Master's Nation

Holy crap, I haven't posted since Saturday! How did that happen?

Time goes by, so slowly, and time, can do sooo much. You know?

I guess I'll do the second half of my post from the other day. I'm gonna talk about master's degrees.

There seem to be roughly three paths to entering a master's or professional degree program. One path is people padding their resumes in preparation for applying to a ph.d. program. For that path, please see my previous post.

The other two paths are people trying to break into a field, or people in a field trying to pad their resumes and learn some stuff. Basically, my view is that the first of these should probably not do it, unless they absolutely have to, and the second of these possibly should if the circumstances are right.

So, for those trying to break into a field, a master's is often seen as the meal ticket. It is the back stage pass for work in a particular career. Now, for careers that have highly formalized licensing procedures (being a lawyer, for instance) this is true. Of course, a lot of people go to law school before they actually know that they want to be a lawyers. These are the people who really just want to be Matlock, and we should pray for them. But yes, if the field you KNOW you want to work in requires a certain master's degree, you should get one. The goal here is to do it as cheaply as humanly fucking possible, because you'll be going into debt to get it, and debt sucks.

However, for a field that doesn't require a master's degree in any formal way, the decision to go is often done out of laziness or panic. A master's degree is primarily a credential. You will learn a few things in a master's degree, but not enough to make you particularly useful..you'll learn all that on the job. It's approximately equivalent to 3-5 years of working experience, as far as a resume is concerned. Yes, that will help you get into the field you want to work in. You know what else would help you get into the field you want to work in? 3-5 years of working experience. Guess which one is cheaper?

Instead of going to grad school, find an organization in a field you want to work in, and start volunteering. Do a volunteer internship if at all possible. Find a way to get your foot in the door and land a crappy entry level job with your bachelor's degree. "But," you protest, "I studied ancient Sumerian mating rituals in college, and now I want to run a nonprofit, and nobody will give me a job!" Well, first off, you probably should have at least minored in something useful in college, but it's too late now. You just have to be more persistent. If you can't find anything after a couple of years of trying, ok, go to grad school. But it's sooo damn expensive, it should be the last resort. Again, if you absolutely have to go, do it as cheaply as humanly possible. Don't sacrifice price for reputation...a degree from Harvard isn't worth it if you're gonna be making a middle-class salary when you get out. Also, and this is important, DO NOT GO UNLESS YOU ARE REALLY SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO DO!!!

As a caveat to my skepticism of grad school here, I should also say that although someone coming out with a master's and someone with 3-5 years of work experience are more or less equivalent, from that point on, the master's degree holder will (ON AVERAGE!!) see a steeper increase in wages than the non-master's worker. But, keep in mind, the person with the master's is also in debt.

Now, it's a much different calculation if you're already working in a field. If you already have the work experience, and then you get the master's, you are sitting pretty. You are in the cat bird seat. You are sitting in the lap of luxury. You will have very little trouble finding a job. You might even be able to do it part time while keeping your job, and, if you're really goddamn lucky, you can get your employer to pay for it. A part time master's paid for by your employer while you continue to work is pretty much the gold standard. That's what you really want to do. It'll take longer, yes, and you'll be stressed, but it's sooooo much cheaper, and when you finish, you aren't staring down the barrel of unemployment. Of course, you should also ask yourself whether or not you need a master's at all if you are already doing the kind of work you want to do.

Anyway...those are Joe's hard-won tips for graduate school. Summary: it's fucking expensive as shit, and you shouldn't go unless you absolutely have to, and if you have to, do it as cheaply as possible.