Getting an education always seemed like the ticket to improving your life -- recession or not.

And an advanced degree, in particular, is often associated with prestige and a better standard of living. The average monthly income of someone with a master's degree is about $5,380 -- more than twice what someone with only a high school diploma earns, according to U.S. Census data.

But not all master's degrees are created equal and, despite the statistics, finance and education experts say some post-baccalaureate programs may not pay off, at least in the monetary sense.

Before you pursue any degree, you have to take the long view, says Liz Pulliam Weston, an author and personal finance columnist for MSN Money.

``Anytime you're going for a degree -- including a bachelor's degree -- you should be looking out far enough ahead to see what it's paying,'' Weston says. ``Youdon't want to borrow so much that you wind up spending $100,000 for a degree and end up making $40,000 a year.''

There are some degrees that might have low-paying entry-level jobs but guarantee an escalation in pay down the road, especially medical and law degrees, Weston says.

But for other educational pursuits, one rule of thumb is that you shouldn't borrow more for your education than you're going to make the first year you're out of school.

DEGREES THAT PAY OFF

While some of the data available is old, Weston says, in the past, advanced degrees in business and science fields proved to lead to high-paying jobs most often. But those in liberal arts and social science? Not so much.

``Maybe it's because the people who do that all end up in academia,'' Weston muses.

But they may not even find a home there today, says Richard Vedder, director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity and an economics professorat Ohio University.

``You can't even teach college with a master's degree,'' he says. ``Maybe you could teach high school.''

Of course, you can do that with just an undergraduate degree, too.

Vedder agrees that there is no across-the-board rule about the value of a master's degree.

``In fields where the rate of pay is pretty high and you show you have a higher degree of education, you probably get some pay off,'' he says. ``What do you do with a master's degree in sculpture? What do you do with a master's degree in archaeology? I'm not knocking these disciplines. It's just not clear to me that the payoff is there.''

CHANGING CAREERS

If you want to change careers completely, a master's degree can make sense, even if the price tag is high. You may be in a situation where your skills in your current field are obsolete, you are unsatisfied with your career or have a new interest and want to redirect your life.

A master's degree can also make you more marketable if you need to change careers.

``Originally, people got an MBA for investment banking,'' Weston says, but that field has seen thousands of workers laid off. A master's in business administration, however, could translate well at a healthcare company.

Whatever you do, Weston says it's important to think a degree through before you take the plunge. Be sure it's something you love enough to complete, she says.

``If you don't get the degree, that's pretty much a disaster,'' Weston says. ``You have all of that debt with none of the payoff.''

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