How much difference would having a masters make

[Hairymcfairyyy]

In employment terms?
Is it worth it?
Considering using part of a loan we took out for the house, for some extended study.
Is it really worth it, would I progress more in my field, do employers value masters these days?

I did a Masters degree (taught conversion course) but I got research council funding so fees and living expenses were paid for.
I would'nt have taken out a loan for it as well as giving up work for a year. Mine coincided with an industry boom & skills shortage so gave me an edge over other candidates and higher salary starting point in private sector.
I'm not sure whether education is subject to the same forces.

It’s the most useful qualification I have, apart from maybe my driving licence!
It gave me practical skills to use with my BSc, which made me very employable at the time of a skills shortage. Also research council funded.

My sibling has one in education.
He found it an expensive waste of a year and was very disappointment in calibre of material on the course. 🤷‍♀️

The only reason he thinks it was remotely advantageous is he did it at cambridge.

As he works internationally people are a bit ooh la la so its easier to get interviews now.

It can help you get in the door and differentiate you if you’re struggling to get that first job. It can compensate for a poor undergraduate degree. It can be good for changing subject. But if you’re already in a job it’s worse than useless.

probably make more difference doing it now that you have some experience, rather than a masters following on directly from your first degree - but not that much.
I don't regret doing my masters, but although being very work related, it hasn't really enhanced my career.

I did mine as I was changing career and felt it would prove to future employers I was serious about new career, which it did and that afforded me a higher paid starting role and a quicker climb than I likely would have done without it… so yes it helped me.

Have you looked at any job adverts to see what qualifications are listed? In my daughters case, her MSc in a social science made a world of difference to her job prospects as she studied the course named after her role.

Two friends did masters and PhD one in environment the other in science. They were still badly paid but enjoy their work

@Hairymcfairyyy

Hmm, doesn’t appear to be that advantageous. I’m in education, so it would link to my degree. I had assumed that prospective employers would look favourably when choosing potential candidates at interviews etc and it would equal higher pay.

I work in the private education sector and a Masters seems to be valued - almost all my colleagues have an MA either specific to their subject or in Education. Several colleagues have PhDS. I would not have got my job without an MA (niche specialism).

Depends on your age, career and status - my undergrad degree and MSc are only very tangentially related to the field I work in now (IT and information systems), but I'm a senior level subject matter expert and have been in work for almost two decades, in my current field for a decade.

If I'm looking at entry-level new hires and their post-graduate degree is either directly related to our industry, then yes; even if not directly related, then I still give kudos for the additional commitment / intellectual rigour required.

For an older person (particularly at a more senior level), doing a Masters that isn't very industry specific would, I fear, be a bit of a waste of time and money (unless you have the time and money to spend on learning for learning's sake, which is, of course, always a good thing, but not guaranteed to translate into employment).

I would generally recommend that anybody over about 30 or so (assuming they've been the work place for ~five-eight years by that stage) looks at professional qualifications, such as project management qualifications or similar, rather than a very academic achievement.

I do, however, work in a commercial environment, so the teaching profession may take a different view on this.