I have held the belief (along with many other people) that a masters university degree would ensure a decent income, barring a major medical or accidental incident in one's life. I would not alter my view that it is always better to have more education and skills than less. A recent event in the life of a childhood friend has caused me to pause and reconsider my assumptions about her life, in particular. I have known for about 20 years that Lorraine's marriage has not been a particularly happy or smooth one. It was not until recently that I learned through a reunion with her sister (through Classmates.com) that her marriage was not just a bit difficult. The truth is that she has been married to a bully and now that she finally has the courage to leave him (or he filed for divorce against her, I am not sure of the details) he has continued to wreak havoc in her life, withholding support payments for their children, despite the fact that Lorraine has custody and responsibility for her children). Despite her master's level education, she has been out of the workforce being a full-time mom to her three children and upon re-entering the job market, she has only been able to obtain part-time employment as a math teacher at a university. She also supplements her inadeqaute income through tutoring. Since not many parents are willing or able to hire a tutor for their children, that is not a great source of income. Lorraine belongs to a church that encourages mothers to stay at home with this children, and her husband desired her to do that also.
To add insult to injury, her eldest daughter died suddenly from a blood clot as a result of a routine surgery. The loss of her daughter has hit Lorraine with a devastating blow, and it has also affected her ex-husband, knocking the wind out of his sails. Her lawyer had encouraged her to try to get a settlement for the defaulted support money ASAP before her ex regains his energy in the battle. Of course, Lorraine is hard hit emotionally as well, but this has given her a bit of an advantage - hopefully, just the advantage she needs at this time. Lorraine told me she lives at the poverty line and her ex-husband makes $100,000 per year.
I hope Lorraine wins this battle for her own sake and for the sake of her children.
In summary, there are no guarantees that post-secondary education alone can ensure an adequate income for a lifetime.