updated: the value of masters degrees

emoticons

mod note: OP has edited himself out, but the board is restoring the original Subject line of the thread

all degrees are worthless just a piece of paper! only worth something to some people who value degrees from some colleges etc...

also they allow anyone to get to college these days. and professors just like their teachers before them give sympathy grades, so all grades are inflated and nobody fails!!

Subject: Re: Masters degrees, by and large, are worthless.

stopdoingthisrevisited wrote: So, um, yup. They are.

Can't find a job huh?

No they're not. Regardless of the popular wisdom about inflated grades and so on. I worked my ass off for my Master's Degree and I am proud of it . . . And Daddy didn't pay either. . . I have a sense of accomplishment. What do you got? A complaint! Poor you. . . .

I agree with youbetcha 100%. I worked hard for my master's degree which cost me an arm and a leg and it has helped me stay employed, get a raise, get a foot in on better jobs, etc. My husband's masters degree in Philosophy on the other hand...

I couldn't disagree more with the OP. My masters degree (which I paid for myself and via student loans) opened up a ton of opportunities denied to me when I had only a bachelors degree. I am now earning more money and have much greater potential to advance and move around. I concede that it probably depends on the field and that some masters degrees may be less helpful than others.

Still, the sense of accomplishment cannot be denied.

Jack Krohn wrote: [sic] I am now earning more money and have much greater potential to advance and move around.

crown heights

prospect heights

cobble hill

fort greene

midwood



my oh my, your masters degree

has taken truly you much further

than you ever expected

I totally disagree also. With so mnany people on unemployment, those of us with advanced degrees are often better off than those with just undergrad. My two masters are in minute fields, but I have insane job security as a result of both.

I have to agree that, in the vast majority of cases, a masters degree is not nearly as useful as spending that equivalent amount of time actually *working* and gaining job experience. While some fields require such a degree, most dont...and not having an extra $50k+ in student loans (to be very conservative) is going to be worth way more than the possibility of potentially getting a better job (especially when many jobs that "require" a masters degree actually do not... often companies will hire non-masters applicants if the work experience or other factors are favorable.)

I think its a seriously financially risky decision to go back to school for a masters in most fields, and one that won't necessarily yield any sort of measurable favorable outcome.

font colour

i gots me a job mamacita

styles can be

know what's extra-useless? a master's degree in journalism. it's like a master's degree in building buggies. nice skill, impressive creditial, but who's gonna pay you to build a damn buggy when there are blogs to be consumed for free? i mean, cars. for money. but no one wanting to pay for buggies regardless. and all buggy-supporting businesses also having gone out of business so buggies are no longer allowed to remain a money-losing vanity project.

not the blog hatin . blogs are great!!!

It all depends on what your major is. If you have a masters in art history you will not do as well. I have a pharmacy degree and have had no problem finding lots of work even in these times. As a matter of fact I just left a very high paying union hospital job for an even higher paying union hospital job...with better benefits.

Oooooo a pharmacist! Have we met, Flux?

I guess I am in the minority in that I couldn't do what I do without my degrees and they cost me nothing thanks to grants. If anyone is interested in a free masters and job security, please let me know.

Masters degrees that result in a lic or certification are the way to go. Avoid journalism, English, theology, all those liberal arts ones.....

I managed to get my Masters by taking my classes at night while I worked days. I got my degree AND work experience simultaneously, and did it without racking up any debt, because I was able to pay for school myself ( I went to a SUNY school, so the tuition was low )
I don't know whether things would be going as well for me even if I hadn't gotten the degree, but I do know that my income has more than tripled and I haven't been unemployed at all since I finished, and thats through two recessions. Though I work in a field where a Masters degree is thought to be totally unnecessary, I have noticed everyone at the Vice President level or above has one.

Additionally, to the posters above who claim a Masters degree is "just a piece of paper" or "worthless" and "usually has no measurable favorable outcome": what do you guys do, and how is it working out for you? Are you employed ? financially secure ?

d_luxx wrote: Additionally, to the posters above who claim a Masters degree is "just a piece of paper" or "worthless" and "usually has no measurable favorable outcome": what do you guys do, and how is it working out for you? Are you employed ? financially secure ?

im doing just fine, thanks. I spent quite a while working in an industry which employed many, many graduate level individuals and I can honestly say that there was little to no difference in income or skill level between those which had the degree and those which did not- generally one wouldn't even know if an advanced degree was obtained unless it was hanging on a wall somewhere visible. For what its worth, the types of degrees were mostly MBA, finance or engineering related or MSCS degrees and did not result in a license or certification of any sort (although most of us had certificates in related fields which were not acquired through those degrees.)

All this said- my sister is entering grad school next year which is being funded entirely by her company. A free education is always the way to go if its in a field that you enjoy!

stopdoingthisrevisited wrote: you worked hard youbetcha prob because you're an artard. most masters programs, even from ivy, are ridiculous....

Even if I were a what? An Artard? I'd still be ahead of you. Sorry, you put the "re" in "tard."

Carmen wrote: [ I spent quite a while working in an industry which employed many, many graduate level individuals and I can honestly say that there was little to no difference in income or skill level between those which had the degree and those which did not- generally one wouldn't even know if an advanced degree was obtained unless it was hanging on a wall somewhere visible.

You knew everyones else's salary ?

d_luxx wrote: [quote=Carmen][ I spent quite a while working in an industry which employed many, many graduate level individuals and I can honestly say that there was little to no difference in income or skill level between those which had the degree and those which did not- generally one wouldn't even know if an advanced degree was obtained unless it was hanging on a wall somewhere visible.

You knew everyones else's salary ?

not of my direct coworkers, who comprised about 5% of the people I came into contact with in a given year. I didn't take note of salaries, more of positions within companies- the vast majority of exec level individuals who I encountered did not have advanced degrees (regardless of age) while some (not many) mid-level personnel did have such degrees. I'm sure having a grad degree is a powerful bargaining chip...however, I dont know if its worth the debt in not only tuition fees but also in the time spent NOT working. Student loans for $100k plus 3 years of not working (assuming $60k a year) is a lot of money to try to make up in salary over the next 30 years.

I know some people work fulltime while going to grad school, but many work part time for next-to-nothing or not at all. Im not snubbing continuing ed, I just don't necessarily think its a proportionally important to attaining a well paying-job.

Subject: Re: Masters degrees, by and large, are worthless.

stopdoingthisrevisited wrote: So, um, yup. They are.

Umm, No.
http://www.duq.edu/student-accounts/tuition/_pdf/education-pays.pdf

Compared to those with only a high school education

Those with master’s degrees earn almost twice as much per year, and those with
professional degrees earn almost three times as much as high school graduates earn over
their working lives.

A Master's degree results in about a 32% increase in lifetime earnings over a Bachelor's degree.

Generalization Fail.

Carmen, that's a pretty extreme scenario you are describing. I got my master's by going to a city university at night while working full time. tuition was like $6k a year and I have no debt related to the master;s

vidro3 wrote: Carmen, that's a pretty extreme scenario you are describing. I got my master's by going to a city university at night while working full time. tuition was like $6k a year and I have no debt related to the master;s

perhaps im just reflecting my age- the vast majority of people I know who have obtained or are obtaining their masters are doing so while not working or while being "under-employed" (actually, my sister is the only person I know who is doing so while working a "normal" job.) Many people I know who are in grad school are outside of NYC and sometimes outside of a major metro area, so its difficult to obtain a degree while working their normal salaried job.

And I don't really think it to be that extreme. While my tuition estimate may be high, the income of $60k seems even on the low side for someone who is in an industry that expects a guarantee to be furthered with an advanced degree. I don't imagine an admin assistant expects to quadruple her salary by simply getting a MBA...

Go the extra mile, get a PhD instead. What you ostensibly learn won't be worth crap, but proving you can finish one in just about anything makes you gold-collar, they're universally recognized, and having one opens the entire developed world as your job market since just about every country has a special visa category for PhDs.

doctorj wrote: Go the extra mile, get a PhD instead. What you ostensibly learn won't be worth crap, but proving you can finish one in just about anything makes you gold-collar, they're universally recognized, and having one opens the entire developed world as your job market since just about every country has a special visa category for PhDs.

...but how does one take advantage of this ability to travel when one has no cash, because one's PhD is in -say- Hispanic Linguistic History?

you'll get a grant from a university in Zaragoza

vidro3 wrote: you'll get a grant from a university in Zaragoza

True, and in exchange Columbia University will give one to a Zaragza University graduate student. I forgot about the ability and desire for some to stay within Universities at all times. I have friends that have stretched grad school out to 12 years.

...my answer assumed one would engage the practical, concrete, world. ...and get a job.

My mistake.

At some point, one must graduate.... those tenure track positions just aren't out there like they used to be. An those adjunct positions pay something like 6k a semester.

whynot_31 wrote: [quote=vidro3]you'll get a grant from a university in Zaragoza

True, and in exchange Columbia University will give one to a Zaragza University graduate student. I forgot about the ability and desire for some to stay within Universities at all times. I have friends that have stretched grad school out to 12 years.

...my answer assumed one would engage the practical, concrete, world. ...and get a job.

My mistake.

At some point, one must graduate.... those tenure track positions just aren't out there like they used to be. An those adjunct positions pay something like 6k a semester.

I have many, many friends on this career-student path. A girl I know has been in grad school for 8 years and has yet to even get a degree of any sort due to continuing to change her concentration. This means she has been in some form of secondary ed for 12 years and has gotten a bachelors degree thus far.

She has never had a job. I believe at this point shes continuing school because it defers her student loans, which have to be well into six figures.