The best and worst master’s degrees for jobs in 2015

Thinking of getting a graduate degree, or wondering what use yours is going to be?
Forbes and Payscale have released their list of the best and worst master’s degrees for jobs in 2015.
To create the list, they examined mid-career data on 45 popular master’s degrees, “looking at the mid-career salary of those holding each degree, as well as the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) projected employment growth of jobs associated with each degree.”
In addition to compensation and growth data, this year Payscale also considered stress, job satisfaction, and “the meaning derived from work associated with these degrees.” (Millennials look for “purpose” in a job.)
It will surprise no one who follows this sort of thing that seven of the 10 top degrees are in engineering.
Biomedical Engineering tops the list with a mid-career median salary of $129,000, as well as “very strong job satisfaction and meaning ratings.” It was enough to balance out the low projected growth and fairly high stress.
“In fact, many of the degrees considered the best this year promise stressful work and anemic job growth – but high salaries and strong feelings of satisfaction and meaning.”
Criminal Justice ranks the worst, even though the jobs associated with this area of study provide strong meaning and satisfaction, because of fairly low salary and pay growth. It’s followed by English Language and Curriculum Instruction.
Here are the best and worst Master’s degrees for jobs in 2015. For more go to Forbes.
The 10 Best Master’s Degrees for Jobs in 2015
Biomedical Engineering
Early- to mid-career pay growth: 74%
Stress: 65%
Satisfaction: 74%
Meaning: 80%
Growth: 9%
Statistics
Early- to mid-career pay growth: 77%
Stress: 60%
Satisfaction: 77%
Meaning: 66%
Growth: 26%
Aerospace Engineering
Early- to mid-career pay growth 74%
Stress: 62%
Satisfaction: 74%
Meaning: 70%
Growth: 9%
Computer Engineering
Early- to mid-career pay growth: 68%
Stress: 60%
Satisfaction: 68%
Meaning: 64%
Growth: 18%
General & Strategic Management
Early- to mid-career pay growth: 70%
Stress: 66%
Satisfaction: 70%
Meaning: 62%
Growth: 12%
Information Technology Management
Early- to mid-career pay growth: 70%
Stress: 65%
Satisfaction: 70%
Meaning: 68%
Growth: 18%
Chemical Engineering
Early- to mid-career pay growth: 73%
Stress: 69%
Satisfaction: 73%
Meaning: 69%
Growth: 9%
Computer Science & Engineering
Early- to mid-career pay growth: 67%
Stress: 62%
Satisfaction: 67%
Meaning: 62%
Growth: 18%
Systems Engineering
Early- to mid-career pay growth: 68%
Stress: 61%
Satisfaction: 68%
Meaning: 64%
Growth: 18%
Engineering
Early- to mid-career pay growth: 72%
Stress: 69%
Satisfaction: 72%
Meaning: 69%
Growth: 9%
The 10 Worst Master’s Degrees for Jobs in 2015
Criminal Justice
Early- to mid-career pay growth: 45%
Stress: 71%
Satisfaction: 63%
Meaning: 63%
Growth: 10%
English Language
Early- to mid-career pay growth: 46%
Stress: 71%
Satisfaction: 65%
Meaning: 68%
Growth: 8%
Curriculum & Instruction
Early- to mid-career pay growth: 29%
Stress: 77%
Satisfaction: 72%
Meaning: 78%
Growth: 10%
Higher Education Administration
Early- to mid-career pay growth: 35%
Stress: 69%
Satisfaction: 71%
Meaning: 70%
Growth: 19%
Communication
Early- to mid-career pay growth: 65%
Stress: 68%
Satisfaction: 64%
Meaning: 59%
Growth: 10%
Library & Information Science
Early- to mid-career pay growth: 32%
Stress: 62%
Satisfaction: 70%
Meaning: 69%
Growth: 8%
Counseling
Early- to mid-career pay growth: 36%
Stress: 70%
Satisfaction: 71%
Meaning: 80%
Growth: 19%
Social Work
Early- to mid-career pay growth: 38%
Stress: 75%
Satisfaction: 73%
Meaning: 82%
Growth: 19%
Education
Early- to mid-career pay growth: 55%
Stress: 71%
Satisfaction: 71%
Meaning: 75%
Growth: 10%
Clinical Social Work
Early- to mid-career pay growth: 34%
Stress: 76%
Satisfaction: 71%
Meaning: 82%
Growth: 19%