My employer will fully sponsor a degree from UofM and I only have to purchase books. However, the degree is focused toward a career in the Automotive industry and I am not 100% confident I want to remain in the Auto industry forever. The degree would take approximately 4 years to complete.
My employer also provides tuition reimbursement up to dollar limit per year which would allow me to attend Purdue for an interdisciplinary degree in the same time frame at a cost to me of approximately $6000. However, I have to pay the tuition cost up front and pass the class with a certain grade before reimbursement. I can transfer credits from Purdue into the UofM degree at anytime should I decide to take the employer sponsored degree route.
So the UofM degree is nice because it is completely hands off with regard to money but suffers from being narrowly focused in an area I am unsure I want to pursue for my career.
The Purdue degree is nice because I can take courses I am interested in but suffers from requiring tuition cost up front and the added headache.
My question: Do you feel that the focus of the degree is more important? Or that you check the box for having an advanced degree. If the latter is the case, I would just transfer my current credit from Purdue into UofM and use my money for other things.
Thoughts?