College Success
10.26.2022 • 7 min read
Former Stanford Director of Admissions
Learn your degree options, what you need to consider when choosing one, and the most valuable degrees in terms of salary, happiness, and the future.
In This Article
While a degree can show employers you have transferable skills in time management, problem solving, critical thinking, and communication, opportunities won’t necessarily fall at your feet because you have a degree. Making your degree work for you is just as important as finding the right one, and making the right choice has never been more important with the world’s future changing so rapidly.
Depending on what you envision as part of your future, you may consider several types of degrees:
Certificates are flexible, non-college-level educational programs with short time requirements. They are only available for a select number of professions such as web development or cybersecurity. You’ll find that community colleges and vocational colleges offer these types of programs.
Earned in two years or less, associate degrees are for those planning on entering technical or vocational fields, such as:
Business administration
Teaching
Electronics
Forestry
Nursing
Technology
Students complete coursework in both general and discipline-specific fields and, after graduating, can choose to enter the workforce or transfer to a four-year college to earn a bachelor’s degree.
One excellent online option to consider is the Degrees+ program from Golden Gate University (GGU). Outlier has partnered with GGU to offer students a flexible associate degree program that fits their schedule. With the Degrees+ program, you can earn a 60-credit associate degree at a fraction of the cost of attending college in person.
A bachelor’s degree is a four-year college-level education. Usually, students will spend at least two years completing general education requirements. Then after choosing a major, students spend their final years focusing on their field of study. A bachelor’s degree is the completion of higher education for most students and will satisfy requirements for most careers.
Once students have completed their bachelor’s degree, many will progress to a master’s or graduate degree program—another step up in higher education. These programs take around two years to complete and demonstrate mastery of a subject, which can help to advance your career.
Considered one of the most advanced degrees with the highest levels of academic achievement, a doctorate or postgraduate degree program can take anywhere from three to six years to complete. It provides the deepest understanding of a particular field.
With so many degrees being profession-focused, your first consideration should be career-oriented: what are different degrees needed for your potential career? What are your entry-level, mid-level, and advanced-level career options with different degrees?
Understanding the requirements of career fields will help you make the most out of your decision.
You should also consider if you have the time and money for your degree path. Putting yourself in debt or spending years to earn a degree may not be right for you. Or, it could prepare you appropriately for a successful career.
Ultimately, choosing your degree must be personal: is this something you want to do? Does it fit your vision of your future? This must be your definitive consideration.
Consider the data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2020) below, which details the average salaries and education necessary for specific career fields. It may surprise you to learn that you can pursue a career in healthcare without a doctorate degree, you can become a teacher without a master’s degree, and you can work in information technology with no degree.
The important considerations are those discussed above:
Career prospects
Time
Finances
Personal preferences
| OCCUPATION | DEGREE PROGRAM NEEDED | POTENTIAL MEDIAN SALARY |
| Dental Hygienist | Associate Degree | $77,090 |
| Clinical Laboratory Technician | Bachelor’s Degree | $54,180 |
| Nurse Practitioner | Master’s Degree | $117,670 |
| Dentist | Doctoral Degree | $164,010 |
| Physical Therapists | Doctoral Degree | $91,010 |
| Physicians & Surgeons | Doctoral Degree | $208,000+ |
| Dental Assistant | Postsecondary non-degree award (Certificate) | $41,180 |
| EMT/Paramedic | Postsecondary non-degree award (Certificate) | $36,650 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook
| OCCUPATION | DEGREE NEEDED | POTENTIAL MEDIAN SALARY |
| Teaching Assistant | Some college, no degree | $28,900 |
| Pre-School Teacher | Associate Degree | $31,930 |
| Adult, Secondary Education & ESL Teacher | Bachelor’s Degree | $55,350 |
| High School Teacher | Bachelor’s Degree | $62,870 |
| Kindergarten & Elementary School Teacher | Bachelor’s Degree | $60,660 |
| Middle School Teacher | Bachelor’s Degree | $60,810 |
| Special Education Teacher | Bachelor’s Degree | $61,500 |
| Instructional Coordinators | Master’s Degree | $66,970 |
| Librarian | Master’s Degree | $60,820 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook
| OCCUPATION | DEGREE NEEDED | POTENTIAL MEDIAN SALARY |
| Computer Support Specialist | None | $55,510 |
| Computer Network Architect | Bachelor’s Degree | $116,780 |
| Computer Programmer | Bachelor’s Degree | $89,190 |
| Computer Systems Analyst | Bachelor’s Degree | $93,730 |
| Software Developer | Bachelor’s Degree | $110,140 |
| Computer & Information Research Scientist | Master’s Degree | $126,830 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook
| OCCUPATION | DEGREE PROGRAM NEEDED | POTENTIAL MEDIAN SALARY |
| Administrative Assistant | Postsecondary non-degree award (Certificate) | $39,680 |
| Office Manager | Postsecondary non-degree award (Certificate) | $45,560 |
| Accountant | Bachelor’s Degree | $77,250 |
| Business Analyst | Bachelor’s Degree | $93,000 |
| Human Resources Manager | Bachelor’s Degree | $126,230 |
| Financial Manager | Bachelor’s Degree | $131,710 |
| Marketing Officer | Bachelor’s Degree | $133,380 |
| Chief Executive Officer | Master’s Degree | $213,020 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook
Once you have begun to consider your career prospects, time, finances, and personal preferences, how you define value will also influence your decision about a college degree. Is a valuable degree one that gives you transferable skills? makes you happy? results in a high-paid career? It’s important for you to define your own concept of value so that you can make the right decision.
Value can mean the highest paying career. With money comes opportunity for advancement.
Value can mean happiness. Having a fulfilling job can make it easier to show up to work in the morning! That happiness can flow into other areas of your life as well so that your work-life balance is on track.
Value can mean looking ahead to the future. With the job market changing rapidly, knowing your job is future-proof can be valuable. This can mean looking into specific majors, like engineering, information technology, healthcare or business and finance, or it can mean looking to specific degrees that give you transferable skills that allow you to navigate the job market with ease.
| CAREER FIELD | DEGREE NEEDED | POTENTIAL MEDIAN SALARY |
| Applied Economics & Management | Bachelor’s Degree | $139,600 |
| Electrical Engineering & Computer Science | Bachelor’s Degree | $152,000 |
| Public Accounting | Bachelor’s Degree | $138,800 |
| Chemical Engineering/Materials Science | Bachelor’s Degree | $137,800 |
| Quantitative Business Analysis | Bachelor’s Degree | $136,200 |
| Aeronautics & Astronautics | Bachelor’s Degree | $133,100 |
| Systems Engineering | Bachelor’s Degree | $132,900 |
| Operations Research | Master’s Degree | $139,500 |
| Petroleum Engineering | Master’s / Doctorate Degree | $182,000 |
| Pharmacy | Doctorate Degree | $133,200 |
Source: College Values Online
| OCCUPATION | DEGREE NEEDED | POTENTIAL MEDIAN SALARY |
| Information Security Analyst | Bachelor’s Degree | $103,590 |
| Accountant | Bachelor’s Degree | $73,560 |
| Human Resources Manager | Bachelor’s Degree | $121,220 |
| Software Engineer | Bachelor’s Degree | $110,140 |
| Marketing Manager | Bachelor’s Degree | $141,490 |
| Financial Advisor | Bachelor’s Degree | $83,660 |
| Technical Writer | Bachelor’s Degree | $74,650 |
| High School Teacher | Bachelor’s Degree | $62,870 |
| Nurse Practitioner | Master’s Degree | $117,670 |
| Lawyer | Doctorate Degree | $126,930 |
Source: Career Karma
| OCCUPATION | GROWTH RATE 2020-2030 | POTENTIAL MEDIAN SALARY |
| Wind Turbine Service Technicians | 68% | $56,230 |
| Nurse Practitioners | 52% | $111,680 |
| Solar Panel Installers | 52% | $46,470 |
| Chefs | 49% | $28,800 |
| Creative Industry Business Managers | 46% | $75,420 |
| Fitness Instructors | 39% | $40,510 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Choosing the right degree (in combination with the best college and right college major) is a significant decision—and one that continues to affect your career path even after you’ve graduated. None of us can predict what the future will be, but we can decide what we want to achieve within it. That choice is yours; your degree choice is simply part of that. Make it for you.
It’s clear that STEM degrees are now considered the most useful, valuable, and well paid. Scientific researchers, environmental engineers, and artificial intelligence specialists are changing the world as we know it. Indeed, the foundations of STEM are all about making a positive impact on the world through science, technology, engineering and mathematics—and more women, in particular, need to realize this fact.
However, as a liberal arts graduate, I’m left asking about the value and significance of humanities. Do history, political science, philosophy, literature, and the creative arts have a place in society anymore? Should their usefulness wane because we are so heavily focused on STEM? John Hogan, the Director of the Center for Science Writings at the Stevens Institute of Technology, wrote about his time teaching a required humanities course in Scientific American (2018), perfectly capturing my thoughts:
“It is precisely because science is so powerful that we need the humanities now more than ever. In science, mathematics, and engineering classes, you're given facts, answers, knowledge, truth. [These] professors say, 'This is how things are.' They give you certainty. The humanities give you uncertainty, doubt, and skepticism. They undermine the claims of all authorities, whether political, religious or scientific. This skepticism is especially important when it comes to claims about humanity, about what we are, where we came from, and even what we can be and should be. [But] that is the point of the humanities: they keep us from being trapped by our own desire for certainty.”
STEM is a wonderful opportunity for those who are inclined to study it, however, I say to those who want to study the humanities and the arts, please do it. Your soul will thank you and society will too—eventually.
Bob Patterson is a former Director of Admissions at Stanford University, UNC Chapel Hill, and UC Berkeley; Daisy Hill is the co-author of Uni in the USA…and beyond published by the Good Schools Guide 2019. Together, they have established MyGuidED, a new educational tool for students looking to apply to university (launching 2023).
Outlier (winner of TIME Best Inventions 2020) and Golden Gate University (#1 school for working professionals) have redesigned the experience of earning a college degree to minimize cost and maximize outcomes. Explore a revolutionary way to earn your college degree:
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