'The gap between the starting salaries for those with a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree shrunk for a fifth year in a row, adding to a debate about wheth

'The gap between the starting salaries for those with a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree shrunk for a fifth year in a row, adding to a debate about whether graduate school is worth the cost. The average starting salary of those who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2021 was $58,862, while those with a master’s degree earned $72,105 — about 22% more, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. That was down from a 26% difference in the prior year and the smallest gap since NACE started collecting the data in 2015, said Josh Kahn, NACE’s associate director of research and public policy. The main cause? The compensation for those with a bachelor’s degree is ballooning faster than for those with a master’s — an ongoing trend that Kahn said is “market driven.”'