Does a second masters really add that much value?

N2IT · April 2015

I realize there are outliers in anything, but generally speaking does it make sense to get a second masters degree?

I see quite a few members seem to do this, but it's generally two degrees baked together with additional electives to get the second one.

Assuming that is not the case does it make sense to get another one? Thoughts?

tpatt100 · April 2015

I can't afford it, I would rather spend the time and money on something else.

MrAgent · April 2015

I am considering getting an MBA after I finish my MS in IT. I think that could be helpful down the line. Especially since my company will pay for it.

networker050184 · April 2015

It's all in the eye of the beholder. Two masters wouldn't help you any more than one if I were looking at your resume for a network engineer job. Doesn't mean there aren't places where it would though.

the_Grinch · April 2015

I'd say it really depends on what you're applying for. If you have an MS in IT/IS/IA/CS and now want to move to management I could see going back for an MBA. I know at the state a lot of job positions sometimes require the MBA/MPA and they won't accept an MS in something else. In my case, the MSACS might be enough, but if I really dive into big data/analytics, I'd get more training via the second Masters then is offered in the one.

Node Man · April 2015

Are you asking if it matters to a recruiter? I think that is the important question. I don't think it will matter to the team I join or a new boss.

matai · April 2015

I currently have a BS IT Security from WGU and am starting MBA IT Management soon from WGU as well. These are quick and cheap to check off the boxes. Eventually I'll probably do a MS Security Engineering degree from SANS or Johns Hopkins for the name recognition. Also there are a lot of benefits to an Engineering Masters degree at some companies, Boeing for one. I'm waiting until I work somewhere that will cover the cost of an expensive degree like that though.

tpatt100 · April 2015

Yeah if somebody else is footing the bill then go for it. For myself I would rather just buy some books off Amazon for self enrichment and not have the big bill.

shodown · April 2015

No real answers cause it just depends.

If you are in a "check the box" company I'm sure it will hold some value

If you are in a company that looks to innovate they are going to be more interested in what you know and what you can do. Will you get those skills in another masters program? Thats up to you. As you get more senior in your career your formal training gets less and less important compared to how you have progressed.

Node Man · April 2015

For a motivated person, self education can be much faster than semesters at school, and yield a similar portfolio.

hurricane1091 · April 2015

Somewhat related, do you need an MBA over an MS to be the VP of technology, CTO, etc? I would think MS = CTO, MBA = CIO, but sometimes CTO=CIO???

shodown · April 2015

I think before you add another tool(degree in this case) you need to think about what you are trying to build. Adding knowledge you always gain something, but it comes at a cost of time away from other things.

GForce75 · April 2015

N2IT wrote: »

I realize there are outliers in anything, but generally speaking does it make sense to get a second masters degree?

I see quite a few members seem to do this, but it's generally two degrees baked together with additional electives to get the second one.

Assuming that is not the case does it make sense to get another one? Thoughts?

No, just go for something higher, DBA... PhD... that's the route I went.

Dakinggamer87 · April 2015

tpatt100 wrote: »

I can't afford it, I would rather spend the time and money on something else.

I know right I will just be glad when I have it so I can be done with school.

As for the original question it just depends on your overall goals N2IT.. If you have the time and it applies with where you want to go I say go for it

zxbane · April 2015

I'm in a similar situation to someone above. I just finished up my MBA using my GI bill and now I am going to pursue a MSIA degree using TA from my employer. I figure it would be silly to let the TA go to waste and not be utilized since they are willing to pay for me to get it. Plus this gives me a graduate degree in a technical concentration along with the MBA. I'm assuming this should add some value and won't hurt me in the long run.

JoJoCal19 · April 2015

I know for me personally, after my MSISA I will be going for my MBA. In doing research of people in high-level IT management positions, I found far more with MBA than any other type of masters degree. That's ultimately the goal I want to pursue (and maybe Big 4 consulting).

dou2ble · April 2015

JoJoCal19 wrote: »

I know for me personally, after my MSISA I will be going for my MBA. In doing research of people in high-level IT management positions, I found far more with MBA than any other type of masters degree. That's ultimately the goal I want to pursue (and maybe Big 4 consulting).

When I worked for one of the big 4's a Masters was not a requirement to get to the top. But PMP cert and taking college business courses was encouraged. Some schools offer just those business courses and you can list those on your resume. This is what I plan to do after finishing my Masters in Cyber Security. It's important for security professionals to understand the business impact from a business perspective and not just know the risk impact.

JoJoCal19 · April 2015

dou2ble wrote: »

When I worked for one of the big 4's a Masters was not a requirement to get to the top. But PMP cert and taking college business courses was encouraged. Some schools offer just those business courses and you can list those on your resume. This is what I plan to do after finishing my Masters in Cyber Security. It's important for security professionals to understand the business impact from a business perspective and not just know the risk impact.

Definitely true, but have you seen the salaries being offered by the Big 4 to MBA grads they recruit? Upwards of $140k-$160k salary, plus sign on bonuses of $20k-$40k and annual bonuses up to 25% of salary. That's why I'm wanting to do my MBA at one of the target schools some of them recruit from. Now not everyone will get those numbers, but I'd like to put myself in as best a situation as possible to try and get that.

ibn_shaddad · April 2015

I would like to do so, getting MSc degree in CS InfoSec and then ad another one namely MBA.
I think that would be awesome!
Only, of course, if I can afford it.

N2IT · April 2015

@ JoJo we just hired a guy here from one of those schools. While he isn't make 140 - 160 he is making ~80, 24 years with an BS and MBA from a top 25 business school. We are basically peers and I am significantly older than him.

My bosses boss is similar in schooling. Decent bachelors very good masters (in finance) and is 34 and director at a top 20 company.

Pretty freaking impressive stuff. If you have the resources and aptitude go for it. What I find interesting is that these folks are in IT strategy roles and have 0 tech skills.

anoeljr · April 2015

N2IT wrote: »

@ JoJo we just hired a guy here from one of those schools. While he isn't make 140 - 160 he is making ~80, 24 years with an BS and MBA from a top 25 business school. We are basically peers and I am significantly older than him.

My bosses boss is similar in schooling. Decent bachelors very good masters (in finance) and is 34 and director at a top 20 company.

Pretty freaking impressive stuff. If you have the resources and aptitude go for it. What I find interesting is that these folks are in IT strategy roles and have 0 tech skills.

Nice...he should be set lol. I wonder if he has to pay any loans or if he went for free. Either way, he'll most likely be making a ton of money if a few years anyway. I'd absolutely love to go to a top business school, but right now I don't have that kind of money and don't want to go into all that debt as I'd most likely have to pay for it myself. UT Austin would be my choice as I'd be able to do the weekend MBA in Dallas/Fort Worth, but it's about 95k lol.

N2IT · April 2015

Hey some guys get all the luck, girls too.

I'm a mere mortal who worked his way up from several failed professions. To a modest IT career where I am content and happy. If my experiences can help even one person it has been worth it.

dou2ble · April 2015

JoJoCal19 wrote: »

Definitely true, but have you seen the salaries being offered by the Big 4 to MBA grads they recruit? Upwards of $140k-$160k salary, plus sign on bonuses of $20k-$40k and annual bonuses up to 25% of salary. That's why I'm wanting to do my MBA at one of the target schools some of them recruit from. Now not everyone will get those numbers, but I'd like to put myself in as best a situation as possible to try and get that.

I must of been at the wrong big 4 and I was at one of the top 2. Are you looking at IT positions or finance? The financial side pays more and those numbers look like theirs.

JoJoCal19 · April 2015

dou2ble wrote: »

I must of been at the wrong big 4 and I was at one of the top 2. Are you looking at IT positions or finance? The financial side pays more and those numbers look like theirs.

I know it varies by experience, and what level the position is, which those salaries are more for experienced folks that also have the MBA and come in at a higher than Associate level. I do know KPMG seems to come in on the lower end of the pay from what I've seen. I was recruited for a position with KPMG last year for a position paying around $100k. I was contacted by a recruiter for a position with Deloitte paying $120-$160k. Both of those were with no MBA but as an experienced professional with a Bachelors. I had to decline going for either as I have three small children so I don't want to be away 4-5 days a week at this point in time. I'll consider it when they're older. I know a recruiter for PwC so I need to contact her and see what they are paying experienced MBA hires.

N2IT · April 2015

I think it makes sense that an MBA would benefit you more (both experience and financially) if you were to go for a business related position (Finance, Supply Chain, Procurement, Accounting) over a tech position.

dave330i · April 2015

N2IT wrote: »

I think it makes sense that an MBA would benefit you more (both experience and financially) if you were to go for a business related position (Finance, Supply Chain, Procurement, Accounting) over a tech position.

As you move up the ladder, you'll spend more time on the business side vs. tech side.

N2IT · April 2015

Dave I recently joined a supply chain unit. In the interview the VP asked me nothing but business related questions. He wasn't concerned about my development skills or anything else technical. He wanted to know what I thought their biggest financial risk were internally and externally. He asked me some other similar questions. He clearly wanted someone with business acumen.

jeremywatts2005 · April 2015

Professionally speaking I did it. Did it pay off I would say heck yeah it did. My first Masters was from CTU in Infosec and my second Masters is in Digital Forensics Science from Champlain college. My first Masters helped to jump start my career and get me into higher level roles. The second Masters was all hands on tech and with the two I got a heavy tech hands on security degree and a infosec management degree. I have very few certs, but my education carries a lot of weight in an iview. I am working on adding some certs and certing up over the next year or two. My goal is hit 200K or higher by 45 and I am 37 now. I think I can do it with some additional experience and more certs to go along with the degrees. I am in Dallas TX and I broke the 6 figure mark at 112K and have gotten another offer after 9 months to move to another position at 120K. For a point of reference in May 2013 before my second Masters I was at 68K in Baton Rouge LA. I am well on my way to that 200k with huge pay jumps.

GForce75 · April 2015

Why not just jump to the next higher level?

jeremywatts2005 · April 2015

GForce that is a great idea to move to a doctorate. The only problem I ran into was with a doctorate you in some cases not all will be doing a ton of research related work. I found the Masters degrees to focus more on job related skills like at Champlain which is heavy tech and hands on. I have studied and am studying at the doctorate level currently for my Doc in Comp Sci. However I do not feel it would have prepared me nearly as well as my Masters. My doctorate is more of a personal goal currently. Also the doctorate sometimes is more in demand for the academic field than the Masters. Me personally I was a Dean of Academic Affairs and managed entire academic departments for for profit colleges and I did not even need a doctorate. Some folks want to teach so they go for the doctorate. However for myself personally I have taught at regionally accredited and for profits. I do not want to do it again after being a Dean.

GForce75 · April 2015

jeremywatts2005 wrote: »

GForce that is a great idea to move to a doctorate. The only problem I ran into was with a doctorate you in some cases not all will be doing a ton of research related work. I found the Masters degrees to focus more on job related skills like at Champlain which is heavy tech and hands on. I have studied and am studying at the doctorate level currently for my Doc in Comp Sci. However I do not feel it would have prepared me nearly as well as my Masters. My doctorate is more of a personal goal currently. Also the doctorate sometimes is more in demand for the academic field than the Masters. Me personally I was a Dean of Academic Affairs and managed entire academic departments for for profit colleges and I did not even need a doctorate. Some folks want to teach so they go for the doctorate. However for myself personally I have taught at regionally accredited and for profits. I do not want to do it again after being a Dean.

I can understand. I'm glad I picked an MBA in Project Management. This degree is just after the fact. The certifications is what has provided me with the base knowledge. I'm just doing the DBA for knowledge growth. When someone asked what is the value, the value is the growth experience for me. Because of the MBA and Doctoral Studies, I was able to crunch the CISSP study time and passed the test in two weeks (think like a manager). In the end, some things are a check in the block and some things are for personal growth. I know I don't even need it, but hey... why not... it's just paper, books, and some headaches

Does a second masters really add that much value?

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