Son is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business and heading into the work force. Many parents on this forum have kids who get degrees in various areas then go on to get a master’s degree. What are the pros and cons of that? Does getting a masters pay off in the end? Or just delay the paying back of (and adding to the cost of) student loans?
Sometimes acquaintances have asked me if my son plans to pursue a masters. Usually it’s other parents whose kids got their masters. I know son is happy to be done with school, even tho he was a great student. Plus he doesn’t have the resources to get a masters. So I’m just asking to get a bit more insight into the matter. Myself, I find it a relief for him to be finishing his college studies and moving on.
An MBA is best earned after a few years out in the workforce. It will make the work practical, rather than theoretical. Also, some companies will pay for the MBA, or at least subsidize it a bit. I would just say “who knows what the future brings…” as you smile and nod.
He needs to work for a while and decide whether or not further education makes sense for him. He may not want a graduate program, but rather just some workshops or continuing ed. classes that can quickly give him specific skills he needs. If his employers want him to get further education, they will have programs to help him pay for that education.
It really depends on what area of study you are in to see if a Master’s make sense…For an engineer, it is not really necessary. For a social worker, you have to have one to get a job as a social worker. For business, like others said, it makes sense to work for a while and then go back for an MBA.
As was mentioned above, getting an MBA is most useful after at least some work experience. Not only is it possible that an employer will subsidize but most of the good programs count on the work experience as a building block of the curriculum. Business is also quite diverse as an education field and MBAs are expensive. He should have a good idea where he wants to specialize within business (ie Finance, Marketing, Operations Management, HR) and that awareness often develops after a few years in the workplace. Otherwise a general MBA on top of a general BBA is not really a value-added endeavor.
Most MBA programs prefer you to have some work experience. Some companies will pay for you to get an MBA, so getting an MBA straight out of college generally doesn’t make much sense. In other fields it can be quite different. My niece is working on an engineering masters one evening course at a time paid for by her company - it will give her a specialty that wasn’t covered by her undergrad engineering degree. My son (IR major) says you need a masters in the field, but you are expected to spend a few years working and getting a feel for just what you want to get out of your masters first. For me getting a Masters in Architecture fairly quickly after undergrad made sense. (I took a gap year thanks to a grant I got from the National Endowment for the Humanities.)
It sounds like, for now, it’s best if your son goes into the workforce, work for a few years and then see.
This is so YMMV depending on your interests and career goals. I wanted to become a city planner, so getting a Master’s (after a gap year) after undergrad and before seeking a job made sense. The same can be said about Social Work and other professional degrees. For other professions, you don’t need a Master’s but it can help. Teaching is one such profession.
Slacker mom, what kind of undergraduate and master’s degree did you get to pursue city planning?
Thank you all for the responses, which have a similar theme, that is, to work and see what direction he leans towards. MizzBee, thanks for giving me a good reply to those inquiring about son’s future plans. Loved it. I used to work as an aide at an elementary school where most of the teachers had master’s degrees of course. Some of them really allowed that to make themselves feel far superior to the aides, and often people from the school inquire most about choices my son is considering for further schooling.
He has found work with an economic development company and seems pretty happy with it; he interned there for two years and they created a position for him. I’m happy that he’s happy, and look forward to seeing what direction it leads him.
I don’t know anyone who went for a masters degree directly after finishing a BA.
All entered the workforce and had a better focus on graduate work after a few yrs.
I do know quite a few people who entered a PH.d program immediately after undergrad, however.
With the Business degree, I assume that Master’s will be an MBA.
If it is so, both my H. and I have an MBA. The reason that we have it despite the fact that we absolutely do not need it is because both employers paid for it, so why not. So, keep in mind that many employers are paying for MBA (and neither of us had BS in business). So, why pay yourself? Just get a job and enroll on employer’s dime.
Now, I actually somewhat “lied” saying that we did not need it. Specifically in my case (IT, CS), I found later that having an MBA makes it easier to find your next job. I was told that several times that my MBA was impressive (in comparison to other job applicants, most of whom did not have it) and one told me that obtaining it while working full time and having a family was even more impressive.
So, at the end it is your S. decision. Here we can only tell our stories, he can choose to make any of them his story or choose not to listen at all and be his own man.
@Miller514 - it was a Master’s of City Planning at Georgia Tech (back when Ga Tech was a regional, second or third tier school - funny how things change over thirty years - hence my current skepticism about college ranks). My undergrad (double) majors were in Math and Design; majors somewhat useful but not directly connected to planning. Math taught me problem solving skills; Design provided me with some contextual background to planning (think pre-architecture). Planning now falls under social science - public policy, political science, economics, geography - rather than architecture or physical design.
Having work experience is great. It helps get a better feel for the type of area in which you want to specialize, makes classes more meaningful, makes you more employable, in some cases the degree can be paid for by an employer, etc. However, many students pursue a master’s degree without gap years from academics. For example ~40% of engineering students at Stanford do a coterminal masters where they simultaneously pursue both a bachelor’s and a master’s. When I was a student, I had started a 2 different coterminal master’s programs before I had received my bachelors. The average starting salary of those who pursue a master’s (including coterms) is 10-40% higher than those that pursue a bachelor’s, although most of that probably relates to a biased selection of who pursues master’s and differences in average experience, rather than the degree itself.
Regarding the original poster’s question, it depends on a variety of factors, including the field of degree. In some fields a master’s (or higher) is almost mandatory to get a job. While in other fields, it has little influence. Most fall somewhere in between and/or depend on specific circumstances.
A bachelor’s degree in business is generally meant to help the graduate enter the work force in jobs where knowledge of the various topics taught in the curriculum may be used. Going directly to an MBA program is probably highly unusual.
IMO, masters degrees are very overrated. There are many good reasons to get one of course, but without one, there is no point in enrolling in a masters program. In fact, I have heard from quite a few sources in software that having a masters degree can be viewed as a negative (with exceptions like some sort of 5th year masters, or a masters degree from a PhD program). And to be honest, I think this might be reasonable - in my school in the computer science department, many of the masters computer science classes are taught at a level below equivalent undergraduate classes.
The comments above haven’t recognized that for admission to one of the more competitive MBA programs the applicants MUST have work experience – it’s not just helpful but essential. Typically this means 3 to 5 years of work experience in which one has had increasing responsibility and accomplishments.
As others have said, if your S decides to get an MBA ( assuming he does not have a change of heart and go into a completely different direction), he should have a couple of years under his belt. It will help him decide what direction he wants to go in and give him what MBA programs are looking for- experience.
One of D1’s best friends just got into the Harvard MBA program. She is 5 years out of undergraduate school gaining five years working experience in finance.
All comments regarding work experience before an MBA are true, most b-schools won’t admit students w/o actual experience. After a few years, your S can decide on an MBA based on what his goals and area of work. In some professions it is beneficial pay-wise, and ceiling-wise to have an MBA, in others it is not. It really depends on his career path and industry. The good news is, he doesn’t need to make that decision now (or even worry about it), he can enjoy being out of school and see where his young career takes him. Over time, he will get a sense from co-workers what others have done and whether it is something he wants to do. Best of luck to him, and congrats on his graduation!