I think it really depends on your field and how you envision your career path.
I have an MA and did all but my dissertation in a PhD program in the humanities. In a field like that, what you find in a Master’s program is that you learned practically nothing as an undergrad (just scratched the surface of your major) and when you go on to a doctoral program you find that a Master’s degree doesn’t really cover all that much either. It was wonderful to be able to explore the whole world of my major.
I don’t regret grad school at all. I had experiences I couldn’t have had elsewhere, met my best friend, got to travel quite a bit for cheap, and learned to analyze and document in a way that makes me successful in the completely unrelated field I work in today.
I don’t regret going on for a master’s degree at all. I do wonder if it would have been better if I had taken some time in between undergrad and graduate school, though.
It all depends on what you like to do in life and where you see yourself going with it.
Well, I went on to a doctorate, and really had to work to finally get it.
If you want to do any interesting R&D, it really helps to have the higher degree. And it gives an added oomph to my writings about mythology it otherwise wouldn’t have had. I doubt if my book would have been published if I didn’t have those letters after my name.
I went to grad school in a different field than my bachelor’s. I have a bachelor’s degree (double major actually) in elementary/early childhood education and a master’s in counseling. When I figured out a career in teaching would make me insane (kids were great but everything else was all bullshit) I stumbled into my current field by accident. So, I went back to get the master’s. I’m glad I did it while working and after a few years break from school. I took it much more seriously and did a lot of research for courses using stuff I had to do for my job anyways so both school and work benefitted. No regrets getting the master’s here.
However, I have had no desire to go for a PhD. The idea of another degree and going back to school does not appeal to me at all.
Of course, it helps that I work within higher ed, where advanced degrees are respected and valued.
Parts of it were hard. Very hard. A lot of it was stimulating, inspiring, broadening, and even fun.
The hardest parts for me were the sense that I was doing something very selfish. Grad school is for YOU and YOUR betterment. Early on, you won’t be making any contributions to your field, so you’re basically spending a lot of time and energy on the improvement of your own mind and nothing else. Sure, it’s a noble calling, but it also felt sort of self-indulgent and selfish to me. I also sometimes chafed against the apprentice-master cult of grad school. There is a certain amount of kowtowing one has to do, some of it with a legitimate purpose, some of it not.
Overall, I’d do it over again. Just do it a little smarter.
I found getting my masters helpful, but not immediately. I have a master of linguistics, but went into marketing when I realized while getting my masters, but only after having been accepted to a PhD program, that I no longer wanted my PhD. At least I realized that before I actually began my PhD. Also, my graduate degree was initially a hindrance to my career since, once I decided that I didn’t want my PhD, I had to find something else to do that would make me money I could live on. I had to remove my education from my resume, because no one wanted a person with a masters degree in an entry-level marketing job. But I’m still glad I got it. For one thing, it helped me realize I didn’t want my PhD. For another, it helped me develop and hone my research and writing skills considerably. Since I now own my own business and make my living as a writer, that’s pretty darned important.
The only thing I would have changed would be to take a couple of business courses, too, so I’d have that background as well as the one I already do. I think that’ll be my next step - to take business classes. Though I’m doing pretty well so far, I think it’d give me a confidence boost and more credibility if I had a formal background there, too.
My MS in Chemistry really helped me understand some stuff I didn’t as an undergrad. So many more things just made sense for some reason. As for benificially financial, I’ve only had my degree for 5 months. My current employer isn’t going to give me a raise based on it but a new employer might, when I’ve ‘paid my debt’ back in a year.
Given what I do now, it’s possible I could have jumped in right out of college and worked my way up to where I am, whilst making a hell of a lot more money than I did. Then again, I had absolutely no idea I’d be where I am now way back then.
Predictions are difficult, especially about the future. If you want to go, go. If you don’t, don’t. There’s rarely only one right way to do anything, I’ve discovered. Nor is it really too late to get a graduate degree in many fields. Whatever you do, put your heart into it, and don’t look back. If you find yourself wishing for something different, change course. I know it sounds hopelessly simplistic and idealistic to dole out such advice, but I’ll be darned if life doesn’t throw you some major curve balls every once in a while. You just never know what something is good (or not good) for thirty years down the road. Best not to worry about it too much.
Before I started at grad school (currently a Computer Science MS student at WVU), I asked my professors the same thing (“Is it worth it?”) and to a person they all said they had no regrets about the choice they made. (Of course, they all have tenure-track jobs in hand so that may not be representative…)
As for me…well, there’s certainly times, when it feels like I have a million things to do, that I wonder if I did the right thing. But after I find a way out of the hole, I realize that those are the natural fluctuations of the semester and that things will get better, and it’s then that I realized it just wasn’t for me to be sitting in an office at the moment. I enjoy learning more about theoretical computer science and [usually] enjoy teaching students, so in general to answer your question, in the end I do have no regrets.
It was worth it, for me. Although my job prospects based on my doctorate are pretty slim, I don’t feel that it nullifies anything I learned in graduate school. I’m not even sure if I’ll end up in a career that has anything remotely to do with my research. Some might see that as a failure, but I’m happy with the work I did and the experiences I had, so I see the years I spent in grad school as successful and meaningful.
Well, I’ve got a BA in English Literature and have recently finished an LLB. Now I’m studying to obtain my Prac Cert in order to be admitted as a lawyer. Altogether it’s taken nearly six years.
Was it worth it? I’m still broke, so at the moment it’s a financial black hole and therefore mildy frustrating, but when I finally finish it all and find gainful employment, it may well be. But I want to accomplish many things in the course of my life - practising law being just one of them.
Who knows what the future may bring?