Well, through some weird twist of fate, it looks like I may be applying to do my MA in Environmental Management. Originally, I was talking to the academic advisor about doing my B.Sc., but after I told her about my work experience, she suggested that an MA might be more suitable. I can apply through flexible admission (education I do have, plus work experience) and am in the process of gathering the information. This program is a combination of distance learning and residency (away from home - I’m in Calgary and the university is in Victoria).
Now, the only thing about this is that we are trying to get pregnant. In fact, I do my first IUI on my next cycle. I won’t be giving that up, and the advisor said this morning that I would be able to take a semester, or year, or whatever off (I have five years to complete the program) if I ever need it. But, once I do have a kid, how hard is this going to be? I’ll be working full time as well, and I’m a little worried about the course load. I mean, I’m sure I can do it, but it scares me.
My sister is also doing her Masters at the moment (in Nursing) and said it’s a lot of work, but very rewarding. The thesis for my program is no where near as onerous as the thesis for a science-based program, but it’s still a big deal.
So, please share your experiences and maybe reassure me a bit? I likely won’t be talked out of doing this, but am having a bit of an ongoing freak out.
I finished up my M.Pl (Urban Planning) master’s earlier this year. While I enjoyed the experience, that statement is entirely irrelevant as I have been out of work for almost 10 months. Not even a single interview offer. In retrospect I think I was very, very naive to believe the positive role that an apparently ‘useful’ advanced degree would help in providing that ‘leg up’ in the job market. I don’t believe that Master programs carry even a 10th of the weight they use to, yet there appears to be 10x the pressure to have one.
Probably not what you wanted to hear, but just my story.
Thanks for your input and I’m sorry it turned out that way for you. I am pursuing this partly because I was told by my boss that I would not be able to advance much in my department unless I got my Masters, so there’s that.
The job market is abysmal right now; remember that ten months isn’t the rest of your life. At some point, you’re going to be doing something you enjoy and putting that paper to good use. Even if you wind up in a different or unrelated field, having a Master’s is still a leg up.
You’re opening doors; it’s just that there’s fewer doors than before all around. Whenever I hear folks with a Master’s degree talk about how useless it is, I’d always love to draw their attention to my smart, personable wife who has nothing but an AA and hasn’t even gotten a callback from retail, food service, or temping positions.
I know, I realize that but in 3-4 months there are going to be 400-500 more freshly minted M.Pl folks hitting the Canadian market, not to mention hundreds of other ‘related’ M.A/M.sc who think they can pass as a planner. Not much aside from a 10 month gap in the resume differentiates me from them.
I see the ‘leg up’ benefit of a Master’s as coming way, way later in the career game when one is gunning for that upper management or public face position. The OP mentioned that was a reason for considering an M.A.
I’ve thought about advanced education considerably recently and I really believe that it could be a better choice to pound one off part-time while working a career (when you KNOW that it is going to be recognized) then full-time right after, or a few years after an undergrad.
Keep in mind if the time commitment becomes too much then you can just not finish. Yeah you’d have spend the time and money but presumedly you learned something from the classes you did take. And you can still put “Univ. Whatever, graduate coursework in ____” on your resume. No one even needs to know that you weren’t just taking a few non-degree classes as an end in itself.