Competition has taken a leap in every field of study, while opportunities are taking a downward slope as a result of the current boom in population. There is no course that is not important because they are all designed to groom students and help them build a career in their various fields. Among all the courses, there are some that are considered very hard to study due to what it takes to graduate from them. Most of the time, the hardest courses also hold the hardest examinations and this could become problematic for students who have not developed a tough skin for such courses.
Generally, master’s degree programs are not so easy to study. They build on previously learned concepts and skills, which involves a lot of time and effort. You will need to make discoveries in your own way in form of research and come up with ideas different from the existing ones.
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A master’s degree student needs to study more with greater intensity. They may no longer get all the privileges enjoyed by the undergraduates. The class is made up of a few students and who must be vigorously involved in class discussions. Such lifelines like reminding students of upcoming tests, extension deadlines, among others, are highly uncommon at the master’s degree level.
Furthermore, research at the graduate level does not come with ease. Master’s students are burdened with the task of coming up with sophisticated research topics and doing justice to them as well. The research must be original, with students supplying new knowledge to their field of study. They are also required to submit their findings to a group of faculty members who would present them with questions that must be thoroughly answered. Subsequent assessments would be the basis for awarding them with the master’s degree. They might end up publishing their research in most cases.
Many post-graduate students who live on campus have jobs and schedules that eat up their time. This makes them to devote much of their routine to studying in the library to meet up with the lapses. They have classmates with people of varying ages which could make it difficult for them to easily make friends. Further to that, they have no resident assistants to organize activities for them. As a result, their social life might become boring which could be emotionally tasking at times.
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According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employees with a master’s degree were paid, on average, $1434 per week in 2018. This was against the $200 per week paid to undergraduates. Therefore, it is important to note that, the earning power of the master’s degree holders far outweighs that of bachelor’s degree holders.
Additionally, master’s degree holders face low employment rates than the undergraduates and some career paths cannot be built except with master’s degree. So many students pursue their master’s degree programs to prepare themselves for new roles or to transition into a different field. Some also want to improve on their existing skill sets and prepare themselves for greater tasks. All these also mean that they would be paid higher than those with just bachelor’s degree.
Master’s degree programmes are suitable stepping stones to study many PhD and doctoral programs. So, after obtaining your bachelor’s degree, it expedient for you to go for your master’s in a relevant field.
These are the Top 10 Hardest Masters Degrees
- Engineering: engineering is one of the hardest master’s degree programs to study. As an engineer, you must have the capacity to understand a lot of information as quickly as possible. This is because there is so much information to be consumed in the field, no matter your branch of engineering. Most engineering courses require that students should take some of their courses in the lab and both class and lab require assignments. However, the pay for engineers is relatively high and when you present your certificate as a master’s degree holder; you are already taking more than you can spend as a salary. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the average starting salary of an engineer is $110 000.
- Physical Sciences: physical sciences are a very difficult master’s degree program to study as outcomes are weighed hugely on testing. How well the students do on the tests will determine how much they are contributing to their grades. Some courses under physical sciences include mathematics, chemistry, physics and astronomy. Just like engineering programs, they also require lab work and this includes large paper writing on the lab as well as extra testing. However, their salary is not as huge as that of engineering. The average salary is $75 530 per annum. This is not to say that people are not earning higher than this in this field.
- Business: when we talk about business, we majorly focus on accounting and finance. These masters programs are highly mathematics-based and require a lot of calculations. They can be very difficult for those who are not math enthusiasts, especially for those changing from a theory-based course. However, it pays off at the end to study these hard business courses as the average salary per year is $79 000. Getting a job after graduation is one of the easiest things for master’s degree holders in the field of business as most business fields love to hire folks with this background.
- Architecture: obtaining a master’s degree in architecture is not such an easy task. There is a lot of testing to be done and many of them overlap one another. Drawings are also not a question of choice, but compulsion. You will need critical thinking and problem-solving skills, in addition to beating hard deadlines most of the time. One of the mantras of the students of architecture is “You can always do better” and it has always been working well for them. The starting salary for an architect is around $80 750 but project managers can make it higher than that.
- Economics: economics is another master’s degree program that requires strong mathematical skills and the ability to adapt to new things easily. The economic world is changing rapidly; therefore, students in this field must learn how this affects national, organizational and individual growth and offer the best advice to help cushion the effect of any harsh condition like inflation or recession. The median annual salary is between $75 000 and $110 000.
- Cellular and Molecular Biology: this course seems to have a very heavy workload for students. The students who wish to do well in this field need strong skills like critical thinking and the ability to visualize concepts without seeing them with naked eyes. They would also need to understand how different parts of a system work together because it can be leveraged to build a successful career in bioengineering, business, or lab research. Pursuing a PhD or doctoral program will be very helpful as that would enable the student to gain a deeper understanding of the course while building a formidable career in the future. However, he or she can still choose to work after earning a master’s degree in this field. The median annual salary is $70 000.
- Nursing: Nursing is one of the fields that have great prospects, though very difficult to study. Upon receiving licensure, it is as good as master’s degree holders in this field have made it in life. Advanced program in nursing will allow students to specialize in any field of their choice like midwifery, nurse practitioner, nurse anesthetist, and so on. Nurses have more in-person contacts with their patients and so, need communication, critical thinking, problem-solving and analytical skills. With the skills, they would be able to interact with their patients and families and help to solve both the medical and psychological effects of their ailments. The average salary is $111 840 per annum.
- Medicine: medicine is not just a hard course, but requires a very long time to graduate from. Worst still, the entire process is spent learning rather than memorizing textbooks, definitions and terms. Whatever you learn as a medical student is of immense value to you because they would all help you to understand the intricacies of the medical field. After MBBS, you can choose courses in different fields like clinical pathology, healthcare management, hospital management, hospital administration, biomedical engineering, public health, and more. You can also register with the medical council of your state in order to obtain licensure. Additionally, you can choose to pursue your career in your field after graduation. With the MBA, you will have a better knowledge of how to put your skills to use and provide the best services to your clients. The field of healthcare is revolutionizing and getting better since the outbreak of the pandemic Corona Virus disease in 2019. The median salary is $151 570 per annum.
- Pharmacy: Though medicine and pharmacy tend to walk on the same path, both are quite different. They could be seen as the same side of a coin. Pharmacy, like medicine, requires a lot of structure and hard work. You have to understand that you must deal with chemistry and biology as a whole and it can be quite tasking and draining. Master’s degree courses in pharmacy include physiology, drug formulation, human anatomy, and others. Those from India also study Ayurveda, a kind of alternative medicine, though it has not yet been universally accepted. The average salary is $140 445 per year.
- Quantum Mechanics: with the aid of quantum mechanics, a black hole by name, Telescopium constellations, was discovered in the constellation. Quantum mechanics deals with different forces of nature. It ushered in an insight into the elements and physical nature of objects in the world. Humans have been able to explore the intrinsic particles that can only be seen with the aid of microscopy. These particles are atoms and sub-atoms. Those who study quantum mechanics should be able to understand how to manipulate complex numbers, integral calculus, basic probability, functional integration, and analysis, among others. This course is an advanced physics course and helps you to understand more about the universe. The median salary for physicists is $93 876 per annum.
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This is not to say that running a master’s degree program is not to be encouraged. Frankly speaking, it is intellectually thrilling to study for a masters degree as the research and other activities send the students on a kind of expedition where they get to learn more about their program and also develop some kind of relationships with their professors and classmates.
Do not forget that becoming a master’s degree holder is one gateway to career advancement which also is another avenue to excel financially.
