4 ms·

In my experience, masters degrees serve as a waiting pattern to get into medical schoool and also get around immigration restrictions, especially the Master's c

In my experience, masters degrees serve as a waiting pattern to get into medical schoool and also get around immigration restrictions, especially the Master's cap. They serve these purposes rather well, the question whether anyone taking these degrees actually learns anything useful is not relevant at all.

EliRivers 12y ago
Anecdata; I've just finished a Masters in Maths and my mathematical ability has massively improved. Nobody doing this alongside me is going to medical school. My first masters was in physics. I don't know of anyone there going to medical school either, but it's been a few years; maybe some have.
glesica 12y ago
I have two masters degrees (well, one and writing a thesis for the second one) and I found them both enlightening, valuable experiences. It is, of course, important to note that I didn't pay for either of them (except in the form of opportunity costs). If I'd had to go deeply into debt I might feel differently.
- Rapzid 12y ago
  It's a shame you need a bachelor's degree to undertake a master's program. It might be fun to do a comp-sci program at Georgia Tech, and I believe I would find it enlightening and valuable. There is just no way I'd go through the trouble of getting a bachelor's degree first.
  - pdiddy 12y ago
    Good shout bringing up Georgia Tech. Their new online master's in Comp Sci seems to be really shaking things up. It seems like a major omission from this article, especially because it is a collaboration between Udacity and GT.
    - jonkiddy 12y ago
      I'm wrapping up my second semester this week in Georgia Tech's OMSCS program. It's fantastic. The courses are packed full of CS fundamentals, algorithms, data structures, etc. I finished my bachelor's in 2004 and find this MS program challenging probably due to being out of school for a decade.
  - symfoniq 12y ago
    This. I'm in my 30s with a wife, kids, and a successful career. The Georgia Tech program looks great, but there's no way I'm going to go back and finish my bachelor's degree at this point in my life. Useless general education coursework and the absurd cost of online degree programs from reputable brick and mortar schools makes it a nonstarter. If there were an affordable online B.A./B.S. program from a reputable institution, which was tailored to worldly-wise people for whom high school was half a lifetime ago, I might reconsider. But I haven't found it yet.
    - lrm242 12y ago
      I don't know how far along you and the parent are in your bachelors, but there are BS completion programs that you might consider. I'm now 35 and I left my undergrad EE BS in my senior year to start a software company. Thankfully it worked out, but I have at times wished to be able to get a masters degree and have found the bachelors requirement troublesome. Last year I enrolled at UT Arlington to get a BS in University Studies via the Finish@UT program (http://www.finishatut.org/ http://www.finishatut.org/). I am specifically planning on finishing a CS masters via the Georgia Tech program. To finish my bachelors I will need to finish 4 semesters of part-time coursework, essentially picking up where I left off in my undergrad EE at UT Austin, but of course not getting a EE degree, but still getting a BS degree. Anyway, as a means to an end, I can stomach 4 semesters of undergrad online coursework to (a) finish my degree as an example for my daughters and fulfil a promise to my father; and, (b) enable for me the option to get a masters in CS for personal fulfilment reasons.
    - Spooky23 12y ago
      There are a few options. Check out Excelsior College, which is a SUNY school intended to provide educational options for employed people... they've been doing this for many years. You can get credit for work experience as well -- I think up to 70. There are other options as well, many of these programs were setup originally to support nursing programs and military families. Just stick to non-profits.
    - Rapzid 12y ago
      I'm in much the same boat less the kids though. Just into my 30s and started my career a bit late but already making good money and have really good experience on my resume. A 4 year program with all the extraneous drawn out learning would present a huge potential opportunity cost for me. I already try to be a bit of a Renaissance man, and I'm constantly expanding my IT/comp-sci knowledge outside of work. I'm never asked about my education when applying for jobs.. I guess it's Coursera for me then :) @lrm242 So far away. I barely have a semester worth of credits from TCC(Tarrant County) earned a decade ago.
- HarryHirsch 12y ago
  It is, of course, important to note that I didn't pay for either of them That's the discriminant, right there. If they pay you it's because they need someone to get some work done, and the funds to pay you come from someone willing to pay them - NSF, NIH, industrial sponsor, whatever. But if you pay them they'll just make some advanced undergrad courses a requirement for your masters, and it's a farce throughout.
maccard 12y ago
I've got a masters degree, taken for self fullfilment reasons. Myself, and the majority of people who took the course with me all now work as software engineers, none of us took it for immigration reasons. Two people are doing PhD programmes now. Just because you don't see the value in it doesn't mean it has no value.

EliRivers 12y ago

Anecdata; I've just finished a Masters in Maths and my mathematical ability has massively improved. Nobody doing this alongside me is going to medical school. My first masters was in physics. I don't know of anyone there going to medical school either, but it's been a few years; maybe some have.

glesica 12y ago

I have two masters degrees (well, one and writing a thesis for the second one) and I found them both enlightening, valuable experiences. It is, of course, important to note that I didn't pay for either of them (except in the form of opportunity costs). If I'd had to go deeply into debt I might feel differently.

Rapzid 12y ago
It's a shame you need a bachelor's degree to undertake a master's program. It might be fun to do a comp-sci program at Georgia Tech, and I believe I would find it enlightening and valuable. There is just no way I'd go through the trouble of getting a bachelor's degree first.
- pdiddy 12y ago
  Good shout bringing up Georgia Tech. Their new online master's in Comp Sci seems to be really shaking things up. It seems like a major omission from this article, especially because it is a collaboration between Udacity and GT.
  - jonkiddy 12y ago
    I'm wrapping up my second semester this week in Georgia Tech's OMSCS program. It's fantastic. The courses are packed full of CS fundamentals, algorithms, data structures, etc. I finished my bachelor's in 2004 and find this MS program challenging probably due to being out of school for a decade.
- symfoniq 12y ago
  This. I'm in my 30s with a wife, kids, and a successful career. The Georgia Tech program looks great, but there's no way I'm going to go back and finish my bachelor's degree at this point in my life. Useless general education coursework and the absurd cost of online degree programs from reputable brick and mortar schools makes it a nonstarter. If there were an affordable online B.A./B.S. program from a reputable institution, which was tailored to worldly-wise people for whom high school was half a lifetime ago, I might reconsider. But I haven't found it yet.
  - lrm242 12y ago
    I don't know how far along you and the parent are in your bachelors, but there are BS completion programs that you might consider. I'm now 35 and I left my undergrad EE BS in my senior year to start a software company. Thankfully it worked out, but I have at times wished to be able to get a masters degree and have found the bachelors requirement troublesome. Last year I enrolled at UT Arlington to get a BS in University Studies via the Finish@UT program (http://www.finishatut.org/ http://www.finishatut.org/). I am specifically planning on finishing a CS masters via the Georgia Tech program. To finish my bachelors I will need to finish 4 semesters of part-time coursework, essentially picking up where I left off in my undergrad EE at UT Austin, but of course not getting a EE degree, but still getting a BS degree. Anyway, as a means to an end, I can stomach 4 semesters of undergrad online coursework to (a) finish my degree as an example for my daughters and fulfil a promise to my father; and, (b) enable for me the option to get a masters in CS for personal fulfilment reasons.
  - Spooky23 12y ago
    There are a few options. Check out Excelsior College, which is a SUNY school intended to provide educational options for employed people... they've been doing this for many years. You can get credit for work experience as well -- I think up to 70. There are other options as well, many of these programs were setup originally to support nursing programs and military families. Just stick to non-profits.
  - Rapzid 12y ago
    I'm in much the same boat less the kids though. Just into my 30s and started my career a bit late but already making good money and have really good experience on my resume. A 4 year program with all the extraneous drawn out learning would present a huge potential opportunity cost for me. I already try to be a bit of a Renaissance man, and I'm constantly expanding my IT/comp-sci knowledge outside of work. I'm never asked about my education when applying for jobs.. I guess it's Coursera for me then :) @lrm242 So far away. I barely have a semester worth of credits from TCC(Tarrant County) earned a decade ago.
HarryHirsch 12y ago
It is, of course, important to note that I didn't pay for either of them That's the discriminant, right there. If they pay you it's because they need someone to get some work done, and the funds to pay you come from someone willing to pay them - NSF, NIH, industrial sponsor, whatever. But if you pay them they'll just make some advanced undergrad courses a requirement for your masters, and it's a farce throughout.

maccard 12y ago

I've got a masters degree, taken for self fullfilment reasons. Myself, and the majority of people who took the course with me all now work as software engineers, none of us took it for immigration reasons. Two people are doing PhD programmes now. Just because you don't see the value in it doesn't mean it has no value.