Masters in Human-Centered Computing

[Trying225]

Hi,

I am thinking about getting a masters degree in human-centered computing. My employer would pay for 90% of it but I will still end up spending about 5k after all is said and done. I work full-time and will continue to have to do so in order to have my tuition paid for. This is going to take at least a couple of years. I'm worried that it won't be worth it.

Does anyone here work in HCC or HCI? Any advice?

Thanks!

[warfreak2]

If you want to do it, then $5k over two years is pretty cheap, and it will probably pay for itself eventually anyway. If you don't want to do it then don't.

[Trying225]

Well, I'm concerned about job opportunities once I'm done with the degree.

[rtrnow]

Hi,

I am thinking about getting a masters degree in human-centered computing. My employer would pay for 90% of it but I will still end up spending about 5k after all is said and done. I work full-time and will continue to have to do so in order to have my tuition paid for. This is going to take at least a couple of years. I'm worried that it won't be worth it.

Does anyone here work in HCC or HCI? Any advice?

Thanks!

I have a MS HCI. Mine was 100% employer paid bc I work for the university. Personally I really found the degree fun. Much more so than my CS undergrad. If you still have several years before you plan to leave the work force, then the masters may help you earn more too. I agree with the previous poster, 5k is not much over 2 years to become more educated and make yourself more marketable. I was also lucky that mine resulted in an almost immediate 6% raise.

[Trying225]

Yea, I work for a university but I would like to end up in a job that relates to the masters degree I get. It's probably going to take me 3 years to get through the classes and pre-reqs. I'm just trying to determine whether finding a job related to HCI will be doable.

[Christiana]

It would be much more of a time commitment than a money commitment for you.  I went to grad school for CS part-time while working full time, and it was a hard slog at times.  In the end, I decided not to finish the degree--I was learning the things that I wanted to learn through my job, and also I was starting a family, so I had much less flexibility to get to campus and to juggle work, school, and household all at once. 

But before I quit, I was thinking of choosing human factors for my minor--interesting, fun, and potentially useful.

[rtrnow]

Yea, I work for a university but I would like to end up in a job that relates to the masters degree I get. It's probably going to take me 3 years to get through the classes and pre-reqs. I'm just trying to determine whether finding a job related to HCI will be doable.

When I finished about three years ago, there were lots of jobs. I interviewed for a couple but the total package didn't match what I get where I am now. I think the human factors area is still rapidly growing and you would have lots of options to work in that field.