The important question...why do I need to master the material to get a promotion? Is that truly what the next level role requires? Well...unfortunately, many ti

The important question...why do I need to master the material to get a promotion? Is that truly what the next level role requires? Well...unfortunately, many times that's not the case, but someone at company X decided to use it as a filter. So in our free market economy, educational institutions who have a social monopoly on being reputable purveyors of education happen to offer something the market is demanding. I agree with you that an in person focused full time Master's program is meant for you to "master" the material. That's not the reality though and frankly, most people don't have the financial situations to allow for that to happen. Getting a Master's in the purest form of educational attainment is something you need to be rather privileged to achieve, or hardworking/lucky enough that you managed to get a crap ton of scholarships to be able to live off ramen while you're doing it.