Pros and cons of doing a Masters

[Wintom]

Lots of young people are choosing to do Masters rather than go directly into work.

If your DC has done this what were the pros and cons? Having two student loans to pay back must be crippling on the pay slip in 10-15 years time.

I did a masters 28 years ago, pre children, whilst doing my job (work paid for half) but it has not impacted my career at all. I did it because I still craved 'learning' and loved studying.

Has a Masters degree made a big impact into your DC's employability?

Anyone? I feel quite negative about my DC thinking of doing a Masters. So I just want to hear other's thoughts and opinions: good or bad.

DD is completing her masters at a good RG after an undergraduate at Oxford and working for a year to self-fund it.

It has allowed her to study something she has a genuine interest in and develop skills which put her in a strong position to get the first job she applied for and work out what she would like to be doing in 5 year's time.

The downside is undoubtedly the cost. The fees alone typically range from £10k to £18k depending upon the university & location. Accommodation, food, travel etc and it quickly adds up.

I would look very carefully at why they want to do it, what the costs v benefits are (eg professional needs) & the reputation of the university. I don't think many realise that there is no maintenance loan for a masters, very little funding and the £12k which is available from student finance is expected to cover everything.

I work with 2 people who’ve done Master’s because of their love of a subject rather than career progression etc.
One is a receptionist and one is an administrator.
Personally, I don’t see why you’d put yourself into that much debt.

These days young people often do Masters degrees to avoid the job market. Generally it just delays the need to find a job, while increasing their debt. To be avoided I think.⁹

I'm very glad I did mind as it ended up as the gateway into a much better career than my undergraduate alone, but I didn't have any money so worked after BA for two years and did MSc part time over two years while working. Meant I had plenty of time to do a good job of it (graduated with a distinction) and no debt. I think FT masters straight after a bachelors is unfortunately only workable for the wealthy.

Both mine did straight from UG. One to ‘clean’ a 2:2 and now on a grad scheme. The other now finishing a PhD with a job lined up.

Worked fine for them. I did mine the hard way whilst working back in the day!

I think it depends what/where studying and career aiming for. I was recruiting for an entry level position and was surprised lots had masters but no paid work on cv. It did strike me as probably wanting to extend student life and avoid world of work like @jeanne16 says.

Unless it will have a direct benefit to career progression, no.

I get hammered for postgrad loans. It's not means tested and it has done literally nothing for my career. I doubt my employer even knows I have one.

I had a place on a Masters course at Cambridge but never did it due to need to earn money. I think it would have had zero impact on jobs I got or earnings and I got a job day after graduating and then exactly the job I wanted 9 months later. It was also when house prices were low but rising 20 percent a year and managed to buy a 2 bed flat without any help. If had done the year I could have been priced out a few years more.

I also remember at university we did the economics of education and they said then a Masters gave a 30 percent negative return on earnings which put me off. I wasn't massively motivated by money but paying a year to lose money seemed daft to me.

I think it depends on course and career aims but I would be encouraging DD to do a lot of research if she goes down this route.

This is really helpful, thank you. These were my thoughts, but I could not understand the huge culture of doing a masters after graduating due to the hard job market.

I'm 27. My parents forced me to do one. They didn't let me do the one I wanted to do because "it didn't have many good career options" (it actually does and I work in a field that the programme(s) I wanted to do would have led me to do).

Only do one if you genuinely love the course material and would enjoy studying it.

I hated mine, I was miserable and I somehow got a merit after BSing my exams and my research reports and dissertation.

I caught up with a friend from university today who has a well paying corporate career (he makes way more than me). We had a chat and basically agreed that the value added of a master's is at many times (but not always) near 0. It's a year you're paying tuition fees and living costs and year without income.

I absolutely loved my subject, I generally enjoyed the course. But I wasn't that bothered about my grades. I was determined to get a first in my undergraduate, and I did but in all honesty, my masters was part vanity, part holding off getting an actual job.

Yay me, I've got a decent masters but ffs, I get so much money taken from my salary every month that it genuinely wasn't worth it.

I loved doing my MA, it helped me consolidate my understanding of the subject area and encouraged me to go on to a PhD. My advice though is to not just do a generic one but rather one that has more of a specific focus, especially if you are looking to work within the field of study.

I concur I did a generic one and my parents directly shat on my idea for the specialised one(s) I wanted to do.

I did my masters 5 years after finishing my degree. It's definitely helped in terms of demonstrating my experience and skill set in my field but equally, a lengthy career experience would have done similar. I think the difference for me is that it will allow my to move direction or bridge between certain careers if I decide to do that. I also love what I do and my masters was a genuine labour of love in that respect, it gave me the means to do research on a topic I felt passionate about and which is relevant to my work. I also made some really good connections in academia through it. I think it probably really depends on the field you're in. I can see why they'd want to do what they can to 'stand out' in the current climate, but equally you need to start somewhere. I did mine while working full time which was intense, but it meant I was covering both bases. My employer gave me some time off and access to certain resources which was really helpful but I still had to take another student loan out. However, I've managed to move to a more senior position and increased my salary by a significant amount since doing my masters which means it works out better for me financially. BUT I'm not sure I personally would be keen to hire someone only with a masters, over someone who's got experience- I need to see that who I'm taking on can actually do the work I do rather than just write well as my job is very public facing and there are a lot of people who are well educated who flounder in real life in the job.

I think if they're going to do it, it should be focused and needs to fit within a career goal so they can present themselves as more specialised in x without narrowing their options too much. That takes research and an understanding of their career field and the job climate in it and what other jobs/careers will run alongside.

I don't think that students with student loans to repay should saddle themselves with extra debt to do a Masters unless it has a clear career path into a highly paying field where the Masters is a requirement/highly desirable.

The Masters market in the UK meets International demand for HE in English for students from other countries without (much) undergraduate student debt.

So if someone is going for a 'typical' graduate entry-level job in STEM, let's say the sake of argument as an Environmental Permit Technician at a water company, £30K salary, requires relevent degree, would someone with a masters in a relevent subject be more likely to get the job than someone with just a degree in a relevent subject? If so, isn't that where the 'value' of a masters lies? If so many applicants are applying with masters, would a non-masters even get a look in? (Anyone know what percentage of graduates continue to masters in STEM?)

My son is considering a masters to help with charter ship. He is studying engineering.

@Newlittlerescue With some relevant work experience or volunteering in something relevant - yes! Absolutely. Masters with no work is not necessarily better. Plenty of master’s holders don’t get the best jobs at all.

Also who needs a masters to be a technician? You do need a masters to become a chartered engineer. That is a much better use of money if you have not done an undergrad MEng. I’d say do a masters if it is a “must” for the career. Otherwise it’s an expensive luxury.

Universities are promoting these to students for the obvious reason of getting more money for the University, at the same time suggesting it’s enhances the students prospects. But the vast majority of employers don’t require them or even feel they add weight to the job application. I am not going to dismiss a job applicant because they don’t have a Masters, equally I am not going to be particularly impressed if someone does have one.

Unless you’re doing it for the absolute joy of learning (and happy to pay all that money) I think they’re an absolute scam, waste of time and money. Get your degree and get yourself into the job market.

So a BSc with a year in industry (if you can secure the placement - I understand it can be a challenge...) would be much better use of 4 years than an integrated MSc?

(Assuming you are going for a graduate entry level STEM job)

@NewlittlerescueAbsolutely not for some branches of engineering. A Bsc grad cannot be a chartered engineer for years and years! Only incorporated - IEng. Of course the employer might sponsor masters but CEng is gold standard and recognised the world over and its fast track to higher earnings. They are the future team leaders and principal engineers on major projects. A 4 year undergrad masters is cheaper unless dc really wants a certain specialism.

Sorry, I wasn't talking about engineering, more something like environmental science, or biochemistry?

I’m an CEng and RICS, but it took me years.

Our eldest needed a master’s for his chosen career. Luckily for him, he got a grad job where he was sponsored. It was tough though, doing it p/t whilst working.

Our youngest graduated last year and again, has a grad job where he’ll be sponsored.