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Old 02-24-2014, 10:22 PM
 
Location: PHX -> ATL
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So... what do you think? Does it depend on the major or is it across the board?

1. What if is an Accelerated Master's Program and it's only one extra year? Let's say you could get the extra year for free if you work as a TA. If you pay, is it worth it? What if its free?

2. What if it's common for people in the field to have a Master's and not just a Bachelor's? What if a lot of job postings for the field say "Master's preferred"?

3. What if it's the opposite of #2? And people usually just have Bachelor's?

I'm assuming that it varies based on major. What if it is a science, like Biology or Physics? Or Business? What if it's a liberal arts, like English or Film? Engineering?
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Old 02-24-2014, 10:36 PM
 
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1. Yes.
2. Yes.
3. Yes.

Especially in academic areas.

The answers vary in some professional terminal degrees. An MBA, for example.
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Old 02-24-2014, 11:12 PM
 
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If you're absolutely sure that you want to do that field, then get the Masters.

If you're not sure and it's possible to enter the field with just a bachelors, I'd do that.

That way, you could test it out to see if you like it.

Masters degrees can also be used to change careers and if you get one right after your undergrad, it might be a little superfluous to get a 2nd. Though people do that.

In other words, getting a Masters to just have a Masters is a bad idea.

Anyway, if you tell me what Masters you are thinking of going for, I may have an idea, because I have considered many careers over the years.
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Old 02-25-2014, 07:05 AM
 
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- With MBA's, you should first gain a couple of years experience and then go for it. Plus, you should be exposed to all of the business fields so you can 100% be confident in your MBA specialization (MBA's are pricey!).

- If it's a liberal arts field like Psychology, Education, Law, etc; then you should enter a graduate program immediately, since they are not very marketable w/o one.

- With the sciences/engineering/medical (not including pre-med), it really depends. Some sciences are very marketable w/just a bachelors degree. However, a master degree is always helpful.
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Old 02-25-2014, 08:37 AM
 
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I think it's ALMOST always a bad idea.

The exceptions are:

- If you plan on going straight through to a terminal degree (PhD, JD)

- If you are accepted into an elite (top 10) program for law or business school. I think even going straight into an elite grad program for many majors is a bad idea.

Otherwise, I think it's always better to get some experience first and then decide on grad school. This board is littered with posts from people in grad school panicking because they have no experience.
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Old 02-25-2014, 09:16 AM
 
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I think the answer is "it depends." In general, I think you should have some work experience under your belt first.
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Old 02-25-2014, 10:00 AM
 
Location: Sioux Falls, SD area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MemoryMaker View Post
- With MBA's, you should first gain a couple of years experience and then go for it. Plus, you should be exposed to all of the business fields so you can 100% be confident in your MBA specialization (MBA's are pricey!).

- If it's a liberal arts field like Psychology, Education, Law, etc; then you should enter a graduate program immediately, since they are not very marketable w/o one.

- With the sciences/engineering/medical (not including pre-med), it really depends. Some sciences are very marketable w/just a bachelors degree. However, a master degree is always helpful.
I agree with your post with the huge exception being the education field. With today's school budget crunch, a masters degree more often than not will be a detriment to getting your FIRST teaching job.
It takes a few years in the occupation, whether you possess a masters or bachelors, to get comfortable in the classroom and administrators/HR people know this. With a bachelors degree they can pay a rookie teacher less. If you're in a state where having tenure still means something, achieve that first, then get your masters.
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Old 02-25-2014, 10:04 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jmgg View Post
I agree with your post with the huge exception being the education field. With today's school budget crunch, a masters degree more often than not will be a detriment to getting your FIRST teaching job.
It takes a few years in the occupation, whether you possess a masters or bachelors, to get comfortable in the classroom and administrators/HR people know this. With a bachelors degree they can pay a rookie teacher less. If you're in a state where having tenure still means something, achieve that first, then get your masters.


In very few professions is it a good idea to go right into a Master's Program. You price yourself out of the 'entry level' market for jobs, it's generally and expensive way to stay out of the work force unless you get a funded program and often employers that want you to have a MA will pay for it down the road. Obviously there are some jobs that you have to have a masters to start, but not many of them. THen, like others have said, what if you spent all of that money on your BA/MA and don't LIKE the job???
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Old 02-25-2014, 12:30 PM
 
Location: State of Transition
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"What if, what if what if?" Just go for it! It sounds like a great deal they're offering you.
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Old 02-25-2014, 01:09 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by :-D View Post
What if it's a liberal arts, like English or Film? Engineering?
1) Yes
2) Yes
3) probably not unless the deal was too good to pass up

Evaluate what you think your career goals are. For liberal arts it's hard to say. An English master's doesn't really prepare you for any career track so I'd tend to say no. Though if they're giving you free tuition and a stipend, it beats being unemployed. For film you're probably better off actually working on your craft, but again, if they're offering free tuition and a stipend, it may beat being unemployed and you may be able to work on your craft in your spare time.

For a field like accounting I would totally do it. The Masters will open up more options, and there's less worry about being 'priced out' of entry positions. They'll hire and pay anyone willing to suck up the long work hours required.
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