igher education is a hot
commodity. Each year,
more college graduates are
heading back to school,
hoping a professional
degree will help them land
a more rewarding—and lucrative—career.
In 2012, for the first time, one in three adults in
countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development held a tertiary qualification, such as a degree from a college, university or
vocational school. And in the United States, individuals who have enrolled in or completed a graduate degree program ( 36 million) now outnumber
those with only a bachelor’s degree ( 30 million). But
as the number of global degree holders continues
to rise, so do employers’ academic requirements.
In the United States, for example, the number of
managerial and professional office jobs that require
a master’s degree is expected to increase by 24 percent between 2010 and 2020, according to a report
from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.
For project professionals looking to outpace
the competition, this trend has made earning an
advanced degree a top priority. While the MBA is
To get the most
from a graduate
degree, project
professionals must
know how to pick
the right program
BY DONOVAN BURBA H