Lovelyish

I think it really depends on your field or the career you want. For the career I want (and the field), the LEAST I need is a Master’s degree.

I would suggest against it if it’s not necessary in your career/field, as Master’s degrees are expensive as hell.

I’m planning on getting my Masters. It will let me actually narrow down my field of work to just Lighting Design, and I’ll be able to prove to everyone that I can do something with my life.

But I really want to be a veterinarian and that requires veterinary school.  =P

I guess it depends.  I need to go to grad school for my education certification, but I know people that just got their B.A.s and are working now.  The job market at the moment sucks a lot, though.  I know some people going for grad school because there really isn’t anything else to do.

my bro is doing his Masters/PhD b/c he wants to enter into research

for the field I’m thinking of entering in, to find a decent job I need at least a Masters 

i’m going to graduate school so i can further my studies in bioengineering, increase in salary, and be competitive with others in my major.  if i were to stick with just a bachelors i wouldn’t go very far. so i think it all depends on what your major is and what the job market is like.  

Not for technical degrees like Engineering/Computer Science but for most other degrees a Master’s will help immensely. Also a masters won’t double your salary in most cases.

Graduate degrees shouldn’t be pursued for a pay raise or a better job but because you love learning what you’re studing about. That’s what it’s intented for.

I was half through and dropped out because everywhere I applied for said I was already over-qualified. The cost to value wasn’t worth it.

i need a Masters to do anything in my fields of interest (archaeology, classics, ancient history).  

my field definitely needs a master’s degree I feel, it will help more when I actually begin job hunting…so I plan to go for it.

Later I will pursue a doctorate. 

meh, I’m fine with just a B.S. in nursing. I don’t want to spend too much time going to grad school. However, it would be awesome to get a Masters or something in Japanese.

i need to get a master’s degree, because people with my undergrad degree are a dime a dozen. a master’s help you stand out in some fields. it honestly jsut depends on what you’re degree is in.

I think it would be worth it. I would go so I could get paid more or if I needed to keep myself busy if I couldn’t find a job after I got my B.A. I definitly want to get my MA someday so I would go regardless.

It depends on your field.

If your education is more important for getting a job, then I’d go for that.
If your experience is more important, then getting another degree isn’t a huge issue.

Just got hired in my field before I have even walked for graduation.  If you asked me if I was going to grad school a year ago, my answer was absolutely.  However, it’s so expensive I decided to look for employment and am happy with my choice.  Plus, my boyfriend is on his way to Cornell Law so we really don’t need more than $150,000 in student loans combined!

I will also add that in an informational interview a couple months ago, a local director of communications advised me to not go to grad school.  According to him, the job market is picking up from where it was two years ago.  Two years ago, people were enrolling just to avoid a job search.  More jobs are available now.

Also, according to my dad, nobody should pay for a Master’s degree.  Qualified applicants can often find a full ride if they’re not picky about what school they’re applying to. I do know a lot of people who have gotten full rides for graduate school, mainly by going to a lower-ranked school that is very appreciative of GPA and test scores.

“Some professions, like teaching, require you to have a master’s degree to work in certain states.”

Wait, what states require you to go to grad school for education? Unless you want to be a professor, having a degree beyond bachelor’s when you go out for your first job normally makes it harder for you to get a job since the school has to pay you more. You only need a bachelor’s for your certificate and most state certificates actually work from one state to another. I’m looking and I can’t find any state that requires grad school for any field of education in K-12 and I definitely haven’t been informed of this in any of my education classes and seminars (in fact, we have a class where we have to learn about these requirements). Now some schools do want you to have a master’s degree or be working toward one but chances are at that point, this won’t be your first teaching job. I’m really not finding an area or state that requires this…

Any way, after getting my teaching job, I’ll be going back for my professional degrees. I want to continue learning and these extra degrees will also help me to continue to be knowledgeable in my field. Plus, they’ll let me become a professor if I ever decide I want to do that.

i’m in grad school right now and honestly….i wish i weren’t.  i went because i couldn’t get job.  but now i’m just exhausted and not seeing a lot of hope in getting a teaching job with my M.A. (because no school wants to hire someone who they have to pay more).

moral of the story: if you don’t need it for the field you’re going into, DON’T DO IT.

“3) Get a job that pays more because you did all that graduating.” HAHHAHAHA yea thats what i was made to belive.. im really reconsidering since the graduation rate in the US is 56%.. :[[[ and it is now taking half of those people one or two more years to graduate BOOOOOO i would die if i had to go through more than what im going through. im definitely passing on the grad school

If you were going for psychology or economics, then a master’s would be a must. If it’s an arts and science field, it’s kind of a waste unless you already have experience in that field.  

I suppose it depends. I’m finishing up my first year of grad school, and I love it. I know damn sure that I really want to be a literature professor now, and I’m going to go onto my PhD after I finish up the Masters. 
@rafi09@xanga - Oklahoma I know requires a MA eventually. I think you can teach high school for 5 years or so without it, but if you don’t go get it before the time frame is over, you’re gone. 

@stuipdthing@xanga - YES!

Definitely depends on the field. 

go to grad school if you want to make more money

my navy scholarship only pays for 4 years of college… then i have to serve and then go back and get my masters. at least I have my life mapped out 

Regardless it makes you more competitive.

thank you, NIH, for taking care of grad school for me. <3

@prettynpink628@xanga - Okay. It never popped up on my searches and it’s not even on Oklahoma’s Board of Ed site as a requirement (it simply says that after 5 years, the experience is enough to earn the permanent certificate, similar to how it is here in Illinois) but I’m not attending a teaching program in Oklahoma so I guess the Board of Ed simply needs to fix the information. However, that did lead me to Louisiana which has a system pretty much like what you said so that is a requirement for a MA that is simply harder to find out about.

I meant though that you don’t need an MA to initially enter education as a teacher unless you become a professor first (since you can do what one of my professors did and get a MA, find out that the school districts around you find you overqualified for the teaching position you want, and then instead find your first job as a professor at a nearby college). I had read the post that to enter education in the first place in certain states that you would need an MA or that going directly from undergraduate to graduate school in education would be beneficial. I’m still hearing “horror” stories of people in today’s times and better economic times that were refused jobs because it came down to first time teacher with MA salary vs first time teacher with BA salary so that would not seem beneficial unless you’re in an area where you know you can get a first job at a school that would like an MA. That is what I meant initially.
Sorry for the novel here. My thoughts are kind of jumbled.

@rafi09@xanga - Ah, yeah. It’s cool. I know about the 5 year rule only because one of my former teachers lost his job that way. You are right- it is way easy to find yourself overqualified, too. I have a lot of friends who are holding off on doing a PhD in case the only available teaching gigs are community colleges, because they typically don’t hire PhDs. 

I’ll graduate with a BA in a double major of creative writing and women’s studies. I need effing grad school.

I’m definitely going to grad school, as soon as I can afford it. I’m graduating in 2 months with a degree in English, and I picked a major that could be used for many kinds of jobs (NOT just teaching) on purpose because I knew I’d probably change my career plans X number of times…which I did. So I’m getting my Master’s in theology, which will better help me prepare for the kind of career that I want. And eventually, I’ll go for my PhD.

I know if I do decided to go I’m taking at least 2 years off. 

Med school yaaaaay

It better be! Because every job that I’m really interested in requires a Masters! 

If you’re a chemist or a biologist you really need at least a masters if you don’t want a ridiculously boring and low paying job. 

@rafi09@xanga - In New York, where I live, teachers may work for 5 years with only a bachelor’s degree. If in that time they do not get their Master’s they risk getting fired. That’s why a lot of people pursuing education go to grad school right after graduation.

Right now I’m in graduate school for chemistry (PhD program). But I’ve been learning that there are actually way more graduate students than there are positions for chemists. So I’m dropping out with my master’s and I’ll probably end up getting a job in an unrelated field.
Don’t do grad school if you can help it.

I feel like it’s better to get some job experience before going for my masters, personally. It seems silly to spend all that money on grad school without actually testing the waters and finding out if I really do love social work/psychology/etc as much as I think I do. But I suppose it all depends on your field of study and what the minimum qualifications are for typical jobs in that field. 

You go to graduate school if it enables you to do what you want.  For me, I have to go to graduate school to be a psychologist.   If you don’t need it, then that’s okay.  But graduate school is more than a place for the unemployed.
So it really just depends what you want to do!

Ive been thinking the same thing for what Im gonna do with this BS in Geology/Earth Sciences degree. Just because the job market is as bad as it is right now and I need more field work experience, Im gonna try it out. 

I eventually want a Ph.D. in Education to be a college professor which would require me to receive a MA. I also love research and policy to improve education in the US. Additionally I want to publish papers as well as my dissertation. Teaching undergrads as a TA really interests me a lot. I later want to open a Pre-K to 6th grade school which I know having a Ph.D. would really help.

Like everyone else has said, it really depends. In my field (audiology), I need a doctorate in order to practice, so obviously it is worth it for me. I think many people go to graduate school for the wrong reasons though. Graduate school is not a good way to ride out a bad economy, and you shouldn’t go to graduate school unless you have a very specific idea of what you want to do with your degree. 

For me it’s essential. I’m a Physics major right now, and even an MS degree is thought of in the physics world as consolation prize. 

If you’re a psych major, and you want to make enough money to survive off of, you go to grad school. And not for a masters, for a PHD. The end. 

Whether a graduate degree is worth it or not really depends on the field of study. I personally think that in most cases it’s not worth it. Some fields require it, as was mentioned in the post, but many don’t and will only give you a slightly higher starting salary, if any at all, over someone with a bachelors. In some cases, you may have more trouble finding a job because you may be considered overqualified. Some employers might not want to hire people with such degrees, just to avoid having to pay them more. At least thats what happens here (Canada). My brother even has a friend who pursued a PhD (I forgot in what subject, though) and now nobody will hire him because he’s much too qualified. The only thing he can do now is teach college classes within his field.

So like I said, it depends on the field. And on what you really want for yourself.

If you have to borrow money, and you don’t have solid connections in your chosen field, probably not.  Without connections, you’re probably going to be on the margins of your profession, and not making enough to meet the loan payments and still live, or you’re going to be using your master’s degree to impress the customers at your bar, while the student loan bill collectors call your cell phone five times a day, and call all your friends and family members.

For my profession, you can’t get a job without a Master’s. That could be because, there are very few undergrad degrees in the library profession as well. My husband also can enter into his field without a Master’s. He is studying to be a Pastor in the Lutheran Church and he needs a M. Div to be ordained and get a call. He actually has a 4 year Masters program. Needless to say, debt is very much in our future, but it is also going to be worth it. I think getting your Master’s really does depend on what you want to do when you “grow up”. If you think you can get a decent paying job and will be happy then I say skip the Master’s degree. There is the sense of personal accomplishment when you get your Master’s Degree as well.

depends on your field really. i’m an english major and i have no plans to attend graduate school.

xx

there’s a song about my college major from the musical Avenue Q.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK6ksA0QyE4

Grad school depends on what you want to do.  Many fields it’s TECHNICALLY possible to get a job in with just a bachelor’s degree, but the odds are slim and if you really want to work in that field, you need to go to grad school.  Also, grad school being expensive really depends on what you want to do and where you want to go.  I’m in grad school right now and while it’s more expensive per hour than undergrad, you take far fewer hours so it’ll be around $25,000 or so for me to do grad school (and that’s with me taking 14 hours more than is necessary to graduate).  

If you wanted to go to grad school for something like literature, then don’t go at all.  You won’t begin to earn enough to make it worthwhile. Pretty much only go to grad school if you’re going into something math or science related.  Also, as someone in grad school I can tell you – don’t do it just for a bigger paycheck.  You have to really enjoy the material to make grad school bearable because it’s MUCH harder than undergrad was.

@rafi09@xanga - There are plenty of states that require a masters degree to be a teacher (you have to get it within a certain number of years after you start teaching).  The idea being that a teacher with more education will be a better teacher.  To be honest, I wouldn’t want to raise kids in a state that DIDN’T require teachers to have a masters degree.  Sure many of them will take easier degrees / programs than if you were in grad school for a hard science, but it still helps weed out the lazy and incompetent people from being teachers.

@millionofstars@xanga - Uhm….what?  A PhD in Education to teach college?  I kind of doubt that.  Maybe for teaching education classes, but in general a college is going to want you to have a PhD in a specific field to teach said classes (PhD in physics to teach physics, PhD in Economics to teach economics, etc).

Also as someone who’s currently in grad school I can tell you, getting your masters will make you STRONGLY reconsider going for a PhD.  I used to want one so I could be a professor too – half a year in grad school for my masters (which is way harder than a bachelors but nothing compared to a PhD) has already made me realize that I can NOT put up with several more years of an even more brutal hell to get a PhD – and everyone in my program but one has said essentially the same thing.

It is what you make it. I’m going to Graduate school because I’ll be certified. And yes, you make a better pay depending on what you do. I’m bilingual and will have a job waiting for me when I get my Bachelor’s, but I’m waiting until after Graduate school. Plus, I can afford it and I like learning. I might also get a second Bachelor’s at a different school. If you feel like you don’t need it good for you, don’t get it.

@BimmerPhile@xanga - Alright well thanks for the advice; I really needed it. I am new to graduate school and am working right now. I am still debating whether I should go for the PhD or stop at getting a Masters. I do not mind all the schooling as I love learning as well. We should all be life long learners no matter what.

I know after taking the qualifying examinations I have to write a 200 page (or something like that) dissertation, defend it, then hope to be awarded a PhD. I am too afraid to consider how much in debt I will be. So I think receiving a Masters is good enough for me. Of course I will continue to take continuing education courses.

My plan is to teach internationally, and after having years of experience I will go back to the US and open a school.

I wish you the best in your schooling and life! Thanks again for the wise words you mentioned to me. I really appreciate it.

I think it depends on the field you’re going into.  The only major I can think of where graduate studies is an absolute must is Psychology (I’m not saying that’s the only one, but it’s the only one that comes to mind).  Otherwise, it’s probably preferred (like I’m planning on getting my MBA in Finance), but not needed or necessary.  But one thing it does is to make you more competitive, so that’s always a plus

I’m going into Education and I am planning on getting a job right out of college. I will probably go back for a Masters once I have paid off some of my debt though.

@rafi09@xanga - There are states where you have to get a Masters in teaching.  In New York, you need to get your Masters within your first five years of teaching.

Well I am in Grad School for Theology…sure i’ll end up working retail once I’m done. Lol. I love learning though. It will be weird being done with school soon.

It’ll make you more competitive, but it’s REALLY expensive, and you will feel like you want to pull your hair out the entire time. If you don’t absolutely need one right now, unless you have trouble finding a job right out of college, don’t go for it in my opinion. Some companies will even pay for your grad school later if they decide you need it. Granted, though, it is harder to start back to school once you’ve been away for it for a few years.

depends on the field.. im doing psych undergrad right now. i’m pretty much not going to get a job relating to psychology unless to go onto med or grad school..

if you dont go…your not qualified if you do…your over.

@BimmerPhile@xanga - Read this comment: @rafi09@xanga. It explains what I meant. I wrote my original comment on 2 hours of sleep so my point apparently didn’t get across. I was talking about when you enter education since this post was talking about the time period where you decide to move onto grad school or enter the job field, not what you have to do to gain the permanent certificate for teaching. It is not required for you to have a master’s when you start teaching and it’s even often detrimental to gaining your first job placement, which was what I meant.

@ashleya - Read this comment: @rafi09@xanga. It explains what I meant. I wrote my original comment on 2 hours of sleep so my point apparently didn’t get across. I was talking about when you enter education since this post was talking about the time period where you decide to move onto grad school or enter the job field, not what you have to do to gain the permanent certificate for teaching. It is not required for you to have a master’s when you start teaching and it’s even often detrimental to gaining your first job placement, which was what I meant. Going directly after graduation can cause you to be overqualified though. Many schools aren’t taking first time teachers with master’s if they can hire a first time teacher with a bachelor’s degree because they are low on money. Maybe in New York schools have a little bit more money so it’s different but I’ve heard too many stories of people being overqualified. Instead I’m used to most teachers doing work on their master’s as they continue teaching.

@rafi09@xanga - (commenting on the rest of your comment; I really only saw the beginning since I was looking for the comments that all said the same thing to me) Hehe many states don’t even have the requirement for needing a master’s to keep your certificate. From what I can tell, it seems like most don’t (so far, I’ve learned of 3 states that do). But I do agree that all states should require it so it ensures that teachers continue to be competent. It’s one of the reasons why I want to work up to a Ph. D even though I don’t want to teach past K-12. I think many states don’t require it though because going back to school on a teacher’s salary isn’t always feasible and loans aren’t always available and many school districts will do anything they can to get out of covering it if they’re required to since they’re low on funds to begin with. It’s not always a feasible requirement so I think many states just don’t deal with it.

@BatmanTotallyRocks@xanga - Read this comment: @rafi09@xanga. It explains what I meant. I wrote my original comment on 2 hours of sleep so my point apparently didn’t get across. I was talking about when you enter education since this post was talking about the time period where you decide to move onto grad school or enter the job field, not what you have to do to gain the permanent certificate for teaching. It is not required for you to have a master’s when you start teaching and it’s even often detrimental to gaining your first job placement, which was what I meant.

****And sorry for the same comment over and over again guys. I couldn’t get the tags to stay past more than one page (and I missed ashleya’s originally) and copying and pasting wouldn’t work for some reason so I had to do each comment individually.*****

As everyone else has said, depends on your field. Nursing tends to be fine for a while, many business majors actually can’t go straight to MBA, etc etc. 

If you go to grad school you look at what you’re passionate about- there is not an undergrad program for what I want to do (Student Affairs in Higher Ed) and going to grad school then is *necessary. But that being said, the programs I applied to *require an assistantship, where I will work part-time in an area of Student Affairs that will cover a lot of tuition as well as provide me with a stipend every month. 
That is NOT common.
My boyfriend is going to University of Michigan next fall to pursue a masters in sustainable systems design. MUCH more expensive and have limited number of assistantships– he’ll bite the 20K bullet for fall and hope to get an assistantship/research assistantship in the spring. Otherwise it’d be financially irresponsible to continue.
Lots of numbers and looking what is worth pursuing. All costs and all benefits.

I’ve recently decided against grad school; I owe more than enough money for undergrad as it is, and I don’t need a Master’s for my field.

@BatmanTotallyRocks@xanga - Hey I did not know that! Thanks for the heads up. I am from CA though I am very interested in living and working in NY. However, I am not sure how good of a living I can afford with a teacher’s salary in NY even with a Masters. I will do my research and decide from there. Or I can teach at an international school in a certain country (have not decided where yet), save up some money, then work in NY.

For my grad school I am debating between Stanford, Brown, and New School. I live much closer to Stanford than Brown (in Rhode Island) or New School in NYC. Though I love the idea of living on the East Coast.

The possibilities…

@millionofstars@xanga - Good luck with your decision.  Personally, I love the east coast, but I may be a bit biased ; )  

@BatmanTotallyRocks@xanga - Hey thanks again! I am looking forward to going to grad school (wherever it may be) and going ahead in life.

I think it’s smart to visit Brown and New School before deciding. Which will be a good idea since I haven’t been to the East Coast yet lol. Though I’ll probably be in D.C. this summer.

@rafi09@xanga - NY State requires it for sure. You have to go to grad school to determine whether you want to get a K – 2 masters, a special ed masters, a 3-6 masters, a certain subject masters if you want to teach middle/or high school , etc. 

I would love to live, go to school, and eventually work in NYC. This is definitely one of the most amazing cities in the world. I have to be a part of this exciting place.

I am feeling more hopeful after looking at the apartments on craigslist.org and on various other rental sites. I think I can afford at least $1,500 a month with the money I’ll be saving. I would of course think about having a roommate.

My plan is to teach internationally for a few years, earn a good salary with benefits, then enroll myself in grad school.

I am sure this will all be worth it. I know this is such ain incredible opportunity for me and I am running with it. Running far to beautiful sights I will homes in.

May you all fly to wonderful heights!

Send a postcard and let us know how you are doing.