Studying for a bachelor’s degree is a wonderful opportunity to expand both your mind and your job prospects. Studying for a bachelor’s degree is also an investment, an investment of your time and money. So, it is only right that you make sure that you can receive the highest return on your investment. The term value, of course, incorporates much more than just economic ramifications, but these other benefits will depend on personal preferences. Taking the time to assess all your options will help you discover which bachelor’s degree program offers you the most value.
Why is a bachelor’s degree being so valuable
Before breaking down which bachelor’s program offer the most value, it is important that you sit down and outline why you should consider taking a bachelor’s degree in the first place. After all, if you are looking for value, wouldn’t it be better to jump straight into a career and start making some money?
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A Bachelor’s Degree is a Requirement for Many Careers
There are many careers that you simply will not be eligible for if you do not obtain a bachelor’s degree. Some industries like healthcare and education will require you to have gained a bachelor’s degree. Like nursing, most specialist careers, paralegal work, and accounting require a bachelor’s degree as the knowledge and experience gained is vital in for many reasons, including employer liability. Some professions that do not strictly require highly specialized knowledge, like business, still have employers or important partners that value the skills, commitment, and knowledge gained from a degree. Many employers view a degree as a sign of your learning and commitment.
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Bachelor’s Degrees Are Increasingly Flexible
If you have discovered that you need a bachelor’s degree for your chosen career path, it does not necessarily mean that you are tied into traditional studying for the foreseeable future. Universities are increasingly offering degree programs that can be more flexible to meet students’ needs better. Even degrees that are considered to be more reasonable offer a degree of flexibility. For example, you could choose to study one of the accelerated BSN nursing programs online. This means that you would not be required to move for your studies, and you could save money by working part-time alongside the course. The flexibility offered in modern degrees makes it easier than ever to find the most valuable solution to work for you.
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A Bachelor’s Degree Increases Your Earning Potential
Studies have found that earning a bachelor’s degree will increase your starting salary by almost 10%. Not only will graduates find themselves with a higher starting salary than individuals who did not earn a bachelor’s degree, but their lifetime earnings will also increase. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree, on average, find themselves with a much higher yearly salary and more frequent than those who did not earn a bachelor’s degree.
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Studying for a Degree Promotes Self Growth
A bachelor’s degree is not all about learning the information you need to operate in your chosen career successfully. The experiences you have studying for a bachelor’s degree will also help your personal growth and development. You will learn more about the world, meet a wide range of different people and gain new perspectives. You will learn valuable skills such as time management, collaboration, public speaking, teamwork, and working to a deadline. While these personal development achievements might not directly correlate to the increased financial value, they offer a huge amount of personal value.
Which are the Most Valuable Bachelor’s Degrees?
The list below outlines some of the most valuable bachelor’s degrees; it is determined in terms of employment rates as well as the average income of graduates.
- Bachelor of Computer Science
- Bachelor of Engineering
- Bachelor of Mathematics
- Bachelor of Economics
- Bachelor of Physics
- Bachelor of Nursing
- Bachelor of Materials Science
What about Personal Value?
When you are looking for the most valuable bachelor’s degree, you will naturally want to consider the facts and figures, but you should also develop a habit of looking past statistics. True value is not a set construct that can be worked out in mathematical terms. The value that a degree program can offer you will involve a lot more than your future earning potential. It is important to consider what value means to you when you are looking for the best degree program.
Job Satisfaction
Ultimately, you are choosing to study for a bachelor’s degree to prepare you for your future career and increase your job prospects. The value that you will earn from your future career involves more than your income; it also encompasses the amount of satisfaction you will gain from your job.
No matter how much money you make, if you have low levels of engagement and satisfaction in your job, your overall day-to-day wellbeing will be impaired. To ensure that you can receive the most value from your work, you need to focus on job satisfaction, not just earning potential. If you think you can take a few years working a job you do not at all enjoy for the monetary payoff, remember that if you have chronically low levels of engagement, you can get burnt out, which might impede the amount you could make.
When you are trying to decide which careers will offer you the highest level of job satisfaction, it is useful to consider what drives you and what purpose you want. Do you want to work with a team of other people toward a common goal? Do you want to work to help people? Do you want to create something? You should ask yourself lots of questions to find out more about what type of work will make you feel the most fulfilled.
Deciding on the most valuable bachelor’s degree course is not an exact science; it is a personal consideration that will likely look different for everyone. To find out which is the most valuable degree for you, you will need to weigh up lots of different factors, from future earning potential to job prospects. This will enable you to find a degree program that is both a sound financial investment and offers a high level of personal reward.
