How much would you pay?

NightShade03

So I've been thinking alot about going back to school (at night) to get my MA/PhD however the school that I really want to go to is insanely expensive. Do you think its worth paying high tuition prices just for the sake of going back to school? Or is it worth it to just find another university?

brad-

with your certs and a b.s., i've got to say that unless you want to get into upper management in a big company - or teaching, its a waste of time and money.

ive got my b.s. also, and i wouldnt ever dream of setting foot back on a campus. if i do anything else, it'll be more certs.

it really just depends on what you want to get out of it.

NightShade03

Well I would like an advanced degree and I feel that it may give me an advantage later on in life (when job hunting). Plus I'm one of those freak people that really enjoys school / learning

tpatt100

I went back to school to work on my Masters mainly to get into management/executive management later on.

GAngel

NightShade03 wrote: »

Well I would like an advanced degree and I feel that it may give me an advantage later on in life (when job hunting). Plus I'm one of those freak people that really enjoys school / learning

PHD won't get you a job advantage except for very select institutions. They teach and that's pretty much it. YOu find a few in MC firms but not many related to IT. Masters will help land you interviews but your experience will land the job. Not even a requirement for 90% of the jobs out there. In 5-10 it may change but i doubt it will matter that much.

You don't need to pay a fortune for a great education thats down to your own personal taste. Most programs follow the same national accredited standard and the info is the same the profs are what you're paying the tuition for.

Senior IT execs usually don't come from the actual IT field it's a business role and not really related.

Slowhand

GAngel wrote: »

PHD won't get you a job advantage except for very select institutions. They teach and that's pretty much it.

This is definitely a generalization, and an exaggerated one, at that. I work for a video game company and we have two PhD's (computer science) working as Sr. developers. The same pattern can be seen with other software companies. We have several people with Master's degrees holding high-level positions as well, (and a few people without degrees at all, but that's a different story). Depending on what the field is, a Master's or PhD is well worth the time/effort/money, and you're absolutely not doomed to be an academic just because you tag the prefix "Dr." before your name. While it's true that graduate degrees are not as sought-after in IT, they're not nearly as "useless" as I've heard a lot of people say. I've been in other workplaces where individuals holding PhD's are generally in senior-level or specialized positions, (both IT and otherwise,) so it's not as rare as rumors would have you believe.

Look into how you're going to pay for the classes; consider how much you want to borrow vs. how much you want to spend out-of-pocket. If you have the interest, then it's going to be worth it, (you just have to figure out the details). The reality-check, though, as GAngel was getting at is that no degree is going to guarantee you a job. It increases your chances, as do experience and certifications. In my opinion, considering that you said you enjoy the process of school and learning, in addition to having a choice of school in mind, that high price might just be worth it. As long as you plan out your financial situation and make sure you're aware of the pros as well as the cons of undertaking this journey. If the investment is worth it is ultimately up to you.

And hey. Should you someday get sick of the usual working-world, you've always got the option of going into teaching.

NightShade03

Slowhand wrote: »

And hey. Should you someday get sick of the usual working-world, you've always got the option of going into teaching.

Ah teaching something else I enjoy

Well honestly I don't think that money will be too much of a concern as I have already almost paid off my undergrad and seeing as how I'm pretty young I don't have any other debt and don't pay too much in the way of bills, so loans would be my option and that would be my only debt.

I do enjoy school and I've been working at my certifications and network security since I started college, and I'd like to continue in network security (the master's is in cyber/network security). Many of the classes I would need to take are things I read for fun daily so I feel that would lessen the amount of work I'd have to deal with because they would be things I'm already familiar with.

I see your point about not getting a job based on a degree, I understand that it would mostly be experience and certifications, however I feel that having an advanced degree doesn't hurt either

Slowhand

NightShade03 wrote: »

I see your point about not getting a job based on a degree, I understand that it would mostly be experience and certifications, however I feel that having an advanced degree doesn't hurt either

And that is exactly my point. None of those things guarantee you a job, but they all certainly help. The more experience you have, the more advanced your certifications, and the higher-level your degree, the better your chances are. They stack the deck in your favor and open up doors that may not have been there before, increasing your potential for success. Good luck with the studies!

NinjaBoy

I'm considering doing a MSc in IT Management in the next few years, part-time (2 evenings a week for 2 years) due to the types of jobs I'm looking at. I'm currently an IT manager however the next level of jobs I'm aiming for either list a post-grad (MSc/MA/MBA) as a requirement or desirable.

Currently the local Uni is offering the above MSc for £5k (approx $8.1k) for the 2 years, excluding books and materials. I know that course prices are increasing, so with that I would say that when I'm ready to do my MSc the most that I'd be willing to pay is £7k for the 2 years. Anything above that and I'd be shopping around.

-Ken