money per year, would you take it? That's how much more you can earn annually after earning your doctorate degree. According to the 2000 Current Population Reports from the U.S. Census Bureau (P60-series), males who earn a PhD earn $80,250 in comparison to $34,303 for those who just graduated high school. Female PhD holders earn $57,081 versus just $24,970 for high school grads. It seems like a no-brainer, right?
The cost of a doctorate degree
A doctorate degree will set you back a fair chunk of change, maybe as much as $25,000 per year for each of the six to eight years beyond college. To make matters worse, that means that for six to eight years you aren't earning income, so the opportunity cost can be tremendous.
The benefits of an online doctorate degree
Online education represents a cost-effective alternative to earning your doctorate degree, while allowing you to continue to work. Many online universities offer college and associate-level degrees online in a wide range of disciplines. But you may not have known that you can even earn a doctorate via the Internet, a means of putting yourself among the top bracket of earners nationwide.
Why go online?
There are many advantages to earning your doctorate degree online. You can select from a wide range of online programs, for example:
- Public Policy and Administration
- Business Administration
- Education
- Psychology
- Human Services
- Organizational Management
- Information Technology
- Health Administration
- Public Health
You can learn at your own pace
By earning your doctorate online, you can progress as quickly or as slowly toward your degree as you want. If you want to take a few months off from courses and studying, go right ahead. It's like being your own boss. Online education may be the only option for working professionals or parents who want to enhance their education without taking too much time away from their career or home life.
No need to quit your day job.
Because online learning happens at your own pace, you can take classes in the evening or on the weekend. This will keep you from incurring the massive debt associated with attaining your doctorate the traditional way, on-campus. Plus, by continuing to work a 9-5 job, you will be able to apply what you are learning in your coursework to real-world scenarios you encounter within the context of your professional life.
Chances are an employer won't offer you $30,000 to $45,000 more money per year to do your job with your existing qualifications. But by augmenting your current education with an online doctorate degree, you can put yourself in a strong position to expect a pay raise and better career prospects.
Sources
- 2000 Current Population Reports, the U.S. Bureau of the Census (P60-series)
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