Understanding the master’s degree in the labor market: the case of South Korea

• In Event: Master’s education in east Asia: access, learning, and employment

Proposal

This study aims to examine the relation between the master education and the labor market in South Korea, and to analyze the effect of the master’s degree on labor market outcomes. In Korea, master’s education is rapidly changing with an increasing number of students including part-time and non-traditional learners, and diversified and professional programs. Students’ motivations to pursue a master’s degree are also various; students seek the advanced degree with academic interests, and they also pursue a master’s degree to improve their qualifications and attract future employers, while some enroll in a master’s program not to become unemployed when they could not find a job after graduation. In addition, master’s education is popular in certain professional occupations including education, law and health sciences, which require a master’s degree for entry-level positions or promotions (Syverson, 1996). The role of master education is now beyond the preparation of doctoral education, and has been more related to labor market. It is important to examine the relation between the master education and labor market in terms of credentials, signals, and screens. We will explore why students pursue master’s degree and what is its effect on labor market outcomes. We first classify the universities based on its prestige, and examines whether students choose the graduate program according to the university prestige. Second, we divide the types of graduate programs such as academic and professional program, and examine the students’ motivations to purse a master’s degree by types of programs. Third, we analyze the effects of master’s degree on labor market outcomes such as wage. This study uses data from the Graduates Occupational Mobility Survey (GOMS) in Korea. The GOMS conducted by the Korean Employment Information Service, covers 4 percent of all college graduates from universities of applied science or four-year universities; for 2015, 18,082 graduates participated. For this study, we select data from respondents who graduated in 2015 in four year universities. The study applies descriptive analysis and regression model analysis to examine the effects of master’s degree on labor market outcomes. We will discuss Korean context related to master programs and labor market, and seek the meaning of master’s degree in labor market to suggest policy implications for master program.

Authors

• Soo Jeung Lee, Sejong University, South Korea

• Jisun Jung, The University of Hong Kong