<p>A regular Masters degree is a non-professional degree, unlike an MD, MBA, or JD. It won’t hurt you, but it won’t help you either. Without prior work experience or a more advanced degree, you can’t be considered for associate-level (post-MBA equivalent) positions, so you’ll be hired as an analyst, with the same work and pay as a college graduate. This is the case with investment banking and consulting. There are some jobs where having a Masters will give you a slight salary bump, such as high tech jobs and other corporate positions. The main advantage to getting a Masters is that it gives you greater networking opportunities and more recruiting sessions as well. In my school, it was common for seniors to apply to MS programs as a backup for the following year in case they didn’t get good jobs. That way, they could go through another 2 recruiting seasons, one for summer internships and another for full-time jobs the following year.</p>