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I am about to graduate this semester with a BA in international business and marketing, unfortunately I don't have any real-work experience just had an 2-month internship last summer, however I have an opportunity to continue on a cheap discounted tuition to get an master of science degree in marketing only and I have to do it right after I get my BA and it has to be done in 1 year, so I was wondering in my situation would it be more beneficial to work and get more experience or go ahead and accept this opportunity, if so why?
Experience at a white collar job that requires (and makes use of) a Bachelors degree >>>> more education every time (unless the education in question is to become an M.D.).
People with advanced degrees are a dime-a-dozen today, and almost anyone can get a Masters degree as long as they are willing to pay the tuition costs, the opportunity costs, and the living expenses. In contrast, actually working at a white collar job that makes use of a Bachelors degree is much more difficult simply because it's difficult to find entry-level white collar jobs today. Having high-quality real-world experience like is much rarer than having additional education. There's a much higher barrier to obtaining a job like that than to tacking on degrees.
People with 4 year degrees are a dime a dozen not advanced degrees. Even saying 4 year degrees are a dime a dozen is a huge stretch. More like 1/3'ish of the US pop 25 and older has a BS/BA. And around 1/10th to 1/20th have an advanced degree. It varies by state. A few states have a crazy amount of advanced degree holders thou. But the majority do not.
Experience at a white collar job that requires (and makes use of) a Bachelors degree >>>> more education every time (unless the education in question is to become an M.D.).
Hardly the truth. It's not that black and white. There's plenty of scenarios where graduate level education trumps experience.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bhaalspawn
People with advanced degrees are a dime-a-dozen today, and almost anyone can get a Masters degree as long as they are willing to pay the tuition costs, the opportunity costs, and the living expenses. In contrast, actually working at a white collar job that makes use of a Bachelors degree is much more difficult simply because it's difficult to find entry-level white collar jobs today. Having high-quality real-world experience like is much rarer than having additional education. There's a much higher barrier to obtaining a job like that than to tacking on degrees.
You're over simplifying it. It depends on what you want to do and where you want to work.
You are much better off getting work experience before going back for your Masters. You will appreciate it a lot more and will get a lot more out of the academic experience with a few years of work under your belt. Plus, once you start working in your field you might find you don't even like it and it would have been a waste to get a Masters in it.
I always lean towards telling people to work first before getting a masters, for a couple of reasons:
1. It is hard to know if you are truly interested in a career unless you've actually worked in it for a while. Also, a Masters narrows in on a specific subject - every class is related to the subject - and leaves you qualified to work in that niche, so unless you are sure you have a real passion for that field, you could be putting yourself in a bad situation. You could end up taking endless classes in something that bores you to tears and find that you would never want to do this thing for a job.
2. Most professional Masters programs are designed for people who have had actual real world experience. Your education will not resonate as well, nor will you have as much to contribute in class, if you have not ever experienced working in the field.
3. There is a real phenomenon of people graduating with Masters and little work experience who cannot find a job on the level of their degree afterwards. This does not happen in every field, but it is worth considering. For instance, a company hiring someone to run a marketing team is not going to hire someone who has never held a single marketing job, degree or not.
Now, some people graduate from masters programs in your situation and do fine. I wold recommend speaking with the school's career office to find out what typically happens to graduates in your situation.
I say this as someone who went straight into a Master's program from undergrad. I would have liked to have had some work experience but where I was living, there were not a lot of jobs from what I wanted to do, and it's not all that unheard of in my field to go straight into a Masters Program so I don't consider myself to be at a huge disadvantage.
OP, try to utilize the resources at your university's career center. Sometimes they can help you make connections that you wouldn't otherwise make. Best of luck!
A master of engineering learned many things undergraduates didn't learn.
Also, in the US many undergraduates are really bad. However if they managed to finish an MS, you know at least the can learn and work to some extent.
I am about to graduate this semester with a BA in international business and marketing, unfortunately I don't have any real-work experience just had an 2-month internship last summer, however I have an opportunity to continue on a cheap discounted tuition to get an master of science degree in marketing only and I have to do it right after I get my BA and it has to be done in 1 year, so I was wondering in my situation would it be more beneficial to work and get more experience or go ahead and accept this opportunity, if so why?
Thanks in advance guys
There used to be something employers called "MA equivalency" when considering candidates for a job. But a lot of employers now require an actual MA instead. The flexibility that was part of hiring policy before is now gone. I would opt for the accelerated MA you have the opp'ty to complete. It'll make you more employable. BA's now are like HS degrees used to be. They'll get you a barista , cashier or receptionist job, but not much more. I'd go for the discounted tuition and the 1-year MA, if you can handle it. You'd only be postponing the acquisition of real-work experience by a year, so there's no real downside to this.
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