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I think the choice of getting the Masters are going to be based on several variables 1) career field, 2) career change, 3) and acquiring executive positions (sometimes). Pursuing graduate education for purposes of career advancement really require strategic planning. Getting a masters for the sake of having a masters without prior experience in the field or a true intention to use the masters within that field appropriately is a easy way to become over-educated. I think people should really tailor their graduate education based on their long-term career outlook and not based on getting any singular job.
I am so grateful I did not immediately run into my masters for my career change. I have opted to seek a post-undergraduate certificate to build my foundation. Personally, I will build a base via an educational foundation along with experience prior to the next step. Later, I will obtain a masters in a niche area of my career field that 99% of the time requires graduate education; by the time I am finished with the degree I will be ready with education and experience to transition into that position.
There are various outcomes to any scenario. Hopefully most people seek advanced/higher education for the right reasons so they can achieve the right benefits from it.
Lets just use this as an example, so you can see a similar field, but it might help, and it might not help.
Me and hnsq look to have similar undergrad and work in IT, while he is getting an MBA, that would put him in a managerial role or PM role... and it would probably be lucrative
I on the other hand don't need that for the jobs I am shooting for, or the career I want.
I want nothing to do with management or more responsibility... so MBA would be useless and overqualify me for more work life balance jobs I would want, two different boats. While an MSCS might help GET a job, and many positions say they want either BSCS or preferred MSCS... there isn't THAT much of a reason to get an MSCS... esp after I already started my career, I see it as more of incurring more debt.
So, depends on what you want, I certainly wouldn't take it on to please your ego or give you some kind of feel good pat on your back about how smart or qualified you are, there are other paths for that. If you need it to get something you want, then do it.
As others have mentioned, it totally depends on your experience, what your goals are, and what the degree is in.
For example, I have a friend who is pretty high up in a bank. Last year even she was in great demand and switched companies. She started off as a teller and worked her way up. In the middle of her career she got her MBA (I forget specifically what it was in). She would not be where she is today if it were not for that MBA.
Another example, my BIL is an officer in the navy. He has an engineering degree from the Naval Acadamy. He just finished an MBA in Project Management and he just got offered a (what I think is) high paying job civilian job. He actually turned it down and is staying with the navy for another two years because he doesn't want to stay in the city where the job was offered. I have no doubt that MBA in PM will help him tremendously when he decides to leave the navy.
I have another friend who has a bachelor's in accounting. She is currently working on her masters. I have no doubt that her MBA will help her.
Me on the other hand, I have been a stay at home mom for 7 years. I don't think it would do me one lick of good right now to start working on my MBA. What I want to do is get back into the workforce and get an MBA or certificate in HR or Project Management later on.
Even so, it will help someone later on down the road if they work on their MBA now. It just won't necessarily help them immediately when they graduate, they need the work experience to go along with it.
thank you for your good post.
employers ask for an MBA bek they can --- no real reason.
monster debt is something to be avoided especially now.
young people dont need advanced degrees and monster debt, they need a trade.
i prefer jr college VE training debt free, my pick is RN, can be completed entirely in jr college.
lvn program 42 unit then crossover program of 30 units to RN.
I think one more important factor is if your employer helps pay for it. At my current job, my employer will pay for 90% of a master's degree (MBA or Masters in Information Systems), and all I have to do is commit to 3 years after I get the degree. If something like that is available to you, you would be foolish not to pursue the degree. If I had to pay out of pocket I would have a much more difficult time deciding whether to go after an MBA, but since I am only paying 10% of everything (tuition, books, fees, etc), it would be a mistake not to.
People with MBA's make 30% more than people in similar jobs without them.
I don't think that is necessarily the case any more. I worked at a company with 385,000 employees and many times those with MBAs made the same as people without any degree at all. Pay was soley based on experience and abilities. PhDs were a bit of a different story because they are much more rare...probably what MBAs used to be. PhDs were something to brag about to customers.
Here is an interesting article concerning MBAs and the diversity of their pay:
I think one more important factor is if your employer helps pay for it. At my current job, my employer will pay for 90% of a master's degree (MBA or Masters in Information Systems), and all I have to do is commit to 3 years after I get the degree. If something like that is available to you, you would be foolish not to pursue the degree. If I had to pay out of pocket I would have a much more difficult time deciding whether to go after an MBA, but since I am only paying 10% of everything (tuition, books, fees, etc), it would be a mistake not to.
No doubt, if I had a company offer it, I would do it. I have gotten certifications and training paid for and took everything thrown at me. As for a masters degree, haven't found one to offer me that yet haha.
Ultimately, it can help. It still puts the degree-holder above those without that degree. Even if the market is full of MBAs, if you are looking for a career that needs that degree you are better off having it than not having it.
I have a Masters in Electrical Engineering to compliment my Computer Engineering bachelor degree. It opened up plenty of doors for me. I would getting an advanced degree to anybody willing to take on the risk. You will be saddled with plenty of debt (most likely) and you might not reap the rewards immediately. In my field, a masters did not mean much until I had some more experience, but then I leap-frogged all of my peers and even those with more experience than I had.
Well, last time I looked, grad school isn't free. I think it could be very unwise to go to school because the economy is in the tank. I see people getting master's degrees all the time because they don't know what else to do. A couple of years later, they still don't know what to do, have no job, and have more debt.
Of course, as others have said, it depends on the master's and the field and the person's job experience. Just plowing through some degree because there's nothing else going on only delays the day of reckoning (and often makes it more expensive).
First off, I am all for education. I have a MS myself because it is required eventually of teachers.
However, it seems like so many people are thinking grad school is going to help them get a job or jump to the top of the pile.
What do you guys think of this?
Everywhere you hear about 'getting retrained' so off some of us are going to nursing school or to get paralegal degrees. Okay, I see that.
Meanwhile, does the average business person need a Masters? I just met up with an acquaintance who was laid off in August. She thinks getting her Masters (in some sort of business field, I am not sure what).
I wonder if companies would be 'more willing' to hire people with Masters or are these folks just making themselves unemployable?
Well, it depends on what field the degree is in. I would like to get a masters in speech therapy, a high demand field. A masters degree is speech therapy would be useful. However, if the masters is in elementary education, an extremely saturated field, then a masters would not be worth it. Actually bachelors degrees in elementary education are getting pretty useless as well.
Unfortunately, many who can not find a job in their field are going back to school for the next higher degree in their particular field. These people may be wise to switch fields altogether, learn a trade, take a lower paying job, or take classes in a totally different field. The next higher degree doesn't always equate guaranteed employment. Many of us with bachelors degrees should already know that. I think the unemployed person should do whatever they think is best for them after doing extensive research and job searching.
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