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?

@Newlittlerescue I would swerve Env Science. Low paid in terms of sciences. Too much charity or government work. I’d always look at Environmental engineering. These are the people who design the solutions. Env science is relatively new - it used to be incorporated in Geography. Some get lucky of course but jobs wise, it’s a saturated market.

DD did an integrated Master’s at Oxford (an MBiol) which works out cheaper than doing a standalone Master’s degree. Employers seem to view her degree favourably so the extra year was a worthwhile investment of time and money.
DS did a three year undergraduate degree at Cambridge and is now studying part time for a Master’s degree sponsored by his employer. He has one study day each week and time off for exams which he finds manageable.

It sounds like the answer depends very much on the particulars.

I am surprised by the posters who were frustrated with their parents not letting them pursue the masters degree they wanted. Surely you were at least 21 and paying for it yourself. It’s hard to control independent adults.

Emotional guilt tripping and finances. The post-grad loan isn't enough

I have a masters and it led to my fully-funded PhD. I would only recommend doing so if it is essential for the particular career the DC is aiming for.

Alternatively, save the Masters for a few years later when you have saved up and can afford to do it without debt or decide on a career change. If your job is overtaken by AI for example, you may be pleased to have some funding for a masters and it wouldn't be available if you had already completed one. It may also be more useful at a later career stage, so is very much career dependent.

I would say yes. DS has just graduated with a BSc, no year in industry, and been fortunate to secure a grad role. 4 that he knows from the assessment centre who were hired are all 3 year degrees. Anecdotally, from other friends those who have had a year in industry are now being offered jobs for after their fourth year.

Integrated masters are money spinners for universities. DS was offered an integrated masters place by his UCAS insurance university, when he had not expressed any interest in doing one.

@EwwSproutsIt very much depends on career though. Dc should be properly informed about career structure and need for a masters or not. For a student who needs an integrated masters it’s definitely worth it. If a BA/BSc is good enough, go with that. Some masters don’t get you very far as people find out and they would have been better off working. Some need it and cannot access top careers without it. Not all jobs or careers are the same.

@TizerorFizz My response was not generalist but directly to newlittlerescue's scenario. DS graduated in biology.

In general terms I stick with integrated masters do not, in the job market, carry the weight of a robust primary research masters or year in industry.

It is too big a question over which to generalise. In my profession (law) doing post graduate law (for which usually there would be no point in adding a tick box masters purely to get a masters student loan) is essential to qualify. Eg LLB (3 years) then one year SQE course/exams (with or without masters) then 2 years paid training in a law firm IS the career path. Four of my children are solicitors, last two qualified last year.

My sons had quite a few friends who did a masters eg in computer stuff (one of the friends now works in cyber security and I am sure the masters helped with that career).For other people doing a fairloy pointless masters will simply because they were too lazy to think about careers before graduating and it fills in another year for them.

@xenia You've just generalised yourself by not differentiating if the friends of your DSs completed integrated masters or stand alone masters which you suspect proved helpful. There is a clear difference in cost and academic weight.

I did a masters part time over two years and it was pivotal in my career progressing. I had been at work a few years and made a solid decision. I found it easier than some of my classmates because I had industry knowledge and experience. Those who did it straight from undergrad still seemed to do well as they were academically minded, but they lacked the context and understanding of the job and some were only doing it bc the university offered a discount to their alumni. This clearly influenced some decision making. Several individuals in the two cohorts I crossed over with were not enthusiastic about the ‘obvious’ job at the end of the masters as they hadn’t really known what it involved. They might have been better served saving their money and going to work for a few years first, however, doing a masters shows you’re working at a higher level so is probably never a waste of time.

I did a stand alone master's. My dissertation topic was something I was interested in though and speaking about it in my interview helped.

I couldn’t afford a masters. I also couldn’t decide what to do anyway. And it would have meant more student loans and not much benefit work-wise as what I went into doesn’t need one. Now, everyone seems to have them and degrees don’t seem to be good enough anymore so I feel sorry for students today.

I know 2 people who have done masters. One is now in the police, the other works in a supermarket. They didn’t use their masters at all.

In my master's a partner from PWC came in to talk about careers. Someone asked about master's. He said it didn't really add an value and it would be better to do one after a few years of work.

He was and is quite high up at pwc.

Also in law, although I'm a barrister. We have mandatory postgraduate courses too, but I have to say, we are more likely to recruit someone with a degree + masters over degree alone (all other things being equally) simply because it is further evidence of academic rigour.

As for the partner at PWC, the vast majority of their trainees go straight into a L7 apprenticeship for their 3 years of ACA. Their exams are tough enough without needing an extra qualification to prove their ability.

Yes he has the ACA.

It's not in the Big 4's interests to encourage a stand alone masters, as if it's in a related area to their ICAEW exams they become ineligible for apprenticeship funding (until changes to L7 come into force in Jan) and have to pay £000's for their training & exams.

I had no idea

@PwffsacI think they recruit people with a masters from, say, LSE. Depends on area of work.

Those entering the consultancy arm also do a L6 qualification, so equally applies to them if their masters is in a related area. Similarly, those entering IT & Data divisions so the same, so a masters in IT would cost the company a significant amount of money.

Anyway, all largely irrelevant as the OP left days ago without indicating if her DC wanted to do an MA in Funerael Archeology (v useful for their career path), gender studies (probably not unless they're heading for a PhD) IR (the only way to get a role in most think tanks) or maths.

In my field you need 4 years of university level education to be eligible to sit professional exams, so everyone who went to university in England/Wales/NI has a masters and/or a PhD.

DS will most likely do a 4-year integrated masters (MChem) rather than a BSc (he’s just competed his first year). DD is about to graduate with a bachelors degree (BBL), and has no interest in doing a masters. She’s already got a job in any case, so it clearly isn’t necessary for her.

I'm applying to do a Masters now, because I'm older, able to afford it, and it's a passion project, with no realistic prospect of getting a job at the end of it. I just fancy it. I didn't have a particularly happy time as an undergraduate, and I think this is a second chance for me to enjoy university level education

My DD is about to embark on one, funded by her work and it will absolutely make her more employable and lead to career progression (she's already got nearly 10 years of work experience.

Youngest just did a one-year Masters abroad, partly funded by the bursary he received for the PGCE he did the previous year. He did it for the experience of living abroad and his interest in the subject matter and because he was thinking of going on to do a PhD (would have been necessary for his original career goal). His ideas changed during the year, due to some relevant work experience, and he's now got a teaching job for September. The Masters probably didn't make a lot of difference (although the subject matter is relevant to what he is teaching) but keeps the door open for a future career change.