To be or not to be a Master ?
 

Well my undergrad education is getting completed and I have got offer from a company too. But many of my friends are planning to take up masters.
Anybody with master's degree here? what do you think is it of any worth?
or should I work for a year or two and then go for it ? Does it matter in jobs or anything ?

PS: I'm doing engineering

Honestly man. Is that what you wanna do? I'm assuming you have a bachelor's. Are you happy with where you are with a bachelors? Are the career offers what you wanted and personal goals achieved?

If so, screw it.

I don't how much it matters in jobs but give it a shot. Take up the jobs and if you still aren't satisfied you can always go back to finish up the masters. Don't do it cause buddies are doing it. It could be a waste of time and money.

All the best to you.

I was recently in the same position and have decided against it. To do the field work that I'm interested in, a masters was simply uneccessary. Right now I've got a few companies in a bidding war for me, and all of them offer up to $12k+ a year in tuition reimbursement, so I always have the option of going back and getting the masters on their dime.

My advice would be to work for a year or two to make sure you're in the field you want, and then go back for it. SEVERAL of the companies I've interviewed with for engineering roles that actually favor having a masters preferred either an MBA or masters in project management, so waiting may help tailor towards your needs.

Actually its not a great job, but hell, I haven't done an "Real" job ever either.

Sooner or later I am going to do master's so sometimes I think why not sooner.

I love school and plan on going back to get not only my masters but doctorate. The thing is, I'll have been planning for 8 years before I do this (I'm expecting to go back in the next 2 years or so), and I want to do it very, very much.

It will have tremendous personal worth to me, but it will also open up certain opportunities (I'm planning on going into law) that I may not have had otherwise.

Skada, what type of engineering are you talking about? Normally (in most engineering fields) you need to be going back to school every few years to keep up on technology.

My masters kinda looks good when I write my name if I want to be formal.

But thats about all its good for.

You need to see what the market is like out there, BUT as a rule having more letters after your name can be good, even if it doesn't make you better at your job directly, it makes people hiring think you are.

If its not a great job, and you want one anyways do it now because its a lot easier now than later.

I went the Master's route because it was necessary for my chosen profession. A fud (phd) would have been somewhat useful, but I could do the same work with or without it.

I recommend that you work for awhile, and give yourself some time to consider the worth of a graduate education.

most of the principles in engineering school are not time sensitive, and little of what we learn is about technology.

to contribute to the subject...eh, its a tough call. I'm pretty much in your situation....I really want to do a masters in materials, but at the same time, I want to get a job and start making some money....I'm fairly certain that I will get a job right out of my undergrad.

What kind of engineering?

Electrical Engg with degree in Instrumentation & Control.

I suggest talking to other people in your field who have their MA. Find out if it really does rake in the dough, justifying the expensive school.

The question is not exactly expenses.Here it is not much costly and if you do it from good institute then you even get free or even paid for it !

I was in a similar position, but I decided to get a job first and try and pay off some of the debt I've incurred, and maybe, just maybe, not live paycheck to paycheck.

Working for a while should also give me some time to figure out what I want to go back to school for.

My uncle has his master's in environmental engineering. It allows him to teach engineering classes at a local university, which he really enjoys, though he got a job a couple of years ago working for the state that doesn't allow him the free time to teach as much as he would like. Having his Master's from the outset put him in a higher salary range, and he didn't have to take time off later to go back and get his Master's.

My SO's father is an electrical engineer for a major computer manufacturer. They want him to go back and work on his Master's, but the problem is that he has no time to go get his degree. He works 60+ hours a week. We have a very competent university in this town with well-rated EE programs, yet that isn't the issue--he just does not have any time, at all, to take a class. At some point, the company is going to have to cut him some slack and let him have time to go back to school, but that's highly unlikely.

If you leave school now, go off and get a good job, and start having a family, consider the fact that once you have a wife and children it will be hard to go back to school. Furthermore, a job might eat up so much of your time you might find it impossible to go back later.

You can go back later, but it's harder to do than you might think.

Today's masters is equiv to yesterday's bachelors which is equiv to yesteryear's high school diploma.

At least in those touchy-feely fields where you need a piece of paper to back up your ability / purpose instead of tangible things like "skills."

Or being a doctor. Doctors need paper. Lots of paper. I feel sorry for them.

...

Higher education = more money. I'm letting the gummint pay for my masters.

Yep.

Saves on wall decorations in the office.

I have a BSEE degree and I work in the semiconductor industry. When I first started with my company, I started working in a lab, then later took a position as a senior engineer, and kind of grew into the position. Right now, in my department, I'm the engineer with the least amount of education. Everyone else has an MS or PhD degree. If I quit tomorrow, my position would likely be filled by someone with an MS or higher.

Bottom line: As an EE, you don't need an MS degree to get a job and be successful. However, if you want to get to a certain place faster, having your MS degree will help a great deal.

I feel that of my peers are simply "merit badge chasing" because they don't know what else to do or they're postponing the inevitable: The Career.

As far as I'm concerned, anything past an undergraduate degree is a waste of time. The only difference between I and someone with a PhD is that they chose to pay a school hundreds of thousands of dollars to learn the same thing I could have off the internet for free (Of course, the same could be said for an undergraduate degree versus a non-college attendee, but you get the idea).

Don't wonder about the worth of a piece of paper. As others have said, there are many situations where it will help you get a job, move up more quickly, etc.
But is that all that matters? Of course not, you'll have to examine your situation and find a way to figure out what you actually want. You said your job offer isn't that great.. Don't take it. If you find something else that shouts "take this opportunity, it will put you in a better position 2 years from now than continuing your formal education would" then take that. If you don't, start the master's program.
Two friends of mine were at sciency institutions of higher learning and planning to get their master's. One of them was offered a research job at his institution when he completed his BS. He took it and worked at the exact same place with many of the same people and would continue to learn many of the same things he would have if he'd continued his education. The other didn't have anything like that at his school or elsewhere, so he completed his master's. Before finishing he was already trying to decide which great job offer to take.

Actually, no. At least in the more sciencey areas of study, part of pursuing a master's and/or phd is doing research with facilities and financial support from the university and faculty. The knowledge and experienced that can be gained from this is in many cases considerably greater than the knowledge and experience that can be gained from a familiarity with google and wikipedia. Unless you happen to have tens of thousands of dollars for buying equipment and know some really smart people who don't mind taking time out of whatever they'd rather be doing to help you understand things you don't understand, then going to grad school to learn the things one commonly learns in grad school is a lot more doable than going it alone.

You're confused as to what a degree actually represents in the world. A degree represents a successful investment of time and effort in an established education system, not that you actually know anything.

You go ahead and get your Wiki-education. And bag my groceries, wise man.

Merit badges mean certification, not expertise.

Gotta point out that you're off here. It's pretty rare to have to pay your way through a PHD these days.

For the OP:

Go for a PHD. Should be able to find at least one program that only has a prerequisite of a BS. You can usually find a school that will pay you tuition and a stipend for living expenses, and there's better pay at the end of the rainbow.

Thats not how things go in engineering, may be in more theoretical subjects.

And this is more worrying.

My feelings / typos worry you? Awwh, I didn't know ya cared!

I'm doing a co-op dual MBA/Masters right now. I have a Civil degree, getting the masters in Construction Engineering. My employer is allowing a flexible schedule, and between them and the school I'm getting paid pretty well to go to school.

I went back to school as an adult. I've leapfrogged into the industry above people of my recent education vintage, but I can see far too many plateaus and ceilings in my potential career, especially since I started later in life. I have 100% confidence that extra education will take me where I want to be much quicker, and probably higher, than if I stayed with the Bachelors.

That's me, too. Good to be older, huh?

Fair enough point, but it doesn't hold true universally (Or, I should say, in my experiences).

My understanding in engineering is that in terms of money, experience > masters degree. However an MBA will really vault you in terms of management positions. Just something to consider.

Your one liners are make me quite uncomfortable than one page long post.

Why? I don't have a degree yet.

I have an MA

It has never done me any good whatsoever, but then I do a very basic office job and have never pursued an academic career. So I guess it depends what you want to do.... or if you just want to enjoy the whole college lifestyle for another year, and you can afford it.

i got alot of advice when i was considering graduate school.
i've had a ph.d for a while now: looking back at it, there is only one bit that meant anything.
i'll pass it along to you:



don't waste your time going for a master's---not to mention a ph.d---unless you have a firm idea of why you're doing it.