Is it worth it to do a Master at the most reputable university if you have work exp?

I want to hear comments regarding this matter because I can't decide. I'm around 70% done with my WGU bachelors and I want to finish my formal education with a good master in computer science. I feel this will leave behind all the little things that for me, put WGU a little behind a standard university (isn't renowned, no gpa, not a b&m, fully online, accelerated).

Usually, it's always better to have the biggest name of an university on your resume, but I don't feel it's worth it if you aren't in the beginning of your career where you might impress someone and get the job based on where you studied. I think that work experience makes all the difference once you already have been working for some time, but.. just want to hear what other think about the value of the university's name. I already have several years in IT, I have a good job, salary, so I'm doing this to basically mark the "has bachelor, has master" checkbox, and of course, to learn. But, I don't fully know if maybe, isn't it better to do it at a better place.

Stanford and Columbia (Ivy league) have a Master, fully online. It's not cheap, above 60k, maybe a little more once you get those fees that aren't listed or are in the fine print. Other good Universities (Johns Hopkins, UCLA, Illinois) have the same degree, but at a lower price (around 40k). There are of course more places, even cheaper. So, the question is, is it worth it to spend 20/25k more just to list in your resume Stanford or Columbia if you already have a career/experience/certs?

Thanks

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Comments

shodown

degree's are nothing more than tools in your bag and good tools cost money.

So think about it like this

If you are going to be a electrician, is there ever a need for a jack hammer? It cost money, its big, and takes some time to learn how to use it. Same with degree's. You can go get more degree's, but you should have a need to use them, cause the dirty dark secret is that most people don't use them for their full potential and most of the time they expire.

So what I'm saying is that figure out the reason you want more education. Do you want a masters level job? Do you want it to make you look smarter? Do you want more money? You have to know the answer to that yourself, then plot a path towards it. That path may or may not include a masters.

Christian.

Thanks for the response shodown. I'm really decided to get that jack hammer, I'm mainly looking if the brand name will change anything. I know no one will pay you more because you went to A or B, they will for other reasons like experience and you can't buy that. To be more specific, this is to have a better impression on those who read your resume if I decide to go look for another job in the future. Some names have more "kick", even if maybe a lesser school is more challenging or provides a better education. A technical manager won't care were you studied, except what you have done in previous companies.. but maybe others (upper management, hr) will see your resume with other eyes.

I'm fairly new to the US University culture, so I'm leaning to those who have been in the US market for some time to know what's the reality. I'm approached by recruiters and I don't have a bachelors, so this maybe won't matter at all.. but again, I haven't been long enough to determine if maybe I could have more offers if I list a bachelors and a master. Again, I'm not looking, but if I do, I don't want to be held back. Continuing your analogy, does it change if you choose Black Decker, Dewalt or Makita if they have the same characteristics? Like, same rpm, same warranty, same speed?

Just in case.. this isn't all I'm looking, I'm also seeing other things (like if they have interesting courses, a broad selection to choose from, if students are happy there, what level of content they have, how the course is dictated, how classes are performed, if gre is needed, how many recommendations letters, I need, etc). This is just one bit that I can't figure it out and maybe someone had the same question. I tend to over-investigate some things, like a Python book. I spent days looking reviews. I choose WGU after doing a similar analysis. Name wasn't the key thing, it was just something else in the mix.

I wouldn't want to spend much more if the reality is that it won't change anything if you choose a University in the Top-10 instead of Top-20. That's my point. I can't find if senior roles could be affected by that narrow margin.

Danielm7

Christian. wrote: »

I wouldn't want to spend much more if the reality is that it won't change anything if you choose a University in the Top-10 instead of Top-20. That's my point. I can't find if senior roles could be affected by that narrow margin.

Senior technical roles? I really don't think top 10 vs top 20 even come into play. For what it's worth, almost every person I know in a Sr technical role doesn't even have their BS. They think I'm crazy for talking about getting my MS.

Look at your ROI for these things. Do you think you'll make 60K more, even over your career, by having a certain university on your resume?

What is your current experience? What is your goal in IT?

audio

Will WGU credits even transfer to those universities?

dmoore44

Depends on what you want to do long term, and how much the employers in your area value a name. In all honesty, part of the draw of the "prestige" schools is the ability to network.

Truthfully, the two largest factors that you should consider are your appetite for absorbing the cost of the education, and your ability to endure a lot of hard work. Danielm7 said it best - what is your expected ROI from those programs? IT, blessedly, is one of those disciplines that don't totally revolve around what degree you have, and from where you earned it.

If cost isn't a primary concern, and you want to experience a great degree of academic rigor, then go for the most prestigious program you can!

Christian.

Thanks guys, your comments really helped.

AverageJoe

I think you've gotten great advice already, but I'll just add that even though this is a big decision, it's not THAT big a decision because you can always change your mind.

If you start out going to a big name and don't like it, you can always change to another school. Granted, most grad schools won't accept more than 6 or 9 graduate transfer credits (and some won't accept any), so you typically want to decide if you're going to stick with it early on, but the point is that you can try it out for a term and go from there.

Just my 2 cents.

techfiend

What are you aiming for?

Tech role: focus on certs and stick with the bachelors unless the jobs generally require masters.

Management, director: masters from a reasonable state or well known uni you don't have to explain.

CIO, business owner, president, POTUS: Ivy!

Drakeisa

What I learned is education is less important as it was a decade ago.

This is because now a days everyones dog and cat has a degree and they can't back it up.