Back to School Time?

BACK -TO- SCHOOL TIME? If you're among those struggling to find fulfilling work, you may be tempted to opt out of the job market and get your master's degree. But be warned-the job outlook for all graduate degrees is not CAN A MASTER'S DEGREE HELP YOU GET A BETTER JOB? With a still-rocky economy, many job-seekers are considering furthering their education by pursuing graduate school. In fact, enrollment in master's degree programs has increased by more than 200 percent since 1970. equal. GRADUATE ENROLLMENT BY YEAR 730,635 662,079 630,666 693,025 610,597 564,272 599,731 518,699 580,151 487,313 473,502 463,185 412,180 342,863 317,477 B02,637 295,850 235,564 70-71 75-76 80-81 85-86 90-91 95-96 99-00 00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07 07-08 08-09 09 -10 10-11 7.9% 40.6%. Unemployed who have been jobless for 27 weeks or more Unemployment rate BEST DEGREES WORST DEGREES Mid-career median pay - Projected employment increase for jobs associated with degree, 2010-2020 Physician assistant studies Library and information science $97,000 30% $57,600 8.5% Computer science English $109,000 22.3% $62,900 8% Electrical engineering Music $121,000 17.7% $57,000 11.3% Information systems Chemistry $95,500 23.3% $85,700 10.5% Occupational therapy Biology $79,200 33% $74,100 12% Health care Education administration $87,800 22% $60,100 14.7% Nursing Counseling $85,900 21.7% $53,000 22% Economics Architecture $115,000 14.3% $77,100 16.3% ABOUT THE LIST: Forbes' analysis is based on a calculation of salary expectations and employment outlook but also the possibility of a healthy work-life balance. A few of the jobs on the "worst" side of the list seem to have a healthy outlook, but they may mean you'll be away from home for more hours in the day than you might like. SOURCES Forbes • Payscale.com • Bureau of Labor Statistics • National Center for Education Statistics