To Get Masters Or Get On With Life?

[itshim]

Originally Posted by Mach50

Get a job now. I think people get more out of a Masters program after they have been in the workforce for 5-7 years.

Agreed. I obtained my master's immediately after undergrad, and although I value what I've learned, along my experience and my network, there is a part of me that wishes that I would have waited a few years.

I'll also say this--getting a Master's too early in your field very well may lock you into a specific profession--one that you may not even see yourself in years from now. This is one of the very reasons why experience is so valuable in this sense.

[eofelis]

I have merely a minor in GIS and I was able to find a job as a GIS Specialist for a cultural resources consulting company. I know many other students who got the same minor I did and they got GIS jobs in local and fed agencies. This GIS minor program was targeted at earth science students, so it's mostly glorified cartography, no programming. I don't know any programming at all. I make maps and manage GPS data.

I've thought a bit about getting a Masters in GIS but I'd have to pay for it out of my own pocket ($25k, meh) and I already learn a lot on my own just on the job, solving everyday problems. I think work experience is most important in GIS, rather than education. I know many very good GIS folks who just learned it on their own and worked their way up from there.

[sheena12]

Originally Posted by Flamedown

I will be graduating at the end of the year with a BA in Geography, and I finally settled on wanting to get a job involving GIS once I graduate. Problem is I have been looking at the few GIS job ads there is, and all of them are asking for much more skills/experience than I have. I have been trying to find an internship, and have contacted several public agencies with no response. If I cannot even get an internship, it shows me the hopes of getting a job in the field is pretty hopeless without more experience.

With this, I have been looking for any entry level job out there in any field just to see my options. Most of the entry level jobs I have seen involve sales. I have no interest in sales or customer service. I have been working part time at a library for nearly seven years doing customer service/data entry, and I have no interest in a future full time job involving customer service.

This leaves me at a crossroads, for with the degree I am getting, and the job experience I have it just looks really bleak for me to be able get into any job that is not customer service or sales related. I did not really want to continue on and get a masters, but my bleak outlook in finding a decent job after graduation has me rethinking my plan.

I am thinking about now continuing on at my school in their Geography MA program. There is several reasons including right now I am doing field work for a professor on a research project that has the possibility of collaborating with him on a paper about it. I plan on doing the program in getting more experience with GIS in hopes I will be able to get a job in the field once I graduate. Even if I cannot get a job in the field, I am hoping having a MA will increase my chances in getting a government job or in some other field that does not involved my dreaded customer service or sales. Also, it will delay my entry into the job market which would hopefully be improved some more by the time I am done.

I am hesitant though, because I am kind of tired with school, and was hoping to be able to find a job that allowed me to move out of my parents house, and get on with my life once I got my BA (I am 26, and am ready to have and want my full independence from my family). I am also hesitant because I feel that even if I got the MA in Geography, I could possibly still be in the same boat of not being able to find a job like with a BA. I am willing to spend the next two years of my life and money doing this, if the end result meant I was able to meet my goals of finding a job that allowed me to live on my own, and did not involve customer service or sales. If the MA is not going to help me reach those goals though, then I feel that I am better off just graduating with my BA, getting on with life, and hopefully finding a job even if takes a year or more.

Any advice or insight?

I would get an MA in Geography. Anyone I know with that undergraduate degree - and I know quite a few, has a MA.

I would not get it from the same school where you received your undergrad degree.

Take a year off and work.

There are places where you can get graduate school assistants. You can see another part of the country.

We have two really good ones on the East Coast.

[DrEarth]

Originally Posted by sheena12

I would get an MA in Geography. Anyone I know with that undergraduate degree - and I know quite a few, has a MA.

I would not get it from the same school where you received your undergrad degree.

Take a year off and work.

There are places where you can get graduate school assistants. You can see another part of the country.

We have two really good ones on the East Coast.

I wouldn't. It's not going to help with GIS, other than a few more classes.

I agree with the other poster who recommended learning more programming. Geography + programming, or even a certificate in computer science would be good for GIS and employment in that field.

[Flamedown]

I am still pretty lost in what to do. I did talk to one of my professors today which was highly insightful for me.

If I do not go to grad school, and cannot find a GIS job then I do not know what to do at all. I have no idea what jobs I could even apply for. Like I said, I do not want to do a customer service job ever again, nor do I want to do sales, but they seem like the only entry level jobs out there. Anyone know of any entry level jobs in any other field that do not require a specific skill besides having a BA in something?

I will probably look into certifications or other short term school options I can do that can give me more skills in hope of getting an GIS or some other job.

I am still thinking about going to grad school though, but probably only if I can get into working in our department's GIS research center. That would give me much needed experience in GIS, while at the same time getting my masters. Even if I did go to grad school, it would be only at night and part time allowing me to work a full time job if I can find one.

I saw someone said in response that me graduating at 28, would hinder me in trying to find a job. Does anyone else think the same?

Like someone said in response, I too have thought that getting a masters right now would pigeon would stick me into a niche that would make it get into a different field, but with my current BA only probably getting me into retail/sales type jobs, does it even make much of a difference either way then? It seems like I am stuck no matter what I decide to do.

[pzrOrange]

I would recommend finding a relevant job, work for a few years and get the masters out of your way. a MS degree and 3 years of relevant experience is a perfect combination for any entry-level job in your field.