Liberal Arts/Humanities Master's Degree - what can you do with it?

[KayV]

I would agree about return on investment. Both of my master's degrees were paid for (MA as described above, MMT paid for by a special program for teachers) so I graduated without debt. It would not have been worth it for me to just get them on a whim, and would not be worth it for me to get a doctorate now for the same reason.

[Exfactor]

Without pulling data to back it up, I'll go out on a limb and guess that the BEST return on investment for a master's degree is in nursing- advanced practice or even just a general MSN, assuming the recipient wants to become a manager or mid-level provider. Closely followed by the k-12 teacher group adding a +30 pay bump, and then groups that need it for a license (social work, psychology).

This is why I pursued my degree in applied psychology. To do anything in psychology you generally need your masters as a means of becoming licensed, even to the point of working for a psychiatrist as psychometrics. With my degree I can pretty much cross over into the industrial organization/business, research, and clinician space; which is something I would never be able to do with just a B.S in psychology.

[KayV]

I'll just throw this out there- I am looking at my latest copy of Amstat News (American Statistical Association publication), and a master's degree is the minimum desired qualification for most of the jobs listed. So if you want to become a statistician, get your MS.

[KayV]

And if you want an MS in Statistics. here's one way to get it:
Online distance learning statistics diploma courses program in Texas A&M university

[cookderosa]

I'll just throw this out there- I am looking at my latest copy of Amstat News (American Statistical Association publication), and a master's degree is the minimum desired qualification for most of the jobs listed. So if you want to become a statistician, get your MS.

Based on the way statistics is talked about by our members, I'm betting not a lot of IC members are pursuing that path. lol

[KayV]

Surely someone?

[TrailRunr]

I also believe the MSN likely has a positive ROI as long as the nurse has work experience. I'm not convinced the nursing glut exists anymore, so I'm a bit ambivalent on the ROI for the time consuming and expensive BSN and ASN nowadays. I think it's positive ROI as long as you're willing to move and the tuition isn't too high. I do believe the ASN is far superior than any other associates degree out there, which IMHO are worthless regardless of choice of major.

For MSCS, that's a hard sell. You have to spend a ton of time. GA Tech's OMSCS limits the financial investment and I'm sure the boss will pay for it. Nevertheless, the time investment is huge. And at my workplace and point in my IT career, I won't get any bump in salary directly attributable to the MSCS. It would be personal enrichment, and I can get that for free elsewhere.

There is a glut of MBAs at my work that do nothing with their degrees prior to retirement. On the other hand, WGU limits the investment in time and money to the point where it is now enticing. The checkbox might appear more often for IT management jobs at my workplace, but maybe not. I'll have to talk to my boss and the executives about this. The knowledge gained from the MBA won't help me get the job. The MBA is a potential checkbox and nothing more.

And if you want an MS in Statistics. here's one way to get it:
Online distance learning statistics diploma courses program in Texas A&M university

It sounded good until I read this:

Tuition and fees per 3 credit hours is approximately $2780 for out-of-state students and $1700 for in-state students.

[yb1]

Based on the way statistics is talked about by our members, I'm betting not a lot of IC members are pursuing that path. lol

bahahahahahahaha.

[RANSOMSOUL]

Just when I thought the hardest part would be the course load in Masters of Statistics, I checked in on the cost:

.Tuition and fees per 3 credit hours is approximately $2780 for out-of-state students and $1700 for in-state students.

It's not off the charts for a name brand degree but anything above 15k the math gets fuzzy for me! (see what I did there

[jsd]

Hey RANSOMSOUL, I just noticed your signature line -- WGU lets you enroll in two masters programs at once? Or there's just so much overlap that you'll enrol in one after the other but are effectively working on both?