la petite moi

So, my mother keeps telling me that in order to go anywhere in my life, I'll need a Master's degree. I tell her that I'm not prepared to dedicate myself to two-three extra years of college just so I can wave around a degree that I don't really care about. Do I REALLY need a Master's degree if I'm already getting my BA in Business Administration?

What do you think?

The Phenomenon

No you do not, but a Master's degree will most likely put you in a higher salary scale automatically.

And it will make finding a job easier. You'll just look better than someone with a normal degree.

But you can go far without it, its not necessary at all. Its not a guarentee for a good job, or anything.

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DJ Happy

The unfortunate truth is that a Masters will give you an advantage. The reality is that it doesn't necessarily mean you are more qualified. I work with someone who has a Masters (I have BA) and sometimes I wonder if he got his Masters inside a box of Cheerios. He is a Grade-A idiot.

Now that I think of it, maybe he got his Masters in "Being a Plank."

gar1976

Depends on your degree. To be honest, most colleges feed you a line of shit when you start, and then you find out your degree is worth shit and you need more school.

If you want to get the most of your BA, work for a couple years and then go back to school to complete the MBA. Your real world experience will make the classes relate better to your past, well, experiences. You go in fresh out of college, and you'll have no idea how the real business world works.

So: Go for masters, after working for a while to get the most out of it. Or, if parents are springing for it or you want to get it done ASAP, spend the time and get the masters. If you bust your ass, you should be able to get out in 1-2 years.

__________________
Blistex, in regards to crappy games -

They made pong look like a story driven RPG with a dynamic campaign.

ratbastid

The sad fact is, in Business Administration, an MBA commands a whole different level of respect from a BS. A Bachelors in Business Admin will get you an assistant position, but more likely you'll enter the workforce as a secretary or admin assistant. An MBA gets you a junior management position right out of school.

In lots of fields, postgrad work is only useful if you're headed for a career in academia. Not so with Business Administration.

la petite moi

Yeah, an MBA is pretty much necessary, I know. However, I want to get married in 2006 and then go to SJSU to get my BA. The idea of working after getting my BA sounds good, and if I notice that I can't get anywhere, I think I'll go back to school. It's just....I've been in school for almost 14 years (total with primary and secondary and now college) and it's starting to wear on me. By the time I'm graduated from college with my BA, I'll be exhausted.

gar1976

If going to school for 14 years seems so difficult, wait until you've worked for 45.

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Blistex, in regards to crappy games -

They made pong look like a story driven RPG with a dynamic campaign.

Paradise Lost

Take some summer classes to shorten up the time period if you want. Heck, my dad
graduated from HS at 17, and was out of College before he even turned 21... If you can
pull out your Bachelor in three years you'd definately be in school a year less if not more to
pick up the Masters. ... Just be glad you don't have to really get a Ph.D!

__________________
"Marino could do it."

lukethebandgeek

I'm getting my Masters eventually, after I finish my undergraduate degree, but I'm not jumping into masters school right away. Get your foot in the door someplace where they don't have to pay you as much, and then get your masters. Boom. Automatic raise.

__________________
Yes, band camp is all it's cracked up to be.

So I like Chrono... So what?

powerclown

I make a decent living doing stuff I never learned in school.
Feel like I wasted over 16 years of my life sometimes...

la petite moi

What do you do?

Rodney

I'm actually with LPM on this one, and I've worked 35. By the time I got out of college, I was so sick of the mickey-mouse-cage (complete with hamster wheel) that was public education that I could barely face another semester.

And I still feel that way: I went back for an accelerated masters in education (with teaching certificate) program this past year, and five quarters of university life have got me more pissed off and burned out than all the time I spent out there in the world. School is such a game and, at the university level, it is manipulated by the faculty and staff for their own benefit, andd too often to the detriment of the students. This is especially true in grad school.

ARTelevision

To get hired at a university level one does need a MA, MS, or MFA degree these days. That's what sus and I do...and that's pretty much the deal, far as I can tell.

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create evolution

farcryer

gar1976 summed it up pretty well. I'd suggest working for a bit, then going back to school. Employers aren't all that impressed by a professional student with no work experience. Plus, if you find a place you like, you can stay there a bit longer (a few years), then you can either be an experienced worker or a student, your choice. It's not a race.

Ustwo

B.A. is good for basic work or a secretaries job these days, but if you want a job with a future in a company get the MBA.

Of course you don't NEED it, but then its either going to take a good deal of luck or your starting something on your own.

Two years is nothing, you have a life time of work ahead of you, make it a bit easier on yourself.

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powerclown

Graphic designer at an ad agency. All self-taught computer stuff lol.

In saying that, I would say it depends what you want out of life. I'm basically (still) a lazy, undermotivated person in a lot of ways. Nothing wrong with getting a Master's. It means you're smart and motivated, and nobody can take it away from you. And it has the potential for opening doors to serious $$$ if thats your thing. And as was said, it can be an outright necessity for certain fields of work.

Suave

Unless you're in certain very specialised fields, getting a masters or doctorate (in regards to salary earnings and job placement) is a waste of money. There are some scientific fields and so forth that might require a masters or doctorate for different jobs, or possibly engineering, but on the whole, a bachelors will probably be just fine. You may get the odd masters or doctorate holder chosen over you for jobs, but they spent an extra 3-6 years, as well as tens of thousands of dollars, getting their degrees.

You can always move up in the company if you're willing to start a little further down the "corporate ladder" than some are. On a slightly unpleasant sidenote: I've read many an article and talked to many a person that have noted that businesses are shying away from hiring business majors in favour of liberal arts/social science majors, due to some attitude problems that seem to be commonplace with business majors.

insidious_machinae

This message has been deleted.

mdrop

Yeah, what they've said. Getting work with a BA is possible, but you'll have to start on a lower position. And if you want to get into research or academic position, you'll need atleast masters degree. I'm in a kind of similar situation myself. I'm currently employed pretty nicely, doing freelance jobs when I need the cash while studying. I know I could drop my studies now and just get a full-time position in some company, even got a few to choose from since I've been a good little slave. I could make good money and live off nicely.

However, I know that not getting the degree will limit my choices atleast in the early stages of my career and as I've been thinking of working in the research field, I know I'll need my masters at that point. For me, taking a break isn't really an option since I know that if I take a break now, I'll most likely never finish my studies. Also, if the company you work for gets into trouble and lays off people, who do you think will go first (assuming that both are relatively new to the company), the BA or the MBA?

SecretMethod70

Sorry, I've got to comment on something here. 14 years total of school should NOT be wearing on you. Now, I'm not saying you should enjoy it, but you're not going to be successful with that kind of attitude. Doctors are in school a minimum total of 20 years straight, and then they continue learning afterwards. Lawyers are very similar. The majority of people with Bachelor's degrees are in school between 15 and 17 years straight. Many people who get Masters Degrees do so immediately afterwards, making it about 17-19 years. Sorry, but IMO, complaining about 14 years of school is the college equivalent of a high schooler complaining they've been in school for 10 years. You do what's necessary to learn and be successful and by college you can start doing it in a field you enjoy.

To be honest, if you don't go for a Masters right after undergrad, you probably never will. It's a simple fact: once people stop education they rarely get back involved. No different than undergrad really. I have a friend who "took a break" from college because he wasn't sure what he wanted to do and a few other reasons. It's now the second year of this "break" and I don't see him working particularly hard to start up school again.

If you want to do school less intensively after your Bachelor's, that's fine, but always take a clas or two if you intend on going for another degree, or else you'll most likely never return to it.

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Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

la petite moi

You know, I didn't COMPLAIN about school. I said that it was wearing on me because I go to school fulltime and work fulltime, try to balance a long distance relationship that I feel is falling apart on my side, my mother has breast cancer and has gone insane about health, I hardly ever see my dad, and I share a room with my bitchy 16 year old sister. See, NOW you got me to complain. I didn't ask you to tell me I'm like a high schooler--that offends me deeply. I DID ask everyone if they think I should get a Masters Degree, and what the point of it is.

maleficent

Why not wait until you have a year or two of college under your belt and somewhere close to a decision as to what you want to do when you grow up. If Mom and Dad are footing the bill for your education, so if they are paying for grad school do it... but you really need to know what you want to specialize in... and from everything you've said - you still don't know... you've picked your major because your parents told you to.

Don't worry about what you are doing after graduation, stay focused on what you want to get out of your college education and why type of career you want.

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Jesus Pimp

Get job experience first then the MBA later.

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Captain Nemo

A Master's degree today is the equivalent of having a bachelor's degree in the 50's. Back then not everyone went to college so a BS was a plus. Today, pretty much everyone goes to college, so a BS is status quo. Myself, I went and got my MST immediately after getting my BS. It made me stand out from the masses.

Oh, and it was a hell of a lot easier getting the degrees one after the other, as opposed to working first.

Suave

Not "pretty much everyone" gets a BS.

Ustwo

True some get BA's

Obviously some job types are not enhanced by college. I'm not sure if having a BA would impress anyone building a house for example. But for the bussiness world or for research it basicly is a minimum requirement.

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gar1976

BS, BA, nobody gives a shit anymore. It's a "Bachelors."

__________________
Blistex, in regards to crappy games -

They made pong look like a story driven RPG with a dynamic campaign.

Shizukana

Not always true. Some or most technical jobs require a BS in a technical degree program... at least according to monster.com when I checked. I was looking into quitting the CS program at my current school and just finishing out with a BA, then taking certs to fill out what I really need knowledge-wise, but most places I looked into won't take a BA.

If I were you, I'd finish your degree, go work for a decent company, and maybe take a class or two a semester, then go back. Hell, there are PLENTY of employers with tuition reimbursement programs or continuing education programs where they'll pay for most (or ALL) of your extended schooling provided you make a minimum GPA. That would be where it's at, IMO, for your situation.

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gar1976

Really? Hmmm.....noone I've ever talked to gave a shit one way or the other, but I guess the more technical degrees would maybe require that.

Or HR is clueless for most companies. Either way.

__________________
Blistex, in regards to crappy games -

They made pong look like a story driven RPG with a dynamic campaign.

SecretMethod70

LPM, for what it's worth, I didn't realize about the other stuff based on your post. I can see what you mean, so I retract my statements It's true though, the chances of going back to school once you stop are very slim, so I do recommend going for the masters immediately afterwards if you can work it out. Even if it's just taking one or two classes at a time. You don't have to go for the masters full-time - it'll just take a bit longer that's all, but it will probably be less stressful.

As for "pretty much everyone" getting a Bachelor's, that really isn't true. I don't have the numbers with me at the moment but I think it's actually as low as around 30-40% or something like that. Of course, pretty much everyone who wants to earn a decent middle-class living does get a Bachelor's. Anyway, the point is that if you want to go based strictly off of statistics, a Masters is not necessary. The number of people with Masters degrees - however many it may seem there are - is actually relatively quite small. However, it's definitely a very good thing to have, and if you plan on getting it, I'd stay in school to at least some degree until you get it, even if it is only one class at a time.

__________________
Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

Rodney

Here's the stuff you want, from the Census Bureau:

http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/...on/000818.html

Briefly, about 30 percent of all people aged 25 to 29 had gotten as far as a bachelor's degree in the year 2002. Overall, 32 percent of the employed civilian labor force 25 years old or higher had a college degree (bachelor's or higher).

On the other hand, frankly, people could definitely earn decent, middle-class incomes without a four-year degree if we had better and more extensive trade schools in this country. I've done business with some pretty competent tradesmen who make good money (while busting their asses, it's true) and never had a college education. College isn't everything; If we train people in skilled trades and small business skills, a lot of them will make as much or more than they would have with the four-year piece of paper.

The real problem is that a lot of jobs that used to not require "the piece of paper," now do. I got a degree in journalism in the '70s. At the time, old-time journalists spit on degrees in journalism; they all learned by showing up at their local papers at age 16 and 17 for jobs as part-time copy boys, and they learned their trade on the job. But most newspapers won't do that anymore, so journalism schools are now where you get trained. And you need the degree to prove you were trained, even though half of all j-school majors can't write their way out of a paper bag.

madsenj37

A Bachelors degree used to be what set people apart in the work force. A Masters is now what does so. You can get far without a Masters or even a Bachelors, but you will not get the handouts degrees will give you. You will have to work harder unless you get lucky. Do not plan on getting lucky. On the other hand, if you do not want one (for now at least), you will be waisting your time getting one.

When I was an undergrad, I never thought I would go to grad school. Now here I am deciding what schools and programs to apply for. Wait and see what school and life bring you. Opinions and situations can and most likely change.

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DJ Happy

Really? What agency do you work for powerclown?

rockzilla

The first thing I have to ask is do you have a specific job or field of work that you're looking for once you're done school or do you just want to get a batchelors or masters degree so that you can find a job later?
I'm asking this because I wasted more than a few years going to school for stuff that I have no interest in so that I could find a job doing something I hated to earn just a little more money than I earn now.
What does 'going somewhere in life' mean? Is it earning a lot of money, or is it being happy to walk into your job every day because you love what you do?
Once you know what your goals are, you can figure out how much education you'll need to get there.

Phant84

i'll stick with my paramedic lic for now, thanks.

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Phant

Irrationality is the square root of all evil

la petite moi

What's that?

Clark

If it is an MBA the top 50 schools look for 2-4 years of work befor you start. The time in the work force will help you narow your MBA studies.

tehpronking

I know plenty of people who are doing just fine without a Master's degree... but it definitely helps you to get better jobs if you have one in the right field.

mused76

get your masters now and you will thank yourself later - why be stuck in the same boat as all the others ?? masters gives you many advantages and a more open market full of my choices and more happiness.

gar1976

Depends on the school - some feel that you are more open to fresh ideas if you have not yet had any work experience. Things are starting to change some in that regard.

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Blistex, in regards to crappy games -

They made pong look like a story driven RPG with a dynamic campaign.