Is it worth doing a Masters instead of Bachelors degree?

[Alchemisst]

Due to some work experience and a diploma, I got accepted to do either a bachelors degree or masters degree. I am just wondering if the lack of a bachelors degree will hold me back in the future? Would this be an issue for some jobs/ employers?

[Metalcat]

No one can answer this without a lot more information.

This is so industry/job specific. There's no universal value for bachelor and graduate degrees. It depends on what they're in, what the program is like, what school they're from.

What skills would be different in each program, and which are more marketable? Have you looked at job listings in your profession? Do they often ask for a master's degree? Why?

Will your particular masters program that you are looking at be the kind of masters these jobs are asking for? In my industry there are master's and doctorates that superficially look similar, but have radically different career outcomes.

Have you talked to a recruiter about what education is most desirable in your profession, and why?

[Alchemisst]

Thanks, the degree is GIS and in Australia. The jobs usually ask for relevant qualifications and experience. However I'm not sure I want to stay in the industry. Most seem to ask for a degree and the masters is faster than undergrad which is why I'm considering it.

[Must_ache]

It doesn't make any sense to me that a master's degree would be "faster".
If it only takes one year, is that because it is contingent on already having a bachelor's degree first?

[GhostSaver]

Is the diploma that you have the equivalent of a bachelor's?

Generally speaking, I wouldn't say getting a second bachelor's is worth it.

Sent from my Pixel 6a using Tapatalk

[Alchemisst]

It doesn't make any sense to me that a master's degree would be "faster".
If it only takes one year, is that because it is contingent on already having a bachelor's degree first?

No,  it's 1.5 years. Usually bachelors is required but can use diploma/ experience as entry requirement.

[ChpBstrd]

I've never heard of anyone being held back because they started a terminal Masters' program and skipped the undergrad degree. I have heard of people who had to quit partway through such programs and ended up with no degree. If you can manage that risk, don't worry about it.

[Alchemisst]

What is meant by terminal?

[Metalcat]

I've never heard of anyone being held back because they started a terminal Masters' program and skipped the undergrad degree. I have heard of people who had to quit partway through such programs and ended up with no degree. If you can manage that risk, don't worry about it.

It would really depend on what the person's specific goals are. There are some graduate programs that are very specific skills that wouldn't actually make someone more generally employable in a field compared to having a broader-skills bachelor degree.

For example, my school offers a doctorate that is essentially useless for professional opportunities. It is excellent for developing specific skills if I have those specific career goals, but wouldn't expand my job options or even my earning potential. Meanwhile, there's a different masters degree I could do, which could dramatically increase my job opportunities.

So I can imagine some masters programs are similarly specialized. But I'm not familiar at all with OP's industry, so I really can't say much other than that they should talk to people in their industry who know which programs are most valuable.

[kanga1622]

What is meant by terminal?

Terminal is essentially the final degree earned. For instance, in the US many athletic training programs are moving from a bachelors (BS) to a direct entry master's program. This means students can be accepted straight from high school into a master's program and never receive an undergraduate degree. As this it the "new" path in this discipline it doesn't hold anyone back if they later decide to further their education.

[Must_ache]

Penn State offers a "Master's in Applied Statistics (MAS)" which would be useful coursework for a practical data scientist.
But it's a terminal degree in the sense that if you wanted to get a Ph.D. you would want to get a traditional Master's degree in Statistics (MS) first (or be admitted straight into the Ph.D. program taking the same MS courses)  Some of the MAS courses would not be accepted and you would need to fulfil extra coursework to get on the Ph.D. track.

[AMandM]

If you are thinking of switching fields, so that in the future you'd be applying for jobs that want "a degree" but not "this degree," I think a master's is probably more flexible than a bachelor's. Plus, it may put you in a higher pay band from the start.

[newco]

What is meant by terminal?

Terminal is essentially the final degree earned. For instance, in the US many athletic training programs are moving from a bachelors (BS) to a direct entry master's program. This means students can be accepted straight from high school into a master's program and never receive an undergraduate degree. As this it the "new" path in this discipline it doesn't hold anyone back if they later decide to further their education.

Won't this water down a traditional bachelors degree if anyone with a high school diploma can basically skip a bachelors and go right to a masters?  Not than any hiring manager would be stupid enough to hire someone based on degree alone, but I don't see how this is beneficial to anyone...

[kanga1622]

What is meant by terminal?

Terminal is essentially the final degree earned. For instance, in the US many athletic training programs are moving from a bachelors (BS) to a direct entry master's program. This means students can be accepted straight from high school into a master's program and never receive an undergraduate degree. As this it the "new" path in this discipline it doesn't hold anyone back if they later decide to further their education.

Won't this water down a traditional bachelors degree if anyone with a high school diploma can basically skip a bachelors and go right to a masters?  Not than any hiring manager would be stupid enough to hire someone based on degree alone, but I don't see how this is beneficial to anyone...

Depends on the career path. 20+ years ago I was accepted straight from high school into an MPA program. In order to meet the credit requirement to sit for the CPA exam at that time (I haven't kept up on the requirements since) you had to have 150 credits so it made sense to go straight to a masters if you wanted a CPA. But there are a ton of people with a BS in accounting (me included - I jumped ship with a BS) that have great careers without the CPA certification.

Sometimes it is pushed down by licensing boards or accreditation bodies. As in there is no way to fit all the content requirements into a 120 credit bachelor's program so the only option is to figure out how to move the path directly to a masters. Or it creates a tiered level path - something like a medical assistant vs. LPN vs. BSN vs NP. Each path has a specific set of items they can do that are important but the additional education allows for more autonomy or moving even higher into education/career paths.

[Alchemisst]

What is meant by terminal?

Terminal is essentially the final degree earned. For instance, in the US many athletic training programs are moving from a bachelors (BS) to a direct entry master's program. This means students can be accepted straight from high school into a master's program and never receive an undergraduate degree. As this it the "new" path in this discipline it doesn't hold anyone back if they later decide to further their education.

Won't this water down a traditional bachelors degree if anyone with a high school diploma can basically skip a bachelors and go right to a masters?  Not than any hiring manager would be stupid enough to hire someone based on degree alone, but I don't see how this is beneficial to anyone...

I meant entry was based on a diploma, and 5+ years relevant . Not a high school diploma experience

[MayDay]

If you are thinking of switching fields, so that in the future you'd be applying for jobs that want "a degree" but not "this degree," I think a master's is probably more flexible than a bachelor's. Plus, it may put you in a higher pay band from the start.

I would argue the opposite. A bachelor's is more flexible than a master's. A master's is specialized in some way.

Broad strokes, which is sort of the point. It varies wildly by field. You need to find people in the specific field that this is for and ask them.

[ChpBstrd]

What is meant by terminal?

Terminal is essentially the final degree earned. For instance, in the US many athletic training programs are moving from a bachelors (BS) to a direct entry master's program. This means students can be accepted straight from high school into a master's program and never receive an undergraduate degree. As this it the "new" path in this discipline it doesn't hold anyone back if they later decide to further their education.

Won't this water down a traditional bachelors degree if anyone with a high school diploma can basically skip a bachelors and go right to a masters?  Not than any hiring manager would be stupid enough to hire someone based on degree alone, but I don't see how this is beneficial to anyone...

I think it makes sense in a lot of fields where you can't get a job without a master's degree, and where there are a lot of people waiting tables holding the bachelor's degree. Speech pathology or counseling bachelors degrees are useless without the masters, for example.

That said, a terminal master's program does not address the issues which led those people with useless bachelors degrees to not make it into the field they initially selected. Unless the initial selection process is more selective, there's still the risk a person will change interests, run out of money, burn out, get derailed by a life event, or fail academically. The same factors which cause people to end up with useless bachelor's degrees can also cause a person in a terminal master's program to drop out after years of work and have nothing.

[Alchemisst]

If you are thinking of switching fields, so that in the future you'd be applying for jobs that want "a degree" but not "this degree," I think a master's is probably more flexible than a bachelor's. Plus, it may put you in a higher pay band from the start.

I would argue the opposite. A bachelor's is more flexible than a master's. A master's is specialized in some way.

Broad strokes, which is sort of the point. It varies wildly by field. You need to find people in the specific field that this is for and ask them.

That's sort of what I was thinking too,  masters may be too specialized? The masters degree im talking about is GIS though so I guess it's applicable to many other jobs

[Chris Pascale]

Next month I'm entering a Ph.D program in history. I have only taken a single history course in 8 years of university study, but 3-4 years from now I'll likely teach the subject part-time while wrapping up my government career. While there may be someone who says, 'but he only has a Ph.D,' they would likely get odd stares in return.

Another example: I was once asked if I wanted to take the Tax Court Bar Exam when I was a paralegal. I was teaching accounting part-time and had a master's in the subject. Had I pursued the credential, clients would not have cared that I didn't go to law school; they would have been happy that I was an expert where they needed one.

[Fresh Bread]

Due to some work experience and a diploma, I got accepted to do either a bachelors degree or masters degree. I am just wondering if the lack of a bachelors degree will hold me back in the future? Would this be an issue for some jobs/ employers?

I don't think it will be a problem if you have a masters. Check out some job ads to make sure but usually they ask for "tertiary education" and post-grad education would trump a bachelors.

If you've got 5+ years of experience in GIS and a diploma in GIS, I'm wondering if the bachelor's could be quite tedious for you? Would you be covering old ground? Is the masters taught or coursework? If it's taught, I'd pick that I reckon.

[AMandM]

If you are thinking of switching fields, so that in the future you'd be applying for jobs that want "a degree" but not "this degree," I think a master's is probably more flexible than a bachelor's. Plus, it may put you in a higher pay band from the start.

I would argue the opposite. A bachelor's is more flexible than a master's. A master's is specialized in some way.

Broad strokes, which is sort of the point. It varies wildly by field. You need to find people in the specific field that this is for and ask them.

That's sort of what I was thinking too,  masters may be too specialized? The masters degree im talking about is GIS though so I guess it's applicable to many other jobs

Maybe it depends on how different the new field is from the old one. I was imagining switching to a completely different field (e.g. you switch to teaching high school). Then the content of a GIS degree is irrelevant whether BSc or MSc, but having an advanced degree instead of a bachelor's could put you in a higher salary category.

[Alchemisst]

Due to some work experience and a diploma, I got accepted to do either a bachelors degree or masters degree. I am just wondering if the lack of a bachelors degree will hold me back in the future? Would this be an issue for some jobs/ employers?

I don't think it will be a problem if you have a masters. Check out some job ads to make sure but usually they ask for "tertiary education" and post-grad education would trump a bachelors.

If you've got 5+ years of experience in GIS and a diploma in GIS, I'm wondering if the bachelor's could be quite tedious for you? Would you be covering old ground? Is the masters taught or coursework? If it's taught, I'd pick that I reckon.

Thanks for the reply, I'm not sure what you mean by coursework though?

[Fresh Bread]

Due to some work experience and a diploma, I got accepted to do either a bachelors degree or masters degree. I am just wondering if the lack of a bachelors degree will hold me back in the future? Would this be an issue for some jobs/ employers?

I don't think it will be a problem if you have a masters. Check out some job ads to make sure but usually they ask for "tertiary education" and post-grad education would trump a bachelors.

If you've got 5+ years of experience in GIS and a diploma in GIS, I'm wondering if the bachelor's could be quite tedious for you? Would you be covering old ground? Is the masters taught or coursework? If it's taught, I'd pick that I reckon.

Thanks for the reply, I'm not sure what you mean by coursework though?

My mistake - I meant is it taught or research only. I've done a taught masters (with exams and papers & then the dissertation at the end) but a friend did one which was like a mini PhD - dissertation only but much larger.

[Eileen63]

As Fresh-Bread said, Masters is above a Bachelor degree.
A Masters degree should indicate to employers that you have better problem solving skills and are more autonomous in your work approach than an applicant with a Bachelor's degree (particularly if the applicant is fresh out of uni and lacks experience in the field).

Bachelor comes before the Masters program - i.e. you need to progress through a Bachelors degree (or have a similar level of knowledge/skills through experience/training) to start on the Masters degree.

Our coursework masters students do a project in our research labs whereas undergraduate students only see the inside of our undergraduate teaching laboratories where a lot of steps have already been done for them before they walk into the lab. The coursework masters students are expected to learn to do all the steps required for their project and are expected to need less supervision than the high level of supervision and direction that is provided to undergrads in our teaching laboratories. Coursework masters students are expected to take on harder projects/tasks than the undergraduate students.

 

[Chris Pascale]

Did you decide on entering a program?