The Dependence of the Salary Level on the Availability of a Master’s Degree in Russia

Abstract

The master’s degree program is the third level of higher professional education and is available after obtaining a bachelor’s or specialist’s degree. It provides an opportunity to gain deeper knowledge in a specific field and can be useful for a successful career in many areas of activity, as well as opens the way to scientific and teaching activities. Awareness of the importance of obtaining a master’s degree by a University graduate largely depends on their expectations about possible career growth and the level of future income. Therefore, the question of a quantitative a priori assessment of the impact of the master’s degree on the level of wages, taking into account the available alternatives, seems relevant. The article considers the impact of master’s education on the salary level for the period from 2014 to 2018, and calculates a quantitative a priori assessment of this impact, taking into account certain factors such as the federal district of residence, age, etc. The study was based on data from the Russian monitoring of the economic situation and health of the population of the HSE - RLMS for the period 2014-2018. It showed that successful completion of a master’s degree directly affects the level of wages. Also, the master’s program has a small but positive time effect and has the greatest impact on wages in technologically and socially developed Federal districts. The main contribution of the work to the knowledge of the subject of research was a comprehensive study of the position of master’s education, as well as determining its impact on wages, with the calculation of a quantitative a priori assessment in various simulated situations. Keywords