Graduate Degrees and why you should/n't have one. (The end all thread!)

[yobarman]

I'm about a year away from getting my BFA in Computer Animation and thought that'd be it. But then the added pressure from friends and family got me thinking, maybe I should get a masters. After some reading I realized that it may be in my best inerest to attain a Masters.

I'm big on entreupenership which I why I thought after a few years in the industry I'd break off and start my own company, which is why I originally didn't think I would need a Masters. But the more I think about it, I think something in Business would help me run my own company, or if the money is right, run a large company. I'm just tired of school, but I think I could easily deal with a Masters program after a few months off.

So here's where I begin my research on ATOT. I want anyone who has/currently attaining/thinking about getting a Masters (or even greater) to post anything that will help people decide. I'm mostly interested in the Financial aid... or the chances of an employer paying for a masters. I'm willing to devote the time, but I need to be for sure if thats what I want to do with my life.

I'll start the links: (i know its small, but its been very recently that i've been thinking seriously about this. I'd like to keep this post updated as a resource for others, so keep the links coming).

Review.com - for finding a grad school.

 

[simms]

I am thinking about getting my MBA. If the employer pays for it I will definetely go. I think I would rather do a MBA than a PHD.

I want to go to UBC/UCLA or something west coast to try something new, but am unsure of the reputations of the school.

edit: 2nd yr undergrad, chem eng.

 

[yobarman]

Originally posted by: simms
I am thinking about getting my MBA. If the employer pays for it I will definetely go. I think I would rather do a MBA than a PHD.

I want to go to UBC/UCLA or something west coast to try something new, but am unsure of the reputations of the school.

I'm looking to move southwest too. Im hate the seasons in the NE. But thats not the most important.

I'm also wondering the importance of reputations of schools. A professor told me today that where you get your Masters is very important. I'm wondering the truth in that statement.

 

[KoolAidKid]

I went to grad school for an MS and PhD. In my field at least, having more education doesn't immediately mean a lot more money when you get out. Advanced degrees generally mean that more is expected of you in the workplace. You are also likely to have more opportunities for what I would consider to be more rewarding jobs. For example, with a Master's someone else would be telling me what research that I should be doing. With a PhD I decide.

 

[boatillo]

Because bachelor's are a dime a dozen and getting more common! They are what a high school graduate used to be a couple decades back

Best way to do it is to get a job that will pay for you to continue your education though, if not go for a job you like and you can always attend school at nights with your own $$

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

You could also be stuck in a position where your entire field *requires* a Masters, such as Librarianship.

 

[Specabecca]

It's tough to find a school that awards assistantships to masters students anymore. Course, there are 29384729384 who want to give you assistantships if you are pursuing a PHD. Translation: apply as a PHD student, get funded, get your masters, dump the program. It's not ethical, and it isn't what I would do, but I've seen it happen again and again. Only seems fair to give you the same information that others have capitalized on.

I'd recommend resolve to paying for it yourself and going full time, or getting a job that will pay for it while you do double duty, i.e. full time job + full time student. In the first case, you live dirt poor and go into debt. In the second case, you don't sleep for 2 years.

Goodluck. :wine:

 

[gistech1978]

two instances

married couple im friends with. both have MBAs. one works as a waiter at a pizza place, one works at a help desk. combined incomes, *maybe* 35k.

there ya go.

 

[AtlantaBob]

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf
You could also be stuck in a position where your entire field *requires* a Masters, such as Librarianship.

True, anything near academia is a little hung up on education. My personal favorite? Any "Director" or "Vice President" at my old college had to have a PhD. Director of University Housing? Vice President of Business Affairs?

Anyway, the comments have been right on--very nice if you can get them to pay for it. Just don't expect to live too well. I've found that working for the school is rather.... comfortable, compared to other positions I've had. But, in many cases, the paid assistantships/research positions depends on what the degree is in. I assume you'd be going for an MFA? Some folks I know have gotten funded positions in theater MFA's and PhDs; also, maybe some companies out there in design land might paying for you to go to school while working for them?

 

[Orsorum]

Originally posted by: Specabecca
I'd recommend resolve to paying for it yourself and going full time, or getting a job that will pay for it while you do double duty, i.e. full time job + full time student. In the first case, you live dirt poor and go into debt. In the second case, you don't sleep for 2 years.

Yeah, that's what I'm looking at as well. I'm thinking about working for two years for an accounting firm then applying to either Seattle University's night law program or moving to an area in CA, VA, or NY that would offer a better night program. Ugh.

 

[b0mbrman]

How about this.

Let's say I got a Bachelors from a Tier 1 school. How much better off would I be if I were to get a Masters from a Tier 2 school?

Field: Econ/Business

 

[Albis]

if you go to a top undergrad school, go to a top master's program. you have more resources and better people and research at the top schools

 

[b0mbrman]

Originally posted by: Albis
if you go to a top undergrad school, go to a top master's program. you have more resources and better people and research at the top schools

What if you don't have the grades or test scores to go to a top master's program?

 

[Albis]

go for work experience and study hard to get good GMAT / GRE scores and try again in the future

no need to go straight into a graduate program

 

[AtlantaBob]

My thought is that you'd probably want to try to stay Tier 1 if you could. Depends, I guess on what Tier 2 school it is. In the business world (as in the rest of life) you're looking to exploit the networks that you make in grad school, and generally, those with the best contacts went to the brst grad schools. But then again, I'd say most hiring managers would think:

Person w/ MBA > person w/o MBA. (although it might make you overqualified for some entry-level slots.)

 

[AtlantaBob]

Originally posted by: Albis
go for work experience and study hard to get good GMAT / GRE scores and try again in the future

no need to go straight into a graduate program

Especially in business. Besides, most (top-rated) business schools won't consider you unless you have 2-5 years of real world experience. I would imagine that you should study hard for the GMAT, and really make a difference in whatever job you take. Maybe even try to start your own small business. Anything to differentiate you from the crowd.

 

[everman]

I've spoken to a few people personally who told me how it was more difficult for them to advance in their carrers without an advanced degree. These same people told me how they did or were in the process of getting said degree.
Get as much education as you can early on, I know I am.

 

[aidanjm]

Originally posted by: simms
I am thinking about getting my MBA. If the employer pays for it I will definetely go. I think I would rather do a MBA than a PHD.

I want to go to UBC/UCLA or something west coast to try something new, but am unsure of the reputations of the school.

At least with an MBA you'll never be challenged to think critically. that's the main thing.

 

[b0mbrman]

Originally posted by: AtlantaBob

Originally posted by: Albis
go for work experience and study hard to get good GMAT / GRE scores and try again in the future no need to go straight into a graduate program

Especially in business. Besides, most (top-rated) business schools won't consider you unless you have 2-5 years of real world experience. I would imagine that you should study hard for the GMAT, and really make a difference in whatever job you take. Maybe even try to start your own small business. Anything to differentiate you from the crowd.

I'll have 4 years work experience when I apply and have already taken the GMAT and think both are pretty decent...

The only thing I can't change (that really needs changing) is the GPA

 

[DaveSimmons]

I'm big on entreupenership which I why I thought after a few years in the industry I'd break off and start my own company, which is why I originally didn't think I would need a Masters. But the more I think about it, I think something in Business would help me run my own company, or if the money is right, run a large company. I'm just tired of school, but I think I could easily deal with a Masters program after a few months off.

Since you want the masters to learn rather than get a piece of paper, I suspect you'll get more out of the masters if you wait until you have some real work experience in your industry.

If you wait until you've worked a bit and do the MBA it part time, you'll go into classes with questions based on real work situations, and you'll take ivory tower pronouncements of how things should be done with the proper grain of salt.

Also, depending on the company you work for, you might have the chance to learn quite a bit from the people managing your company (what to do, and what mistakes not to make yourself). If you say you're insterested in working up to a leadership position rather than "I want to leave and become your competition" they might be helpful.

You'll also get a better feel for whether you really want all the work of running your own company.

 

[AtlantaBob]

Originally posted by: b0mbrman

Originally posted by: AtlantaBob

Originally posted by: Albis
go for work experience and study hard to get good GMAT / GRE scores and try again in the future no need to go straight into a graduate program

Especially in business. Besides, most (top-rated) business schools won't consider you unless you have 2-5 years of real world experience. I would imagine that you should study hard for the GMAT, and really make a difference in whatever job you take. Maybe even try to start your own small business. Anything to differentiate you from the crowd.

I'll have 4 years work experience when I apply and have already taken the GMAT and think both are pretty decent...

The only thing I can't change (that really needs changing) is the GPA

Yeah, the darn thing seems to haunt you. You might try emphasizing somewhere in your application that you're so much more mature now than you were in college, and can take things much more seriously. Smarmy, I know, but I would imagine that it probably is true for a lot of people.

Also, if there's a way to get some personal contact with the people in the application department, they can help you bend the rules or "official" minimums. I was able to do that, and got a position in a graduate program that had officially stopped accepting applications several months before I even contacted them. If nothing else, they can give some reasons to choose you over equally qualified other candidates.

 

[b0mbrman]

Originally posted by: AtlantaBob
Also, if there's a way to get some personal contact with the people in the application department, they can help you bend the rules or "official" minimums. I was able to do that, and got a position in a graduate program that had officially stopped accepting applications several months before I even contacted them. If nothing else, they can give some reasons to choose you over equally qualified other candidates.

I think that's the route I'm going to have to take.

What's a little depressing is that lots of schools are getting in touch w/me right now because of my GMAT score but I know I wouldn't be able to get in because of my GPA. One school, albeit a tier 2 one, even offered me a Dean's Fellowship conditional on a succesful admission but according to their official requirements, I can't even apply because of my GPA

 

[RichieZ]

MBA all the way, my employeer pays for it so I'm definelty gonna go in two years when i'm eligible for it

 

[GasX]

If you are planning on an entrepreneurial career, you can't beat Babson's SOB.

Here is my take on B-School. If you are doing it to quickly climb the corporate ladder or get onto Wall Street, you pretty much need to go to a top 25 school. If you are doing it to get an MS or MBA as a general credential to aid in your advancement, any school will do. If you are an entrepreneur, a part-time program or accelerated program is best because the knowledge is more important that the degree and you do not want to tie up too much of youir time that is better spent on your current business...

 

[yobarman]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons

I'm big on entreupenership which I why I thought after a few years in the industry I'd break off and start my own company, which is why I originally didn't think I would need a Masters. But the more I think about it, I think something in Business would help me run my own company, or if the money is right, run a large company. I'm just tired of school, but I think I could easily deal with a Masters program after a few months off.

Since you want the masters to learn rather than get a piece of paper, I suspect you'll get more out of the masters if you wait until you have some real work experience in your industry.

If you wait until you've worked a bit and do the MBA it part time, you'll go into classes with questions based on real work situations, and you'll take ivory tower pronouncements of how things should be done with the proper grain of salt.

Also, depending on the company you work for, you might have the chance to learn quite a bit from the people managing your company (what to do, and what mistakes not to make yourself). If you say you're insterested in working up to a leadership position rather than "I want to leave and become your competition" they might be helpful.

You'll also get a better feel for whether you really want all the work of running your own company.

that is pretty much exactly what I want to do. I'm not interested in the piece of paper, but the education that I get out of it (although most looking at MBAs/Phds probably feel the same way.) Thanks for the advice though. I feel it may be better to work in the real world first, a) to save money, b) study for the GMAT, c.) gain real work experience.

But at this point in my research, I dont know if its possible for me to get into grad school. It seems like you need a really high GPA. Mine will be at the very most 3.35 by the time I graduate, but if it means anything I go to RIT which is a very difficult tech school. Should I continue persuing grad school or am I kind of screwed at this point?