<p>Longprime, I don’t think 2 salary surveys tell the entire story. Also, the first link seems to have a very small sample size for MS graduates for some categories. I won’t deny that maybe for some people, graduate school is not the best choice. I can only speak for mechanical, but I know many recent MS hires that are getting 8-12k more than BS starting offers. This is what I have seen. I think it also depends on what industry or area you want to get into. I have worked places where, for engineers in design, a MS is more the norm. </p>
<p>I will say it again, a MS can qualify you for jobs that a BS will not. Many design or reseach based positions require or prefer MS or even PhD. Maybe, based on your son’s experience, you view graduate school as a waste of time but I can assure you that I know many graduate degree holders in engineering and they do not share these sentiments at all. Even my own graduate school experience provided me with a significant amount of learning and work experience and many opportunities to network. Graduate school enhanced my technical and research skills significantly. My opinion is that graduate school can be very worth while. It is like anything else, you get out of it what you put in it. In the long run, a MS will be an asset in terms of career advancement and mobility.</p>