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

[dfrecore]

Well, I think it's because I know many people using it as a check the box- but to prove your point, we are all in academics lol. In my field, there are no master's degrees in culinary arts, so if you're a chef instructor, and want to teach at a 4-year school, you have to get it in "something" to qualify. I know many chef instructors with degrees in liberal arts (as well as business, or in my case nutrition) that have no intention of shifting away from their career (cheffing) but need something complementary - and do it online for obvious reasons. k-12 educators can also easily get their master's online, but as my brother found, it's very hard to get hired with the masters, you're better off waiting until you're gainfully employed before adding that to your resume, or you'll hit brick walls all over the place (you're too expensive to hire!)

Master's is a strange degree. In the distance learning community, it's very popular, but in much of the USA, no one goes for a masters - they get a bachelor's and call it done. Those headed to academia usually then go into a PhD program (skipping the masters unless it's included, like through the joint programs you'll see where MDs also get a MPH or such). A lot of masters that are available don't really do what people think they do. So, for that reason, I think you have to be careful with a masters - it can be expensive (mine was!) and it can be useless unless you have clarity about the purpose.

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). Beyond that, it's usually just resume fluff and in some cases may even hurt your chances of landing a job.

EDIT to add: my entire career has been in the community college system. To do my job, as a new hire, I only need an associate degree. As an adjunct (part timer/1 semester contract) my education doesn't matter - I don't get any more with a masters. My degree's ROI will come later, when I'm done homeschooling my kids and return to work full time. I do expect some push back, but I also hope that by then I've found a good district and spent some time proving myself so they see I'm "worth" the money it costs to bring on a full timer.

Only about 10% of Americans ever get a master's degree.

I would say that it just totally depends on what you want/need it for. If you're just getting it because you think you might need it, it's probably not worth it.

With an MBA, if you get a BSBA and then an MBA, with no work experience, I think it's actually going to work against you. Many MBA programs won't even consider you without years of experience in business. Most employers want someone with experience, and think that someone with an MBA will not want to start at the bottom (I've had MANY managers tell me when recruiting for lower-level positions to not even bother looking at MBA's - they were weeded out before people with zero experience!). For myself personally, I MAY get an MBA in a few years, to show employers that I have some current education after 20 years of being out of the work force. I will probably also add some certifications in the HR/Compensation area to show more knowledge, especially with current employment law. Hopefully, adding this current degree and a cert to my years of experience in the field before I stopped working to raise my kids, will make me a viable candidate for some mid-level management positions that I want to get back to eventually. Otherwise, I won't get the MBA (although taking a graduate-level course or two wouldn't be a bad thing).