I look at master's degrees as advanced vocational skills certifications. A lot of people go into an MS/MA/MEng/MFA program right out of undergrad, primarily be

I look at master's degrees as advanced vocational skills certifications. A lot of people go into an MS/MA/MEng/MFA program right out of undergrad, primarily because they think they either may want a PhD or because they don't want to leave the safety of university just yet, but many more people matriculate into masters programs years after graduation when their work experience illustrates clearly that they would be well served professionally to dive deeper into a given area of study. For example, I started undergrad as a physics major but switched to history in my second semester, while continuing personal study of my hobby interest of computing/programming. I ended up getting a job as a webdev when I graduated (1999), and gradually moved into management. In 2007 when my company laid off 20% of its technical workforce and the economy was starting to tank, I made a decision to go back to school for a masters in an area actually relevant to my desired work (manufacturing systems engineering). I did and I learned a ton of useful stuff. In these kinds of situations, it's hard to overestimate the value of a master's degree, because like others have said, besides the emerging MOOC opportunities, there aren't really any other places where someone can spend either 1-1.5yrs full time or 2-4 years part time earning an advanced credential that's globally recognized, in nearly any field.