Q: How do I know if an educational program is worth the cost?

As coincidence would have it, I just finished logging out of SallieMae’s bill pay area to make my monthly “donation,” the one I’ve been making every month for the last seven years. If you’re not familiar with SallieMae, they’re one of the largest educational loan providers, and I — along with millions of other former students — feel like I work to pay them. Or at least that was the case in the year or two immediately following graduation during which I paid my proverbial dues like my CS buddy Amanda in the industry. (Nothing against good ol’ Sallie, of course. Without her, no grad school for me.)

But yes, dear readers, making an educational commitment may very well involve a looming debt burden. What you need to determine for your own situation, is if you’ll eventually get a return on your educational investment, an ROEI, if you will. Whether it’s increased earnings, better job opportunities, or simply learning for its own sake, you have to decide if earning a degree, certificate, or diploma will help you professionally.

Worth noting: As reported by the U.S. Census Bureau, your expected lifetime earnings increases with each degree level you complete:

High school degree = $1.2 million
Bachelor’s degrees = $2.1 million
Master’s degrees = $2.5 million
Doctoral degrees = $3.4 million
Professional degrees = $4.4 million

Well that makes you feel better about shelling out the bucks, right? But there are still some other factors to consider when weighing the worth of a particular program:

The point here? Your education is an investment in yourself, and you want to be sure you get the most for your money, time, and hard work. When I received my first loan payment schedule booklet, I have to admit I was pretty scared, pissed really, realizing most of my paycheck would be going toward that piece of paper hanging in my computer/junk room.

Now that I’m more than halfway through paying off my loan debt (has it been seven years already?!), I can say that pursuing a master’s degree was worth it for me. It provided me with skills that I literally use every day in my job, great contacts and networking opportunities, and a pretty cool addendum to my resume.

Do you think paying for an education pays off? Any tips on cutting school costs? Fire away some comments…