Posted: 9/16/2005 3:49:52 PM EDT
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IMO the only reason to get a master's degree or more is so you can earn more money. However my one roomate has a master's degree and she only makes about 35k. To me that is retarted. Opinions anyone ? |
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There are many reasons to obtain a Masters Degree - increase your knowledge in a field, earn more money upon entering the work force, a stepping stone to a PhD, among others. Many people with an MS, or other type of Masters, don't make much money b/c they enter a field that they enjoy knowing that they won't make the 'big bucks.' Immediately after my Masters I didn't make very much but I've moved up quick. To me two extra years of school to start out with 10k higher salary and a higher salary upon retirement is more than worth the extra work. |
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It depends upon one's career field. In some fields a Masters is essential to getting ahead and salary escalation over time. For others it seems like it has far less effect on income. Check professional journals in your field - most fields do annual reports on demographics by education and salary and usually observe on relationships between the two. CWO |
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In my opinion, WHAT you have your degree in is much more important than the differences between a bachelor's and masters. For example, you'd be hard pressed to find a person with a bachelor's in an engineering field making less than someone with a masters in say Russian History or some other liberal arts degree. Just my $.02 Ed |
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If her degree is a useless one then she should be happy she isn't unemployed. You have to get something worthwhile as a first condition. But with that said getting a grad degree is where you really start to learn stuff useful to your career. You will begin to actually work. Experience is gained here. Especcially if you are in a research field CS, ChemE, MechE etc. Although with just a masters you will mostly just take classes and work on your thesis. Get a PhD. if you want to know what research is. And if you want to know what slave loabor to a prof is all about. |
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We posted an opening a few weeks ago and received at least a hundred resumes. Today we sat down and sorted through about 38 of them in an attempt to narrow them down to about 15 or so. We passed over several candidates that had Masters in Computer Science or Engineering for candidates with a BS and experience. We had three people apply with Masters degrees that were waiting tables and had no programming or IT experience. Get your BS, get some work experience and then go back and get your Masters (and let your company pay for it). |
I'd guess that most people with a master's degree would know how to spell "retarded". Or not. 
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The best reasons to get a masters, IMO, is if: 1. You really want to be an academic/professor career in some field and have started doing peer-reviewed articles and have specific areas you want to specialize in by the end of your senior undergraduate year. 2. You got a scholarship where you can pick one up for free or at hardly any cost 3. Deep personal interest, like an MFA, and you understand it probably wont translate into higher pay and will probably rack up some debt, but it's worth it because of the intrinsic value of an in-depth two year program in a specialized field to you and your personal growth as a person. Otherwise, you should really really think hard about why you're getting a masters. |
| Some people are perpetual students... they can't decide on (or are scared of) a real job, so they stay in University a while longer until they grow up. Same is true for PhDs to an extent. These qualifications do open doors for you, to be sure, but I'm not sure thats always in the forefront of many fresh grads contemplating a life of "nose to the grindstone". |
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It is mostly dependant on the individuals. If you take two people of equal intelligence and equal work ethic, one with a masters and one with just a bachelors, then the person with the masters will probably do better due to the better education. The thing is one of the best qualifications behind an education as it is an indicator as to how dedicated you are towards striving. Bachelors? Dedicated. Masters? An indication that the person is more dedicated to strive due to the extra effort he put in to developing himself. In my personal experience in the commodities trading field, I know of people with a bachelors who are doing quite well. I know of people who are doing exceptionally well (seven figure incomes) who dropped out of a masters program as they saw it as a waste of time. I've seen Harvard MBA's who, no shit, would be lucky to hold down a job a Wal-Mart as a cashier. I also know of quite a few who are doing quite well with a high school education. Overall, it depends on the individual, but those with an MBA do better by a bit on average. Let's face it, knowledge is never bad. |
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I ended up getting a MS degree to help me change careers (from accounting to computer science). In retrospect, I really didn't need the degree to get the job - just some experience which I was working on anyway. However, having the degree has helped me get promoted faster -- not because it looked good on my resume, but because I learned things which were very helpful and enabled me to do my job better. There were other benefits as well. I met a lot of nice people -- including some babes. Now that I think about it, I went to night school for about 5 years and had a more active dating life during that period than I did before. That is also where I met my wife. I also liked the challenge of it. It sure beat sitting at home, drinking beer and watching Black Sheep reruns. |
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I got one many years ago primarily since my GI benefits would pay for it and I couldn’t pass that up. After I graduated, it almost got me a decent job with the federal government, but a last minute hiring freeze stopped that. Ultimately, I got no financial benefit out of it that I know of (though having it on my resume might have helped a little in getting a couple of jobs). Still, it was one of my achievements in life – I’ve never regretted it. |
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It's worth it if you are young. Perhaps not so much if you are 35+, because by that time people judge you by your work. I think one mistake people make is they think they will be treated well with an MBA from a 2nd or 3rd tier school. I used to work with a guy who got an MBA from Cal State. He always complained that his friend with an MBA from Stanford got all the good job offers. No kidding. If you do it to better yourself as a person, you cannot go wrong. |
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Air Force SSgt here working on an MSCIS through University of Phoenix Online. AF Tuition Assistance and the GI bill are picking up the bill for it, so I may as well go. I would be foolish not too. I have six more classes, and I am finished! Should have my degree sometime in '06. I need to figure out what I want to do education wise afterwards. Possibly a second masters? I have the money from my GI bill to do a second one. I dont mind going to school, I actually enjoy it... I encourage others I work with to go to school, but most of them lack the motivation.  |
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No such thing as a worthless degree. It is a proven fact that as your education increases so does your quality and often quantity of life. Not to mention the statistics that support the lifetime eanings potential of an individual witha GED or HS diploma vs. various degrees. The differance can be major. Master Degrees are sought after and earned for various reasons - just as one personal taste varies in AR's, women, vehicles, clothes, habits, beverage, food, etc. |