Job seekers with advanced degrees struggling

The master's degree or doctorate has long been a staple of career success, but more job seekers are finding their advanced degrees aren't helping them in the job market.

"The job creation that we're seeing is disproportionally on the low end, people who have had advanced degrees and have expected to go into six figure jobs are finding that supply/demand curve is not in their favor," said Mitchell Koza, distinguished professor of Management and Global Business at the Rutgers University School of Business.

Koza said with many of the high-paying upper management positions gone, applicants with advanced degrees are left with less opportunity for career advancement or, in the case of job seekers-are forced to apply for entry level positions at a significantly lower pay.

A study on long term unemployment titled Left Behind: The Long Term Unemployed Struggle in an Improving Economy from Rutgers University's Heldrich Center for Workforce Development found nearly half of the long term unemployed said it will take a decade to rebuild their finances. More than 20 percent say it'll take longer.

Ironically, there remains a strong demand for advanced degrees.

"People are not finding jobs which means they are applying for degrees but on the other hand, graduates are finding more of a challenge to find jobs," Koza said.

Koza noted that advanced degrees remain valuable, however the importance of a strong degree from a good school is more important.

The Rutgers professor was candid in saying that most of the current jobs that are gone will not return, however he was hopeful that new ones will take their places.

"We're seeing growth in a variety of sectors. Clearly if you're in the steel industry, that's not coming back…but we are seeing growth in many other sectors," he said. "We are seeing growth in banking once again, in financial and business related services, in internet related services, human services, and software as opposed to hardware development."