Quick Poll - Was your Masters Degree worth it?

[Goldielocks]

My MBA was definitely worth it, for career and interest reasons.   Unexpected because my work at the time kept telling me it was not recognized or needed or would lead to anything. 

Why

1) It was at a good school, but not a top 25 school, so cost the same as a Toyotal camry at the time.  (not nearly as expensive as it could have been, deliberate choice)

2)  I was able to coach my recommendations in marketing and HR / Strategic terms, not just financial and engineering terms.  This added to my career value.

Why it was a near disaster -- I took the MBA while working full time and with a 2 year old and newborn at home.  I nearly lost my marriage over it.  Young children is enough to stress a marriage alone.  Add a full course load on top of it and it was a mess.  (I did a 30 month MBA with an undergrad thesis).

[goalphish2002]

My MBA was definitely worth it, for career and interest reasons.   Unexpected because my work at the time kept telling me it was not recognized or needed or would lead to anything. 

Why

1) It was at a good school, but not a top 25 school, so cost the same as a Toyotal camry at the time.  (not nearly as expensive as it could have been, deliberate choice)

2)  I was able to coach my recommendations in marketing and HR / Strategic terms, not just financial and engineering terms.  This added to my career value.

Why it was a near disaster -- I took the MBA while working full time and with a 2 year old and newborn at home.  I nearly lost my marriage over it.  Young children is enough to stress a marriage alone.  Add a full course load on top of it and it was a mess.  (I did a 30 month MBA with an undergrad thesis).

Similar situation obtaining my MSA...  It caused a lot of stress for my family.  I didn't have much time for anything.  I can't say I was fun to be around during that period.  I always had some sort of deadline in the back of my mind.

[Mississippi Mudstache]

Short answer: Yes. There is no possible way I would be earning my current salary or working at my current place of employment (which has been my best employer, by far) with just a B.S. I am an analyst for a consulting firm. The only person here who doesn't have an M.S. or a Ph.D is the "office manager" (aka secretary).

I will add that the deferred employment makes the calculus a little more tricky, especially if you have to pay tuition and/or do not receive a stipend. I went to grad school for free, plus I got about $15,000/year from my assistantship, so it was a debt-free process for me. The deferred salary has paid off in spades.

[deek]

Thank you again everyone. I'm learning quite a bit here. I guess what it comes down to is that I'm pretty sure I should find something that really provides me with some satisfaction and triggers more interest and curiosity than anything I've done up until now. Only THEN should I consider getting more education/certifications to grow my income potential. Part of me wishes I would have jumped straight into more school after my Bachelor's, but it's much more likely that it would have been wasted time and money since I'm still not sure what I want to do for a living.

[DMoney]

My husband got an Ivy league MBA.  He now earns in the $300-500k range (variable due to bonuses being a major part of his compensation).  Seems like it's been worth it (degree was $75k/year including living expenses). 

I got a Masters of Human Relations which resulted in a promotion at work.  Not as prestigious a degree, but also got it for almost free since my employer covered tuition and I did it nights/weekends.

[NorthernBlitz]

Thank you again everyone. I'm learning quite a bit here. I guess what it comes down to is that I'm pretty sure I should find something that really provides me with some satisfaction and triggers more interest and curiosity than anything I've done up until now. Only THEN should I consider getting more education/certifications to grow my income potential. Part of me wishes I would have jumped straight into more school after my Bachelor's, but it's much more likely that it would have been wasted time and money since I'm still not sure what I want to do for a living.

I think it's one of those "Begin with the End in Mind" sort of things.

For some positions, you need a Master's degree or it gives you a significant competitive advantage. For others, it doesn't make a difference.

After you decide what you want to do, it will help you figure out if more education is the right path.

[HenryDavid]

I teach at  a university (for now) and advise students who are thinking about this very question.
In general an MA degree is a decent tradeoff between time/money invested, and horizons broadened.
If you're thinking about it, admit you're drawn to it, so take it seriously and do the research into specific programs.
You're much more distinct from the herd with an MA--any MA--and most who do them actually do learn a new level of smartness.
Maybe you get some teaching experience, which can push you to a new level of maturity and responsibility. And communication ability.
Plus, if you plan it right, you get to spend a year maybe 2 in a cool place, with interesting people, for almost no cost. Because you got scholarships and other funding! Do a ton of research--way more than you think you need--to find the best place FOR YOU (not the best-reputation place), and definitely find the best funding deals.

The caveats are always: 1) don't take on a ton of debt, or any if possible 2) if you don't get some kind of scholarship, reconsider. Hard.

Once you're in a program, good MA students often get pushed toward the PhD. This is a WAY WORSE tradeoff. Do it only if you can't live without it.

[Kashmani]

For me personally, getting a master's degree was one of the worst decisions of my life.

I have an undergrad in civl engineering, but come from a family of academics, where it was made abundantly clear to me that an undergrad was just not good enough. That means I faced tremendous pressure to go to grad school and did a masters of environmental engineering straight out of undergrad. Engineering values practical thinking and work experience, so this was actually a net loss. I also absolutely hated the academic track, spending two years in a lab dealing with sh** every day. However, I also felt that I could not undo the decision.

Since I had already resigned myself to getting a PhD (again, family pressure), I switched tracks completely, and went to law school instead. So now I was five years behind my peers.

I am turning 40 this year, and two years ago I reached the crossover point, where my cumulative earnings are finally higher than they would have been had I gotten a job straight out of school. And that only because I had a series of breaks - I graduated two years before the 2008 recession, I made partner at a profitable mid-size firm, I landed a government job later. And because I spent 10 years working 65+ hour weeks, so basically 1.5 jobs. In hindsight not worth it.

If I could do life over, I would have gotten a job straight out of undergrad. My friends that did that were buying houses by age 23 and getting married by age 25. Not a bad way to live life.

[4n6]

I actually got 2 master's degrees and both were paid for by assistantships (really the only way to go get a Masters Degree in my opinion is someone else pays for it or you have got the money fully saved). I thought that I was going to do a different job when I got one masters, but my professors thought I should get a Ph.D. and it was the right decision for me. I wouldn't be in the spot I am in now if I hadn't done that. The stupid thing I did was take out student loans in ADDITION to my assistantship becauses I am an idiot and I am still paying them back today.

[Ocinfo]

Yes, if it’s paid for. My masters was almost entirely free and greatly increased my income. I’m currently figuring out if I want to get a Ph.D. (fully paid for if I stay with company for 2 years after completion). Problem is it won’t really help me make anymore money (already make more than most Ph.D. holders in my job) so would be just because and the possibility of a post-FI career as a professor.


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[nazar]

Absolutely worth it, because my employer paid for the MBA and it brought me to the attention of the senior management team members that had to approve and process my tuition requests, leading to a much better professional position after graduation.  Hard work alone was only making my immediate supervisors happy to have someone they wanted to keep rather than promote. 

[MaybeBabyMustache]

I'd worked at a company for about 12 years when I got my MBA. I did an executive MBA on evening & weekends, and my company paid about $5k/year. I paid the rest. I was able to transition job functions immediately after I finished, 90% due to my MBA. I've successfully used it in all of my subsequent roles. I doubled my salary in a few years, so it really paid for itself. I have a specialized MBA (technology management), which was highly related to my field.

[clarkfan1979]

MA in General Experimental Psychology and a Ph.D. in Applied Social Psychology.

The MA took me 2 years and the Ph.D. took me another 5 years. I probably averaged 50 hours week for the entire 7 years. I was a full-time student the whole time on a research or teaching assistantship.

I really don't understand Ph.D. programs in which you are still working full-time. Based on my typical academic criteria, if you are working 40 hours at your day job and doing 25 hours a week at a Ph.D. it should take you 14 years to graduate. However, most are done is 4-5 years.

There's no way you are learning the same amount of information when you put in 25% of the work.

My education was totally worth it because I learned a lot. I don't really put much emphasis on an education guaranteeing me any sort of job. I don't believe in guarantees.