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If you can't get work now with experience and a degree, there is absolutely no reason to think additional education will help. You need to move to a better area.
QFT. Relocation is a better option than going back to school IMO.
How do you feel about living in Albany, NY? NYS has continuing recruitment for IT professionals: Civil Service: IT which means that your civil service "exam" is really an evaluation of your education and experience. Most of the IT jobs will be in Albany, the state capital. Albany is quite a nice city, about 100,000 people, in a metro that's probably about 500,000, pretty diverse and open-minded with a major university and teaching hospital along with a thriving arts scene. It's about 3 hours from NYC and Boston, about 4 from Montreal, and hour from Vermont and the Adirondak wilderness.
I think more and more people are finding that getting another degree isn't a ticket to solving employment woes. Don't do it OP. You're just going to spend more money and/or go into debt without any real guarantees this will kick start your career.
I have a bachelor's degree in Information technology. Over the past five years since college, I have amassed a lot of work experience among other forms of experience, but I have not had very much luck in the job market. I am currently unemployed.
I've always wanted to complete my masters--and possibly teach. I know that the value of the college degree has degraded to a great degree, but I really am at a point where I need to do whatever it takes to get where I want to be. I'm at a point where I have nothing to lose.
Would going back to school be a good move for me, or would I be dooming myself to a lifetime of debt and misery?
Thanks for any advice and insight.
No mater how a college degree has "degraded" in recent times ( I think that's an over statement) it is still the gold standard of how we measure one's caliber of accumulated knowledge in a field. Nothing beats an advanced degree on that count.
Add to that the fact that you have always wanted to teach and has always wanted a master's degree. I think that entering a master's program is obviously your path.
If you are debt phobic, then you will deny yourself this opportunity for personal, professional and academic achievement. It's really your call.
In terms of the master's degree, I think that it is similar to a BA for my generation, and I am encouraging my college and high school students to obtain them before they begin working. It's easier now than later.
It's easier to do that now than after they have been working for a while.
My best advice is the advice that I'd give my own children - obtain the master''s while you are young.
If you can't get work now with experience and a degree, there is absolutely no reason to think additional education will help. You need to move to a better area.
Good point. Once of the nicer things about a degree is it helps open up work opportunities nationally and even globally. Particularly in since the internet. You can apply to jobs all over the world.
I've always wanted to complete my masters--and possibly teach. I know
who do you want to teach? K-12 or higher ed?
Quote:
Originally Posted by floomer99
Will an MS in Computer Science help my job prospects enough to justify the cost?
normally i do not recommend an MS in comp sci for employment purposes (and i have one, along with lots of work experience)
however in your case, it might help. this would be assuming you don't already know how to program well, but have an interest in software development and some talent with technology. is this the case? if so, if you can get into a decent but reasonably priced program (likely a solid public school at in state rates) it might be useful
someone mentioned a PhD. this is not a good idea for employment purposes, even in the field of CS, and despite the possibility of funding
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