How important is having a master’s degree to find a job?

A study reveals the importance of having a master’s degree when it comes to finding a job. 93.27% of the people who completed a master’s degree found work.

Do you need a university degree to be able to do a master’s degree?

Since we were little we have been taught the importance of studying and training to get the job of our dreams. Once the university degree or degree is finished, one of the big questions we ask ourselves is the following: Is it important to have a master’s degree to find a job?

This question began to become increasingly popular since in 2007 the Government approved by Royal Decree the process for the implementation of the Bologna Plan or Bologna Declaration. In this, what we knew as Degrees and Diplomas disappeared, giving way to what we now know as Degrees, Masters and Doctorates.

The Bologna Plan was approved not only in Europe, but also by the 29 countries of the European Union. Its objective is to unify higher education to improve employability, mobility and the recognition of university degrees at a European level. 

How does a master’s degree affect when looking for a job?

There is no absolute science that establishes that having a master’s degree or a postgraduate degree helps to find a job. The University Employability and Employment Observatory together with La Caixa, CRUE Universities and the UNESCO Chair of University Management and Policy of the Polytechnic University of Madrid, prepared a study in 2017 to see how important it is to have this type of degree.

Thus, the University Employability and Employment Barometer was prepared, a study in which 6,738 university students with a master’s degree participated and who completed these studies during the 2013-2014 academic year.

Of the total number of respondents, 82.74% are currently working, compared to 15.03% who are unemployed. The rest, 2.23%, is in a situation of inactivity. In addition, only 6.73% have not worked since they finished their master’s degree.

If we look at the job opportunity when doing a master’s degree, we observe that, of the total number of participants, 44.84% continued working in the job they already had, and the people who got a new job did so before the first six months. Only 26.75% of those surveyed found a new job before the first three months and 49.51% ensure that they have never been unemployed since they finished their master’s degree.

How long did it take graduates to find a job after finishing their master’s degree?

The students who set out to find a job after completing their master’s degree obtained it in a relatively short period of time. Thus, 44.84% of the graduates obtained it before finishing the master’s degree, followed by 14.85% of the students who obtained it within three months. 13.17% were able to sign their first employment contract between the first three and six months.

The students who found the most work after completing a master’s or postgraduate degree are those who studied Engineering and Architecture, with 3.89%. On the contrary, the sector that obtained the least employment was Arts and Humanities, with 11.75%.

The Engineering and Architecture branch was also the fastest in finding employment. In fact, 53% got a job before finishing their master’s degree. This sector, booming with new technologies, was also the one with the lowest unemployment rate with 61.47%. On the contrary, Arts and Humanities continues to be a sector in which finding a job is more difficult, with 26.16%.

By working hours, 18.62% state that they have a part-time work contract. 47.87% of these people stated that they have this type of contract, since they have not been able to find the same job but full-time.

What was the salary after the completion of a master?

According to this study, 18.49% of the graduates and respondents who went to work after finishing did so under a salary band between 1,201 and 1,600 dollars per month. They are followed with 18.41% by those who began their working life with a salary of around 1,601 and 2,100 dollars. After them and with 17.89% were graduates who obtained an average starting salary of between 601 and 1,000 dollars per month.

Looking at the largest salary bands, it is possible to see, according to the graph, that 13.13% got a job with a salary of between 2,101 dollars and 3,000 dollars gross per month and only 1.17% can say that after finishing a master’s degree He obtained a job where the salary was higher than 6,000 dollars gross per month.

By branches of knowledge, the branch of Engineering and Architecture are the ones that earn the most and those that earn the least, those of Arts and Humanities. For the first, 22.38% receive a salary between 1,601 and 2,100 dollars gross per month and 17.71% receive a salary of 2,101 dollars and 3,000 dollars. In the area of ​​legal sciences, what predominates are salaries of around 1,601 and 2,100 dollars, 19.07%. The branch of Sciences has the lowest salary, where 26.34% earn a salary between 1,001 and 1,200 dollars per month.

What type of contract are those students who completed a master’s or postgraduate degree?

Regarding the type of contract of the people surveyed, 42% have an indefinite contract (permanent contract), compared to 39.1% who have a temporary work contract.

According to the regime, 5.66% of those surveyed correspond to self-employed workers (autonomous men and women). 11.44 % are working with an internship training contract or with a scholarship. Only 1.15% state that they worked but in an irregular situation, that is, without an employment contract.

Looking at permanent contracts, it is found that Engineering and Architecture is the branch with the highest number of permanent contracts with 52.29%, followed by Social and Legal Sciences. The branch of sciences is the one with the lowest number of permanent contracts.

By temporary contracts, Sciences is the highest with 44.67% while Engineering and Architecture represents 31.07%. The branch of Sciences is also the one with the highest percentage of scholarship holders and people with an internship contract, with 28.22%.

How much does it help to have a master’s degree when it comes to finding a job according to students?

All respondents say that the most important factor when being hired was having a bachelor’s degree or equivalent. As for the importance of having a master’s degree when it comes to finding a job, they rank it as the fourth most relevant. This study shows that what is least valued when hiring a person is the academic record.