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Anyone gotten their master's degree after several years of the "real world"?

Gunslinger08

Gunslinger08

Lifer
Have any of you gotten a master's degree after several years of working in your field? I've been thinking about getting a master's in software engineering/architecture, but I don't know how difficult it's going to be for me to get back into the groove of education at night. I live about an hour away from any university that offers a graduate program in this area, so I'm going to either have to drive a lot or find an online program. How did you adjust? How long did it take you? Were you able to do any of it online? Do you think it was worthwhile?
 
Well about half or more of the people im my MS classes are currently working in industry. One of the guys I do alot of HW with eric is 29, he spent like 5 years as a mechanical engineer, and now he is doing a Masters in Robotics in the Electrical Engineering program. He seems to be doing darn well balancing real work with his classes.
 
I'm currently doing it.

I graduated with a B.S. in Computer Engineering, worked in Intellectual Property for 4 years and now I'm getting my M.S. in Information Systems while working full time.

I don't know if I'll ever use the degree because I like the IP industry but I really want to get a Master's plus I've found school more fun since I'm just doing it on the side knowing I don't necessarily have to find a job afterwards.
 
I went back after 3 years and realized that I was crazy (Civil Engr). So, I dropped out after a year.

If I ever go back again, it'll be for something like an MBA.
 
You have to figure out what you want to do with your life first. I don't want to work for someone else the rest of my life so I said F the masters. Decided to learn about investing instead. I also do remodeling. Make way more money this way. It's sad. I'm a software engineer with a kid and one on the way at age 31 and my wife is stay at home. I'm better off financially then some people I work with that are 40+.

Working for someone else will get you somewhere, but it's not that far.

Anyways .. if you are content being someone else b---h therest of your life, go get a masters. Where doesn't matter that much.
 
I am finishing up my MS in aero right now, going to school while working full time. None of my classes were available online, and I also live an hour+ from school. At first I took one class a semester, but I ended up moving to two a semester to get done sooner.

If you are going to go back, I'd recommend taking 2 a semester right away and get done asap. I was a good student at first, but as my responsibilities at work increased, my time for school decreased. Also, if you can't find any online classes, you had better enjoy driving. I do, so the commute never got to me (130 miles a day on school days), but I know a couple of other people who hated every second they were driving home from school.

The kids in my school's MS program are all full time students, so during the school year they had plenty of time for classwork. And, professors adjusted homework due dates and difficulty based on this fact; so, there were a lot of times I had to take days off of work to get the homework / projects / etc done on time. And, it was nearly impossible to work with other students on homework or projects, because they all did homework together during the day on weekdays at school, and I did homework at night and on the weekends at home.

I'm not sure what your living situation is, but if you have a spouse and / or a home, it's even more difficult.

But, I think there were a lot of advantages. I learned a lot, which is to be expected, but because I had work experience, I was constantly ready to apply what I learned to my job. Since a lot of the other students had not worked yet, they still did not have the feeling of how all of these facts fit together. Also, I had the advantage of learning a lot of 'classwork' at my job, so when I saw it again in school, I knew it already and was a step ahead of the rest of the class. And, from my perspective as an aero, I felt like I hadn't been taught enough in my undergraduate days, and the coursework for the MS really answered a lot of questions and filled in a lot of gaps for me. And finally, there's the rewards in the working world-advantages of increased promotion potential, more money, etc, etc.

Overall, I'd recommend it. But, I would have started out taking two classes right away a semester, instead of one.
 
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