EDUCATION PROMOTIONAL SERIES
Education
FOCUS ON EDUCATION
BY BRIAN KEAGY
It's no secret that furthering your education pays off-and
the numbers unquestionably spell that out. According to
2012 data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
the median annual salary for a person who has earned
a master's degree is more than $12,000 higher than for
someone with only a bachelor's. Job security is also greater
for those with an advanced degree. And while more earning
power and a brighter future can be significant motivators,
the personal satisfaction of receiving a graduate degree
should never be discounted. Simply put, it's a matter of
DOLLARS AND SENSE.
F
or many pursuing a graduate degree, the opportunity
to spark discoveries that
advance society and make
an impact on our future is a compelling motivator. Jamie Alexandre,
who earned a master's degree in
Cognitive Science from the University of California, San Diego in
2009 and is now a doctoral candidate in that same field, is pursuing
higher learning in a direction that
could revolutionize online learning
for the 65 percent of the world that
is still offline. That type of vision for
global impact is a hallmark of the
focus on research and the culture of
collaboration that is nurtured at UC
San Diego, ranked as one of the top
10 public universities in the nation
by U.S. News & World Report. The
National Research Council (NRC)
also reports that 60 percent of UC
San Diego's graduate programs are
110 SPIRIT FEBRUARY 2014
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Spirit Magazine - February 2014