Question on Masters degrees

[hooligan]

Thanks everyone for the info it helps. Unfortunately I don’t have a trust fund coming so Harvard and the like is out for me I’ll be working full time while doing this. Just weighing the value of networking vs the student loans that would be involved. I feel like some of the online ones to the bigger schools like USC etc are lost since you aren’t there to make the connections.

My company had tuition reimbursement but got bought out and I still haven’t gotten info if the new company does

[Captain39]

I have my under grad from SFA also. Loved my time there. But like many I switched careers and never used my degree. I have also dealt in real estate as a agent, broker, investor, flipper on the side for years now, which none require a degree. I can’t see spending 50-100k on a piece of paper that has little return on my money. I am all for education; but we have taught me people to think only way to get ahead or make money is through higher education; and this is a lie. I know plenty of HVAC, plumbers, electricians who make a 100k plus and I have known plenty of highly educated guys who dont.

[Buckley99]

Hooligan,

IMO the reason for the higher prestige schools is the networking and contacts you make from those schools. I have a good friend that just graduated with his MBA from SMU and his classmates were everything from self-starters to people there because their dad required it to inherit the trust fund of 9+ figures. I would say the contacts open more doors than having a name on your resume. Its probably more important than the degree.

Kevin

Nailed it! ^^^

I have an undergrad (Psychology) from TCU and my degree has been a personal benefit but hasn’t had a direct impact on my career in any way. However, I met the President of my company in my first week at TCU. He and I were talking business long before he hired me. SMU was the same way. The education was great but you spend $100k for the relationships (professors and fellow students).

Good luck!

Ps Hooligan - let me know when you want me to bring your fly fishing setup to you.

[hooligan]

Nailed it! ^^^

Ps Hooligan - let me know when you want me to bring your fly fishing setup to you.

Had a trip get canceled so I'm in town until the week of 2/26. Just let me know when you've got a slow day. I'll see if I can set some meetings up down there next week to make it easy.

[sierracharlie338]

All job fields are different. I sit on hiring boards frequently and this is my .02. As long as the college is accredited and STAYS accredited is all that matters. I had a coworker go through an "accredited" college that ended up losing its accreditation after his first year there. Needless to say it was an online school not affiliated with a major university.

Obviously as stated above there are benefits to some schools, but that is not always an option. Do what you can afford.

[hooligan]

All job fields are different. I sit on hiring boards frequently and this is my .02. As long as the college is accredited and STAYS accredited is all that matters. I had a coworker go through an "accredited" college that ended up losing its accreditation after his first year there. Needless to say it was an online school not affiliated with a major university.

Obviously as stated above there are benefits to some schools, but that is not always an option. Do what you can afford.

I definitely want to be at a major university and not looking for an online only school. I know SMU or UT would be better to get me in the door to a job at a place like Deloitte but I'm just trying to research the $80k benefit over SFA of UNT

I do Business Development right now and it's great, I'm good at what I do but I don't see a lot of growth with this role or company and looking at an MBA to increase that

[bklem]

Hooligan,

IMO the reason for the higher prestige schools is the networking and contacts you make from those schools. I have a good friend that just graduated with his MBA from SMU and his classmates were everything from self-starters to people there because their dad required it to inherit the trust fund of 9+ figures. I would say the contacts open more doors than having a name on your resume. Its probably more important than the degree.

Kevin

As a $50K a year teacher with a degree from Smu I fully endorse this statement. I have been to some amazing places and had incredible experiences all because of my decision to go to Smu and the friends I made there.

To the OP, I still could not justify the extra $$ for a Masters from one of the private schools. Just can't imagine it being worth it.

[mastercraftka]

I had to have a masters for what I do so like it has been said before it depends on what you want to do with it.

But IMO 100k for a masters is pretty outrageous. Mine I think cost me about 8K maybe and no one in my line of work cares where I got it they just want to know that I have it.

Other industries might be different.

[brokeno]

Get the cheapest. Phoenix

[TexasBob]

Get the cheapest. Phoenix

One of those is a typo. I got my MBA through Sam Houston same as the undergrad. Big name schools will open some doors but not worth 3x the debt in my opinion. Longer you are out of school the less it matters as well unless hiring manager is from x school. All my opinion, but that’s what you asked.


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[duckmanep]

When comparing costs, don't ignore schools like TAMU Texarkana & TAMU Commerce. They are likely to be some of the cheaper options, but still have the TAMU name attached to them and they offer online options.

[Ruark]

I have my under grad from SFA also. Loved my time there. But like many I switched careers and never used my degree. I have also dealt in real estate as a agent, broker, investor, flipper on the side for years now, which none require a degree. I can’t see spending 50-100k on a piece of paper that has little return on my money. I am all for education; but we have taught me people to think only way to get ahead or make money is through higher education; and this is a lie. I know plenty of HVAC, plumbers, electricians who make a 100k plus and I have known plenty of highly educated guys who dont.

Absolutely. Where you go in life is 99% you, and 1% everything else. . A schmuck with a Harvard Phd is still a schmuck. And don't fall into the student loan trap. It will destroy you.

[Wall_Hanger]

I don't think your career field, if you are staying in the same field, will demand a top tier program. One thing that I haven't read here is that many people go to the top 10/top 20 MBA program because they are looking to make a big transition from their current role or their career path. You also have to be able to get into these top programs. There are people who study for years to get their scores high enough to get in, although the admissions interview and experience are also heavily weighted. My cousin did an online MBA through the University of Nebraska - Lincoln and it was a 2 - 4 year program depending on how many hours you took each semester. He is a process engineer for a refinery and wants to move internally to a move commercial role so his chosen school / program is well suited for his situation....plus they paid for it.

I did a full time masters at a top 10 that was 40 credit hours in a year while I worked full time. It sucked at times but I loved it. To me, you are investing in a professional network to leverage after you graduate just as much as you are investing in actual knowledge gained. You and your cohort will go on to advance in various fields, at different rates, and having them as sounding boards will be valuable in your career. Now if you were a finance guy, you would almost need a "high powered" MBA or advanced masters degree to break into private equity, trading, hedge funds, etc.

[helibow]

I am finishing my Masters in Administrative Leadership at The University of Oklahoma - it is a distance learning program. They have several other degree programs as well. It is super affordable. Been in healthcare 20+ years, and the last 12 in a leadership position. It was imperative that I have an advanced degree if I wanted to continue to climb the ladder and increase my compensation.

As someone who hires, I prefer advanced degrees in todays market. Does the advanced degree make you better from a technical skill perspective than someone who doesnt have one.... not necessarily. What it does show me, is that you have a drive to continue to challenge yourself and to learn. Leaders are lifetime learners, and often (as is my case) that is a learned skill. From a PR/Mktg and Mass Comm perspective, you will learn a lot in grad school from a professional/scholarly writing perspective that will help you tremendously in the future, IMO.

https://pacs.ou.edu/degrees/

[Tx_Wader]

My son got his MBA and worked while getting it and graduated magna *** laude and was hired almost immediately by a company that he had applied to while doing his under grad work.

I know that it helped him with salary and head hunters are constantly contacting him to see if he's interested in other jobs. So far he's happy where he is and has moved up the ladder very quickly.

But as was said above, there are those who have a Masters Degree who graduated summa *** laude who do not have a lick of sense and just hold menial jobs.