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Did your Master's degree help you career-wise? (just got my MSc)

T

Tenrius

Member
Just got a MSc degree from a decent university and it didn't even cost me anything, so I can't complain. It probably won't bring about any immediate changes for me as I've been working in pretty much the best possible place for over a year now.

So I'm wondering, was it worth for other people who bothered to go through graduate school? Did it improve your job situation, especially in the long term?
 
S

Sectorseven

Member
If you're serious about your particular profession, it can definitely help. Usually Master's degrees cost thousands of dollars so it makes sense that it would be towards something you're really passionate about. Though if it's more about padding your resume I don't think it is really worth it.
 
n0razi

n0razi

Member
The actual degree and education? Not a bit

The handful of friends and professors from my program that became part of my professional network, yes. Almost everyone from my program is either a part of or a co-founder of a startup and we help each other out.
 
S

Slo

Member
I haven't even completed my Master's in CompSci yet, but just putting it on my resume as a work in progress has completely changed the companies that I get recruited by. It's night and day; whereas before I was only getting attention from local firms in the Midwest, now I frequently get contacted by internal recruiters from major companies in SV, Seattle, and NYC.

It helps that the school I'm going to is very well respected, while the one that I did my undergrad at was one that no one's ever heard of.

I was apprehensive about going to grad school at first, but once my company offered to pay for it, it became a no-brainer. No regrets.
 
womfalcs3

womfalcs3

Banned
Yes. I wouldn't have gotten my current job without my master's degree. And I wouldn't have gotten my raises thereafter without it. It's paid for itself.

Edit: I would clarify, I majored in mechanical engineering.
 
S

Speevy

Banned
As a teacher, it's an automatic pay increase, which is to say it's not much but I need every dime I can get.
 
J

JAGMASK

Member
Got an MSc in wildlife conservation last year, and it hasn't made a difference job search wise. I'm getting quite disillusioned with the area of ecology and am considering switching careers to IT.
 
C

Couleurs

Member
Masters in Accounting here; most states have 150 credit hour requirements to be eligible for the CPA exam, so if you are an accounting major planning to go for it, you either go for your masters or a second major.

Not sure if I'd say it has helped much other than meeting CPA exam requirements. Like, I'm sure it looks good on my resume, but being a CPA looks way better; so going for a second major probably would have been a better choice.
 
T

The Shadow

Member
It absolutely helped my wife. She was having a hard time finding work with her bachelors but found a good paying job within a year of graduating with her masters.

JAGMASK said:
Got an MSc in wildlife conservation last year, and it hasn't made a difference job search wise. I'm getting quite disillusioned with the area of ecology and am considering switching careers to IT.
Click to expand...

Honest opinion, don't get into IT. It's over-saturated. I went to a resume workshop with my wife a year ago, and no exaggeration, about 80-90% of the people there were trying to get a job in IT.

Edit: I had a high paying IT job and when I left, it was an absolute dog fight to get it as it paid pretty good. The same thing happened when my former boss quit (Sys-Admin).
 
T

The_Inquisitor

Member
Got my MSEE in December. I did not get a pay increase in my current role. From what i've read I need to hop jobs to see an increase. I'm contemplating switching job types though so I need to get my shit together and start interviewing.
 
M

mokeyjoe

Member
Mature student here. Got an MA which has got me doing funded research now for my PhD. Which is what I wanted to do so I guess so. It's more than paid for itself now. Dunno what'll happen after that, up to me I guess.

It's like any qualification - does it directly help you get where you want to be?
 
K

Kelsdesu

Member
Slo said:
I haven't even completed my Master's in CompSci yet, but just putting it on my resume as a work in progress has completely changed the companies that I get recruited by. It's night and day; whereas before I was only getting attention from local firms in the Midwest, now I frequently get contacted by internal recruiters from major companies in SV, Seattle, and NYC.

It helps that the school I'm going to is very well respected, while the one that I did my undergrad at was one that no one's ever heard of.

I was apprehensive about going to grad school at first, but once my company offered to pay for it, it became a no-brainer. No regrets.
Click to expand...


Can't imagine pursuing a Masters in CompSci. Bs hard enough. What does that even entail?
 
E

Exuro

Member
I had an internship with a national lab during undergrad and undergraduate positions were slim pickings, so I went for my Masters and got a position pretty quickly.
 
L

LilWayneSuckz

Member
Yes. I wanted to join the accounting field, however, I only had a Bachelors of Arts in mathematics.

Getting a masters of science in accounting basically gave me the credits to sit for the CPA and look fairly competent in the profession.
 
F

FiggyCal

Banned
mokeyjoe said:
Mature student here. Got an MA which has got me doing funded research now for my PhD. Which is what I wanted to do so I guess so. It's more than paid for itself now. Dunno what'll happen after that, up to me I guess.

It's like any qualification - does it directly help you get where you want to be?
Click to expand...

But you paid for the MA yourself, correct?
 
M

Makai

Member
I worked with some programmers who had their masters - I dropped out of Poli Sci/Comp Sci bachelors. We had similar years of experience, role, and tenure at the company but when we compared salaries, I made 10-20% more.
 
S

Slo

Member
Kelsdesu said:
Can't imagine pursuing a Masters in CompSci. Bs hard enough. What does that even entail?
Click to expand...

I mean, it's more of the same. Expectations are just higher and there's Thesis/Project at the end, depending on the program. I'm doing a Professional, non-thesis degree since I've got 15 years experience and have no plans to go into research/academia.

Honestly, I feel my work and life experience has really prepared me for it well. It's a matter of time management, and staying on top of your assignments. If I were 23 years old and right out of undergrad, I'd probably be overwhelmed.
 
MrMephistoX

MrMephistoX

Member
Yes but go to an accredited non-profit actual state school or reputable private school not an online program like Phoneix. I'm making $25K more after the program and am set to possibly make more if I switch companies. It's kind of a great way to fix your degree if you followed the stupid gen x and millennial parent advice from pre recession days to major in your passion during undergrad.
 
Sunster

Sunster

Member
MrMephistoX said:
Yes but go to an accredited non-profit actual state school or reputable private school not an online program like Phoneix. I'm making $25K more after the program and am set to possibly make more if I switch companies. It's kind of a great way to fix your degree if you followed the stupid gen x and millennial parent advice from pre recession days to major in your passion during undergrad.
Click to expand...

lmao this is me. luckily i changed course from an arts degree to a science before my 2nd year of undergrad.
 
O

Ovid

Member
This is an interesting thread for me since I'm an older student set to graduate in the Fall with an Economics degree.

Looking to go to grad school next year in Finance or Economics.

I'm a career switcher after working in licensed consumer products for several years. I'm hoping the masters will be helpful since I have many years of work experience but not in those particular fields.
 
T

TrounceX

Member
The Shadow said:
It absolutely helped my wife. She was having a hard time finding work with her bachelors but found a good paying job within a year of graduating with her masters.



Honest opinion, don't get into IT. It's over-saturated. I went to a resume workshop with my wife a year ago, and no exaggeration, about 80-90% of the people there were trying to get a job in IT.

Edit: I had a high paying IT job and when I left, it was an absolute dog fight to get it as it paid pretty good. The same thing happened when my former boss quit (Sys-Admin).
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say all of IT is over-saturated. Cybersecurity in particular is absolutely booming right now. There's supposed to be a huge deficit of qualified workers by 2020. Now is a good time to get in. I only have a 2 year degree in network systems and about 3 years of IT experience, yet I somehow landed a very high paying consulting job in security. Recruiters on linkedin hit me up on a pretty frequent basis.

I feel like if I had a masters, or hell even a bachelors, I could easily be making 6 figures at this point. My friend has a masters in cybersecurity and gets offers for $150k+. It's ridiculous.
 
Sunster

Sunster

Member
TrounceX said:
I wouldn't say all of IT is over-saturated. Cybersecurity in particular is absolutely booming right now. There's supposed to be a huge deficit of qualified workers by 2020. Now is a good time to get in. I only have a 2 year degree in network systems and about 3 years of IT experience, yet I somehow landed a very high paying consulting job in security. Recruiters on linkedin hit me up on a pretty frequent basis.

I feel like if I had a masters, or hell even a bachelors, I could easily be making 6 figures at this point. My friend has a masters in cybersecurity and gets offers for $150k+. It's ridiculous.
Click to expand...

Rihanna+surprised..gif


now that's interesting
 
N

NewFresh

Member
I've been thinking about getting my MBA at 27. Friends and co-workers of mine who do have one say it opened the door for them yet are making less than I am with my BS. I would guess that overall it does help in the long run.
 
K

Kuraudo

Banned
Yeah, ended up getting a fully funded scholarship for a PhD which I couldn't have without it.

MrMephistoX said:
Yes but go to an accredited non-profit actual state school or reputable private school not an online program like Phoneix. I'm making $25K more after the program and am set to possibly make more if I switch companies. It's kind of a great way to fix your degree if you followed the stupid gen x and millennial parent advice from pre recession days to major in your passion during undergrad.
Click to expand...

As someone who got a degree in Computer Science, but had no interest in going into industry and wished I'd done something I had passion about until I eventually went back to uni to do so, this is not in fact terrible advice.
 
J

Jabronium

Member
Finished my MBA a couple years ago, paid for through work. Didn't really do anything for me immediately, but have gotten 1 promotion since with my 2nd being currently in process. Can't say I really remember much from the curriculum but I think I'm better off for it.
 
W

Waylon Drums

Member
I have one in higher education administration. It helped me go from making peanuts to making slightly more peanuts. Benefits are good, though.
 
V

Violence Jack

Member
TrounceX said:
I wouldn't say all of IT is over-saturated. Cybersecurity in particular is absolutely booming right now. There's supposed to be a huge deficit of qualified workers by 2020. Now is a good time to get in. I only have a 2 year degree in network systems and about 3 years of IT experience, yet I somehow landed a very high paying consulting job in security. Recruiters on linkedin hit me up on a pretty frequent basis.

I feel like if I had a masters, or hell even a bachelors, I could easily be making 6 figures at this point. My friend has a masters in cybersecurity and gets offers for $150k+. It's ridiculous.
Click to expand...

I have a Masters in IT, and all it got me was about $20k more as a system administrator. I was hoping it would springboard me into a cyber security role.
 
A

ascii42

Member
I got my Master's in Software Engineering after I already started working. I work for the federal government, which basically ascribes extra points when rating you for promotions and such. I can't really know whether or not it's actually made the difference in anything, but I don't regret getting it. I'm only 31, so there's plenty more time for it to potentially pay off if it hasn't already.
 
MrMephistoX

MrMephistoX

Member
Kuraudo said:
Yeah, ended up getting a fully funded scholarship for a PhD which I couldn't have without it.



As someone who got a degree in Computer Science, but had no interest in going into industry and wished I'd done something I had passion about until I eventually went back to uni to do so, this is not in fact terrible advice.
Click to expand...


That's kind of my point. Financially though you're better off getting a BA in a field you like that has career potential so you don't have to go back and get a masters or above if endless student loan payments aren't something you're keen on. Not something you hate obviously but something that will help you learn skills to get a job. otherwise if someone has every intention of going to post graduate might as well just have fun.
 
S

spekkeh

Banned
I'm an assistant professor, so yeah couldn't have done it without getting a Masters (over here at least you first have to complete an MSc before being eligible for a PhD, and you need a PhD to continue on in academia).

That said, I was the first in my country as far as I'm aware with a PhD in (evidence based) game design, and I was sure this would lend me a job at a game company, but nobody wanted me. So staying in academia was not completely volitionally. I'm sure if I dropped out of community college and made games in the attic like the rest of them the bastards would have given me a job.
 
L

Linkyn

Member
The entry exam for teaching I took this year requires a Master's degree or higher as part of the application process, so it was an absolute necessity for my career goals.

I've also done some summer work in a local private research lab, and most of their job listings ask for an MSc or equivalent, as well. Depending on your field, you might consider yourself lucky if you don't need a PhD.
 
D

Deleted member 125677

Unconfirmed Member
Absolutely. MA in History qualified me for my PhD, which qualified me for my current position.
 
A

Althane

Member
Working in IT, yes, but not as much as you'd think. In fact, 90% of it has been more from the opportunities I got while at grad school rather than the degree in and of itself.

Pay-wise it has had almost no impact outside my first few years.

Fake edit: It was a MSc in Computer Engineer. Bachelor's in Computer Science.
 
W

WedgeX

Banned
Even while getting my masters now, my internship pays more than I made in my old job.

Granted, I was in social work before. But still.
 
K

Kelsdesu

Member
WedgeX said:
Even while getting my masters now, my internship pays more than I made in my old job.

Granted, I was in social work before. But still.
Click to expand...


Social work really needs to be a protected major sort of like Engineering. Where you have to test or something to call yourself a legit social worker. A lot of folks getting MSWs (and a fuck ton of debt)getting screwed over pay because of the lack thereof.
 
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