In the Salary Race, Engineers Sprint but English Majors Endure

[Tiger15]

I see that the days of just a Bachelor's degree leading to a good career even in an engineering field are on the way out.  Keep seeing Master's degree preferred or required for many positions.  But I have been following this for only 40 years so may be wrong.  My father had a good career in sales with just a Bachelor's degree in Economics (1949) but today that would get him a sales associate position in a department store chain.  Things have changed over the decades and not for the better.  

It's true that many job postings list Master's degree preferred. But you should apply anyway. A rather small percentage of engineers actually have Master's. It's definitely a nice-to-have and can open some doors, but definitely not a requirement for the vast majority of positions.