Highest Paying Master's Degree Jobs - Best for 2010

A masters degree can take you a long way if it's in the right academic discipline. It's the same career tracks that always seem to hold the most promise: healthcare, engineering, IT, and business. While there's an ebb and flow in terms of job opportunities, the growth seems to continue.

Nursing and Medical School

There are several professions in the health care field that pay well and don't require M.D. status.

Clinical nurse specialist $80,975
Nurse-midwife $89,337
Nurse anesthetist $145,216
Nurse Practitioner $82,590
Physician Assistant $82,319

Engineering School

You can get a good entry level salary with a bachelors degree in engineering. You can do a lot better with a masters degree.

Aerospace Engineer $92,520
Chemical Engineer $84,680
Computer Hardware Engineers $97,400
Electrical Engineer $82,160
Electronics Engineer $86,370
Materials Engineer $81,820
Petroleum Engineer $108,020

Computer and Information Sciences School

Graduate computer programs may be in the engineering school, the math department or in a computer science and technology school within a university. Whatever the source, computer and MIS graduate degrees will make you eligible for an excellent salary.

Computer Scientist (Project Manager) $96,331
Software Engineer $92,637
Systems Analyst $104,822
Management Information Systems (MIS) $81,031

Business School

You can obtain an MBA today with twenty different areas of specialization. Some are in rapidly growing fields where compensation is excellent.

Marketing Director $97,967
Financial Analyst $86,309
IT Project Manager $90,957
Human Resources Director $76,390
Operations Manager, Finance $100,620