Statistics suggest that people with a master's are more likely to find work, but such figures should be treated with caution

It was a love of comedy that encouraged Alex Blower to study a postgraduate degree in drama. After taking a year out to work as activities vice president at his student union, he decided that a master's qualification would allow him to specialise in his area of interest.

He says: "I wasn't sure at the time whether I wanted to go into higher education teaching or not, but I knew that I'd need a master's to do so, and that it would give me more of an idea of what academia was like."

After graduating in the summer, he's now working in the widening participation department at Birmingham City University, helping to raise aspirations among young people who are considering university. Having a master's degree helped him secure the post, he says.

"It meant that I knew what it's like to study at postgraduate and undergraduate level, which is really useful when talking to students. The experience of studying part-time while working also proved that I was able to stay organised and manage my time."

An interest in a particular subject area is one of the most commonly cited reason students pursue master's courses, according to Charlie Ball, deputy director of research at the Higher Education Careers Services Unit (Hecsu), a research charity specialising in graduate employment. But as funding cuts mean students are increasingly footing the bill for postgrad study, whether or not such qualifications will boost their salary is a timely question to ask, he adds.

Overall, statistics suggest that people with master's qualifications are more likely to find work than those with undergraduate degrees – and they're likely to earn a slightly higher wage.

Ball says: "Usually the uplift is about £2-3k to start with, so first degree graduates might be on around £17-22k six months after finishing their course, with master's grads on slightly more."

Of those graduating in 2011-12, data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa) shows 86.6% of postgraduates were working in professional positions six months after graduating, compared with 64% of first degree graduates.

But such figures should be approached with caution, says Ball. Although the number of people studying at master's level has increased rapidly over the past decade – 11% of 26- 60-year-olds in work have postgrad qualifications, compared with 4% in 1996 – few studies have looked at how this will affect an individual's earnings over their lifetime.

Any financial boost is likely to vary according to a student's subject area. "There are sectors where, in order to meet an appropriate professional level, you need a master's – for example, a master's in engineering is required for chartership – so naturally there's a very big premium for having a master's in engineering.

"There are other postgraduate courses where you can specialise in a field of work for example, by doing a master's in social work, which will boost your employability in that profession."

Speaking more broadly, however, there isn't currently a general labour market for master's qualifications, says Ball: "There might be one emerging, but it's not there yet, which is why not many jobs are advertised as requiring a master's degree."

This means that many master's graduates – especially those with generalist rather than vocational qualifications – will be competing against first degree graduates for jobs, agrees Stephen Isherwood, chief executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters.

"If you're studying a technical master's – for example in a pharmaceutical or medical subject area – which has a technical application in the field you're going into, then it's likely that the employer will look upon it favourably," says Isherwood.

"But if you're doing a master's of a more generic nature that's not essential to the advertised job, employers will probably view you in the same way as other graduates. It's unlikely that they'd pay you more."

Those graduating with master's degrees need to spell out to employers that recruiting someone with an additional qualification will benefit their organisation, says Stephen Fish, a careers adviser at Sheffield University.

"If you've done a more general master's course that isn't required by a prospective employer then you need to show what skills you've gained – research skills, lateral thinking and so on. You should show that you're able to study something in-depth and do good critical analysis, a transferable skill in all walks of employment."

Aware of the financial burden that postgraduate study places upon many students, universities are looking at ways to help master's graduates make links with industry, says Fisher. "We're trying to build more employability options onto all kinds of postgraduate courses – for example doing an employer-set project, or spending a certain amount of time on a company premises doing a placement will help boost their CVs and find job opportunities."

For many, he admits, a lack of funding means that continuing university study isn't an option. "Finding funding isn't easy. There are a complex set of sources: some universities may have scholarship opportunities, departments might have opportunities, some offer discounts to students who move from undergraduate to postgraduate level."

And when the 2012-13 cohort of students – the first to have paid £9k fees – graduate, universities anticipate that they will be even less willing to take on additional debt in order to study a master's.

A career and professional development loan (CPDL), alongside part-time work enabled Blower to fund his postgrad. But taking out a CPDL is a big commitment, he adds. "It's a bank loan, so you have to pay it back straight away and with 10% interest."

For Blower, studying a postgrad course was a positive experience, but he recommends that prospective students think strategically about where and what they study.

He says: "You need to have a clear goal and an idea of what you want to get out of it. If you want to get into industry, then think strategically – make sure that you're getting work experience or going on placements and that this links in with your studies.

"Put as much research into finding a postgrad course as you did when searching for an undergraduate course – and think about the end game."

"It's very important for people not to embark on a postgraduate course and think that it will make them more employable by some unknown means," adds Ball. "They will still have to explain to employers what benefits their qualification will bring and be realistic about the kind of jobs they're likely to go for."