Masters degree

Hey guys,

I am in a bit of a dilemma and needed some advice. I am about to finish my bachelors in Electrical/Computer engineering and got a full-time job in relevant to my studies. I was just wondering if I were to pursue full-time work and doing a masters part-time will this benefit me in the long run? I would like to pursue a masters in engineering not an MBA. Ignoring tuition fees will this help me as in increase in salary? make me more hirable? etc? Will the masters payoff on my CV or will the job experience be more valuable? Thanks for your time.

Yes, it oftentimes improve your salary. Many jobs specifically raise your salary if you have a Masters.

Originally posted by s3b4k
Hey guys,

I am in a bit of a dilemma and needed some advice. I am about to finish my bachelors in Electrical/Computer engineering and got a full-time job in relevant to my studies. I was just wondering if I were to pursue full-time work and doing a masters part-time will this benefit me in the long run? I would like to pursue a masters in engineering not an MBA. Ignoring tuition fees will this help me as in increase in salary? make me more hirable? etc? Will the masters payoff on my CV or will the job experience be more valuable? Thanks for your time.

I am not in your industry, where the work is skilled and requires education of information and processes.

Having said that, in what I do an education would do little for me. I have just been very wise about how i build my resume, and about what I prepare myself for in interviews. I was once hired to run a mid range hotel as GM, with no hotel experience in my background. Its all in how you paint the picture of your skills and experiences. That job left me knowing the industry fairly well, and able to find work doing all manner of things in hospitality. Prior to that, I had run call centers (started as a phone agent and worked my way to the directors chair 5 years later).

With what you do....different story. You can be smart about how you sell your skills...but in the end as an engineer the proof is in the pudding. And you learn those pudding recipes in school.

Originally posted by s3b4k
Hey guys,

I am in a bit of a dilemma and needed some advice. I am about to finish my bachelors in Electrical/Computer engineering and got a full-time job in relevant to my studies. I was just wondering if I were to pursue full-time work and doing a masters part-time will this benefit me in the long run? I would like to pursue a masters in engineering not an MBA. Ignoring tuition fees will this help me as in increase in salary? make me more hirable? etc? Will the masters payoff on my CV or will the job experience be more valuable? Thanks for your time.

Hard to say man. It's a crapshoot ATM. The economy isn't as healthy as we're made to think. I would say if you're doing technical work, at the end of the day what matters is your skill, if you've met the minimum requirements to not have your resume end up in the trash bin (often this is a bachelor's for many jobs). If you are looking to end up in management sooner than later, or to have a business position/career path for a company that's not yours, every credential matters (how many/what level of degrees).

In my software engineering positions, my peers have been all over the board wrt what school they went to (how revered the programs at the various schools are). Some had master's degrees and they could ask for more pay most of the time. 80k a year instead of 65k in some cases would be an average I could attempt to pull from thin air.

School takes a lot of time. Think about whether you want to put everything into your career at this point, or shoot for more later, I suppose.

If it were me, if debt is in the picture -- debt sucks. I would rather Iive a bit more modestly and command my own ship rather than be enslaved to a debt.

Hope it helps. I've been programming for 16 years, working in real fields for around 10, and that's my input. We live in a world today where anyone can learn anything they want (with the resources available today/discipline/passion). Yes, there is still a "system" in place making degrees a prerequisite for many paths...

reply to post by s3b4k


Well I undertook a Masters degree in corrosion control engineering by distance learning(graduated 5 years ago) and it certainly boosted my earning potential by,I would estimate,20%,so I would say go for it,it's not just the qualification itself it is also the "spin offs" such as(in my case) professional membership of the institute of corrosion engineers.

I'd say pursuing the Master's is always a good thing if the work exists to make use of it and you have a financial way to do it. Not only are degrees a big deal for jobs like Government and contract stuff but a Masters is just about the universal requirement to teach in all types of classrooms as something to do when times are tough. One never knows what the future holds, right?