Masters....worth it? Im possibly thinking of doing a masters but trying to decide if it's going to get me any further in my career.... what are the hours like? if its 9-5 monday - friday then i'll jog on....
I've often thought about doing one. I think they are more worthwhile once you've had a few years working though, as that way you have a much better idea of what exactly you would want to do one on. The only thing is, you would then probably have to do one part time, which doesn't appeal so much (and is why I haven't done one thus far).
If you want to delay joining 'real life' for another year and would like to use the idea of an MA making your career prospects better ... then go ahead If you have a genuine thirst for knowledge and studying and have bundles of cash .... go ahead. Otherwise your just kidding yourself and if i was in charge of recruiting anyone, i'd cast a dim eye on anyone who decided a masters degree in something was better than real world experience. Hard words yeah - but just my take on it all.
That's a pretty strange way of looking at it, most people who do an MA or MSc usually have a job lined up before they finished, I know I had one and I leapfrogged all my friends who had done their degree and worked for a couple of years instantly in terms of money, and made my 3k investment more than worthwhile, to the point where I left my first job after 3 months and got a relative 5k pay rise to the job I'm in now.. An MBA makes you eminently more employable and improves your wage scale greatly, just read the careers sections in the Guardian / Times.. But that's not what its all about, do a Masters to further your career and develop a specialism - I couldn't do my job without a MSc/MA so it was a no brainier.. that and people have a fair amount of respect for Postgrad students and the skills they bring.. But I'd say think VERY carefully about what you are going to do it in, make sure there is a GUARANTEED job at the end of it.
Just because it worked for you, doesnt mean its going to work for everyone. For instance, (i think) chris does stuff thats based around computers ..... Which is one industry where practical, proven, on-the-job experience means alot more than a bunch of meaningless letters. The same goes for alot of other industries. Also, in this day and age with graduates earning no more than people who didnt go to uni on alot (many) jobs these days, i'd be very very very dubious of anything that takes you out of the job market for another year, or stacks up more debt. Obviously if theres a job out there at the end of it then its all peachy ..... but thats not what its like for everyone else.
Personally I'd get out and get a job and do the master on a 3 year part time basis. Best of both worlds.. real world experience and gaining more knowledge of the actual implementation of your studies while further increasing that knowledge.. ftw
I'd definitely recommend doing a Masters. I enjoyed doing mine although it was hard work, as I was doing a placement Mon - Fri 9-5 with uni work on top. Was worth it though. I've got the job I always wanted now (and I hate it! )
That's the thing about a Masters compared to a degree, it's a hell of a lot more rewarding and a lot harder work, most of what you deal with is more on a practical nature and usually used by external agencies.. I know a lot of our work was used by the North West Development Agency an is being written into policy..
well i've been doing more looking into it. I've always fancied going into Security....Newcastle Uni does MSc Computer Security & Resiliance, which looks like a decent course. I would like to do it part time and have a job but how many employers are actually going to be that flexible? The fees are £3500...without sponsorship I don't think I could afford that. Can you still get student loans at Masters level? Then again I don't fancy more debt. How many hours a week could I be expecting to do full time?
The thing is chris - if you want to get into network security then you are best off self studying it while in another job, or getting a very basic job and then leaving after 12 months for another higher paid position - and reworking your cv to suit the job you want. If your looking at this from wanting to get a job in your study field then i honestly would say the best advice in IT is a foot in the door, then a load of books and tutorials from the net. Ive pretty much doubled an already good salary doing the same thing - and i didnt need to take any loans or time out to do it either. IT is a strange industry - the rules that apply to other jobs and study DONT apply here.
