Masters or Ph.D.: Which Online Graduate Degree Is Right For You?

Online master degrees require less time than online doctoral degrees.

Since a Ph.D. takes longer to complete, it also requires more money. (Not that a Masters degree is cheap either!) The flip side to this is that a Ph.D. may yield a higher salary upon completion and is therefore worth the increased cost long term. school costs money (tuition, fees, books, etc.). In addition, however, there is also a significant loss of money if the student is not working or is earning low wages through assistantships or part time employment. Many people find they must either live a Spartan lifestyle for many years, or they find themselves strapped with huge loans when they graduate.Typically a full time student can acquire a Masters degree in about two years. A Ph.D.

Many students who drifted through college are surprised to find that graduate school requires a much larger commitment in terms of work and intellectual energy.Students who are taking a full course load as well as teaching often find themselves overwhelmed. And of course, the many years of school required for a Ph.D. require perseverance on a scale above and beyond what undergraduates must contemplate.The difference between college and graduate school lies in the ability of the student to focus on their field and the subjects that most interest them.

So which should you choose?If all you want is a raise, a Ph.D. is probably not the road to choose. If you love learning in and of itself, and you want to pursue a career as a professor then the work required for a Ph.D. may be worthwhile. Masters degrees tend to be more career-oriented while Ph.D.'s tend to be more research oriented since they are preparing people for research-oriented careers.A Masters degree has some definite benefits in that it requires less time and money than a doctoral degree, but will still set you apart from the crowd who only have a bachelor's. The Masters degree can allow specialization within a field. The degree works especially well for those who have been working in a particular career for some time and hope to advance or gain new knowledge that will qualify them for a different position within their field.A Masters degree can also be an excellent method of changing careers. For those who have been in the workforce and found that their career or undergraduate education are not leading them in the direction they would like to go, a Masters degree can allow them to start in a different direction by gaining new knowledge and skills.However, there are things that a Masters degree simply cannot do. For those who want to become professors, a Ph.D. is practically mandatory. Even for those few who can find teaching positions with only a Masters, most schools want to see progress toward a Ph.D.A Ph.D. degree can also be helpful outside the world of academia in today's increasingly competitive job market. Businesses are searching for extremely qualified people who have demonstrated intelligence, perseverance and the ability to learn. A Ph.D. can open doors.One of the less tangible, though very important, aspects of getting a Ph.D. consists in the ideal of creating knowledge. Ph.D. work requires original research that contributes new information to the field of study. People interested in pursuing a Ph.D. should love their studies and be excited by the prospect of meaningful contribution.