Many people know they want to continue their education, but they don't know what kind of degree to pursue. It's important that you carefully evaluate your choices, because getting a degree is a time consuming and expensive process. In other words, you certainly want to make a choice that will pay dividends for you down the road as well. There are a few different ways that a degree can do this, and they include:

• Qualifying you to join your dream field or get your dream career

• Finding jobs that allow you to pursue worldwide travel

• Raise your credentials and get you a more established, respected job in your organization

• Open up the doors to a wide range of different job and career opportunities

• Pursue a career where you get to help the wellbeing and welfare of those in need

• Job flexibility and lots of time off

• Job security and benefits

• Earning more money and allowing for promotions

These are just a few of the many reasons why people pursue finishing their education, but honestly at the forefront of that is the ability to earn more money. Of course, with more money you can finally live the lifestyle that you're seeking, while taking care of your family and children, getting rid of your debt once and for all and more.

Therefore many people are searching for degrees that can potentially offer the highest salary for them once they graduate. The best degree for most people is one that's easy to complete while still providing a maximum return in terms of salary.

Salary figures for degree recipients are put out from the results of surveys by National Association of Colleges and Employers. Some of the most profitable careers today come from engineering and resource engineering, such as petroleum, chemical, mining and mineral engineering. Computer sciences and information systems also remain lucrative degrees and careers.

The conclusions you can draw from this list is that the careers that pay the most are the ones in the highest demand. There's a great demand for more efficient energy usage, new technological developments and more, and usually these engineering jobs pay great for top quality, entry level individuals. Meanwhile, some of the formerly best paying jobs in the financial and investing industries are not as prominent following the economic breakdown and all of the controversy that came along with it.

Now that you know about some of the highest paying fields and degrees to pursue, then you need to know how to get your hands on one of these degrees for yourself. Once you enroll in an online program offering this kind of education, you will be able to quickly move through your courses while enjoying the great flexibility and convenience that online degrees offer. With this kind of program you can study right from your own home, at any time of the day or night, allowing you to fit your degree into your existing life and all of the other tasks, chores and responsibilities that you have to deal with.

If you really focus on the task at hand, you will be able to accelerate your online education and you can finish your degree in less than half the time that it would take from a traditional program. The Petroleum Engineering degree mentioned above is the number 1 earner, bringing in an average starting salary of over $85,000. That kind of future can be possible for you in just two years or less, which means the time to get started with your own online degree is now.