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I totally agree with finishing but I am stuck with a psycho roommate that got me kicked out of one of my classes. He talked so bad about me to the professor that the prof didn't even want to take chances to have a discussion or compromise. He just booted me out of the class.
About half of the classmates are unreasonably psychopathically competitive. A few of the professors are psychos and incompetent. Everything else is just average. It is like I am paying big money to take abuse from people that I don't OWE anything to. There is no point..but only to have a masters.
So, now that you know all the information - Would you stay and finish the masters degree?
Is your roommate sleeping with the prof? I'm wondering why the roommate has so much clout with the professor. Anyway, this can and does happen in the real corporate world too, so at least you're getting that experience.
I don't know...there are so many excuses for you not to continue with your degree. I know because I have them. You're not paying big money to take abuse...you're paying it for your degree. You could get the abuse or not get the abuse, but the cost is for your degree to better yourself and hopefully make a lot more money that you would without it. I think you need to look at it that way.
I might be a little naive here, but is there any way you could transfer schools if you dislike everyone this much?
Now that you have given me all the information and I have the information on my own situation, yes, I would still go for it.
If you can't change schools and are stuck with these people, will you feel better if you take off now and don't finish? I wouldn't want to feel like anyone else had any influence on what I can accomplish.
I think you're looking for people here to say, "go ahead and quit..don't worry about it, you don't need the masters and you'll have a great life without it". That could very well be true, but why take the chance if you don't have to?
I don't know if you read my project manager post, but I do have one out there and I would love to hear that I don't need a bachelor's degree and if I get a certificate, everything will be all good wherever I go, but the responses I'm getting don't reflect that and it's good for me to hear it. Doesn't matter that the consensus is against what I'd prefer.
I feel like I'm ranting and on a soapbox right now, so I'll just finish with, YES I do think you should still continue on to get your master's degree!
My thoughts are that you have hit the wall. I did the same thing about a year ago while working on my MBA. I will complete that degree in May of 2008. I was so burnt out from school, work, and life that I nearly lost it. I think that others have done the same and have dealt with it in different ways. Let's face it, working toward a Masters level degree, PHd, Doctorate is a stressfull and hard thing to do. With completion in sight for me in just a few months I have a different perspective and am very happy that I stuck with it. I am willing to bet you that I can accomplish just about anything that I want to in life. In a few months I will have credibility to that fact.
Chances are you don't need the degree to create a successful life for yourself. Many have accomplished more than you and me together will ever accomplish and they don't have a degree. You know what you can do. You are the only one that can keep you from succeeding. Saying that I think it is important to complete the degree. Years from now you will look back on it and either wish that you had stuck with it, or will thank yourself for persevering. Chances are you will be a stronger person for it in the end.
Has not made a big difference in my salary yet. But since few have a masters in my field, it has given me more opportunities than I know what do with. I know I can find a job in my field just about anywhere. For some reason that has not yet translated to $$ but I believe it will soon play out in my quality of life when I find the right job, cause I will be a top candidate in most of the jobs I apply for. (I'm in a technical field that is growing, but is not yet well understood or known, few have a solid background in it)
Also....getting my masters helped me to be more disciplined, and made me a better researcher, and also improved my own confidence level in my field. Those are some things you can't really put a value on...but are really quite valuable.
Make sure its a good program and if you do a thesis or research project, make sure its something you are really interested in or challenged by. That was probably the most useful part for me -- I have something to show, some real original research that I am the expert on.
ps. I put off finsihing my research (and in effect, the whole program) and in that time it was deeply annoying that employers would use that technicality against me (cause in my mind I was finished, just a technicality) to pay me less. I have only been finsihed for a few months...so I have not been able to really see yet what effect it will have but I DO know that employers will use it as a bargaining chip if you have not officially finished it yet.
Just read a story that those that get additional education on the average live longer than those that don't. Many times this can be do to lifestyle of the less educated as they are forced to take on high labor, and chances are more dangerous work than those with an education. Their were other factors as well that they looked at.
For some reason that has not yet translated to $$ but I believe it will soon play out in my quality of life when I find the right job, cause I will be a top candidate in most of the jobs I apply for. (I'm in a technical field that is growing, but is not yet well understood or known, few have a solid background in it)
I think for guys in that situation, the Masters and the even the PhD are a huge benefit. You become a technical expert in a field with high barriers to entry and get to benefit from being in high demand.
For the typical engineer it seems that the BS and then the MBA is the way to go. I think for liberal arts types they are probably not worth much.
Once you have 10+ years under your belt, the sky is the limit. VC's love putting PhD's in as CTOs for startups.
I think for guys in that situation, the Masters and the even the PhD are a huge benefit. You become a technical expert in a field with high barriers to entry and get to benefit from being in high demand.
For the typical engineer it seems that the BS and then the MBA is the way to go. I think for liberal arts types they are probably not worth much.
Once you have 10+ years under your belt, the sky is the limit. VC's love putting PhD's in as CTOs for startups.
Loved your comments on the Liberal arts types. Many of the classes that they take could be considered "Circle Classes". Meaning that they have no use other than to help someone progress from a BA to a Masters to a PHd to the point that they can then teach others the same information so that the new student can get a degree, advance to a masters, PHd and eventually teach the same class to yet another generation of Liberal arts majors. One big circle of people that have accomlished nothing more than advance the cause of liberal arts.
Keep going. You're halfway through and most likely a little burned out. Acknowledge it and don't let the burnout sneak up on you again! I had a friend who sailed through the coursework and bombed on her orals. We had to drag her in, kicking and screaming, for a retake. I seem to remember one or two who had completed all of the coursework, failed the orals and threw everything away. The lessons you are learning in persistence are invaluable.
I was 6 credits (2 classes) shy of completing my master's when I accepted a job in 2003. So I was hired at the BS (Engineering) pay level, which was fine. Even though the company offered to help pay to complete my master's (with the caveat that I have to pay them back if I don't stay 5 years starting from my graduation date), I decided to go it on my own. I wanted the degree to be mine and not financed by my company (considering I had already paid for 90% of it).
I get my master's 6 months later and go to the boss to say "Hey, I got my master's, there should be some compensation increase." It was like pulling teeth... and I didn't even get a promotion out of entry-level. I received a 5% raise (including my yearly raise). I was not pleased.
I flat-out told my boss that "this company does not value the education of its employees." I'm surprised I was not fired on the spot. I was pretty hot-headed back then
But, few years later, I shopped around for another job. My degree opened more doors than I would have expected. Personally, I think that my master's degree gave me a bit more knowledge, but I think that the real "value" in my employment has very little to do with my master's degree.
Anyway, while I kicked myself for spending all that money on this degree for 5 years it paid off in the end. It removed a glass ceiling in terms of pay, benefits, responsibilities, etc. I'd say go for it. And don't be afraid to switch jobs for better compensation when the time is right!
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