Cost of living affects those figures quite a bit. A $50k offer in Illinois is noticeably better than a $70k offer in Los Angeles.
I'm my professional experience, 2 years of in-company experience is a lot more valuable than any piece of paper. Most people that go back for additional degrees either go for an MBA to move to management, or want to change their career in some other way (like going back for an EE degree after graduating in CS).
Ah, that's true.
This is kinda neat:
http://swz.salary.com/CostOfLivingWizard/layouthtmls/coll_metrodetail_163.htmlLooks like the cost of living in Seattle is higher than it was in the area I was in. They don't list the St. Louis suburban area or Redmond, though, so it's probably not that meaningful.
I think it greatly depends on what you ultimately want to do. My line of work, for instance, doesn't require a graduate degree (and I don't know anybody who HAS one) -- it's all about experience. Other jobs may not be so.
It really depends what you want.
Yeah, that's true. Like you said, it depends on what you want. Like I mentioned earlier, I want to go to learn, not to get a better job.
I wouldn't be going just for a Masters. People always assume my graduate pursuits are because I wish pursue a Masters. No, I'm applying to PhD programs. If I just wanted my Masters then I likely wouldn't be having this problem, since then I would just get a job with a good company that would have education benefits (i.e reimbursing me for a percentage or all of my advanced degree).
Noone really answered my main questions...
What is happiness? What makes you happy?
I'm interested in seeing how people view their own happiness...
There are organizations that pay for PhDs too, you know.
I didn't really assume you'd stop at masters. I'm not planning on it either. ;P
I answered your question:
It's a meaningful question, but I don't think this is the right medium.