Degree creep- when will it stop?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work in IT and don't see many people with masters degrees. It's not valued here. quite a few people with no degrees, but who have a natural technical or sales aptitude.

We definitely give zero fucks for PHDs and it might be seen as a deteiment.

Depends on where you work. I work in the IT dept and the World Bank. Just like the rest of the Bank degrees are important. We expect Admins to have bachelors (several have masters) and our analyst (entry level professionals) are strongly preferred to have masters degrees. I have been there over 15 years and some of my peers and I laugh b/c we know we'd never get our jobs today if we applied for them. Sad but true.

I just don't understand WHY anyone would expect an admin to have a bachelor's, much less a master's. I did admin work when I was in school. I'm not saying there aren't challenging aspects to the job, but nothing (IME) that requires advanced education.

[Anonymous]

In my federal office, most new admins have bachelors. You almost have to have one now. so sad, what a waste.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my federal office, most new admins have bachelors. You almost have to have one now. so sad, what a waste.

Not sure what agency you work at but there are some at mine who have masters yet are GS-5s. I know one guy who was so angry that he finally had a breakdown and went off on his supervisor about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work in IT and don't see many people with masters degrees. It's not valued here. quite a few people with no degrees, but who have a natural technical or sales aptitude.

We definitely give zero fucks for PHDs and it might be seen as a deteiment.

Depends on where you work. I work in the IT dept and the World Bank. Just like the rest of the Bank degrees are important. We expect Admins to have bachelors (several have masters) and our analyst (entry level professionals) are strongly preferred to have masters degrees. I have been there over 15 years and some of my peers and I laugh b/c we know we'd never get our jobs today if we applied for them. Sad but true.

I work in the IT industry, not a department. It does not suprise me that more traditional corporate organizations would want that kind of workforce.

[Anonymous]

My nephew dropped out of college and makes 100k in a small software start up. Most of his friends finished college, but he's the only one with a good job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yep it just keep getting worst. The value of a master degree is really over valued.

The value is zilch.

[Anonymous]

Degree creep is hitting me as well.

All the new management jobs for my government agency require a masters degrees (it almost does not matter what type). Meanwhile most of my superiors do not have masters degrees.

So with 14 years experience, and years of consistent excellent performance reviews, I cannot even apply for a management position. Well I can apply, but my agency is communicating in its posting that if I do not have a masters, do not bother applying.

I have no problems with people waiving years of experience for MS degrees in terms of qualifications. But to completely shut out those who do not have one, for a job that is not specialized enough for it to be necessary, to me is pretty unfair.

So now, at 36 with a family of 3, a mortgage and other financial credentials that I have worked for (CFA, etc.), I need to stop my life and drop $150-200k for business school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Degree creep is hitting me as well.

All the new management jobs for my government agency require a masters degrees (it almost does not matter what type). Meanwhile most of my superiors do not have masters degrees.

So with 14 years experience, and years of consistent excellent performance reviews, I cannot even apply for a management position. Well I can apply, but my agency is communicating in its posting that if I do not have a masters, do not bother applying.

I have no problems with people waiving years of experience for MS degrees in terms of qualifications. But to completely shut out those who do not have one, for a job that is not specialized enough for it to be necessary, to me is pretty unfair.

So now, at 36 with a family of 3, a mortgage and other financial credentials that I have worked for (CFA, etc.), I need to stop my life and drop $150-200k for business school?

Really? My corporation pays big $$ to land CFAs. Depending on the position it is more valuable than an MBA. Maybe you should try private sector.

[Anonymous]

My masters was worthless. I do well, but I'd do just as well with my bachelor's. My husband, OTOH, makes twice what I do with just a high school education. Software development.

Having a degree doesn't mean you actually know how to do anything. And frankly, some degrees will always be worthless. We need to stop telling ourselves that a masters in humanities is a good investment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Degree creep is hitting me as well.

All the new management jobs for my government agency require a masters degrees (it almost does not matter what type). Meanwhile most of my superiors do not have masters degrees.

So with 14 years experience, and years of consistent excellent performance reviews, I cannot even apply for a management position. Well I can apply, but my agency is communicating in its posting that if I do not have a masters, do not bother applying.

I have no problems with people waiving years of experience for MS degrees in terms of qualifications. But to completely shut out those who do not have one, for a job that is not specialized enough for it to be necessary, to me is pretty unfair.

So now, at 36 with a family of 3, a mortgage and other financial credentials that I have worked for (CFA, etc.), I need to stop my life and drop $150-200k for business school?

Really? My corporation pays big $$ to land CFAs. Depending on the position it is more valuable than an MBA. Maybe you should try private sector.

Yes- crazy huh? I do not believe my credentials entitle me to anything. Not in the least bit. But I also do not believe employers should prevent people w/o a MS degree from even applying for a position that has no need for such a requirement. To me its the lazy person's way of trying to filter or eliminate potential candidates. Experience and academic and professionals credentials should be evaluated in totality.

At my agency, CFA is nice to have, but its not required to do my job. I could most certainly do better in private--I just really enjoy and care about my work, and the mission of my agency. So to see that they would make it more difficult for someone like me to even apply for a promotion is disheartening. Life isn't fair I guess.

I'm not sure how I am going to complete grad school at this point in my career. Based on my work load, part time would take me 4-5 years, and it would be extremely stressful on our family since my DW also works. Full time does not make financial sense at this point in time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My masters was worthless. I do well, but I'd do just as well with my bachelor's. My husband, OTOH, makes twice what I do with just a high school education. Software development.

Having a degree doesn't mean you actually know how to do anything. And frankly, some degrees will always be worthless. We need to stop telling ourselves that a masters in humanities is a good investment.

PP here.

I think MS programs in general are great. They (should) help improve how you think and approach your area of focus. Also great for boosting your networks.

Anyone going should definitely have a preliminary plan as to why they are going and what they plan to accomplish afterwards. I think thats where a lot of folks get in trouble.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And I've seen some with masters who think just because they have one, they should be in charge WITHOUT any experience

As with any degree, it doesn't guarantee a high paying job.

Agreed. I got a professional master's in PR after gaining 10 years of work experience. I wanted to murder the 22 year olds straight out of college who would weigh in on group projects requiring an understanding of a professional setting like they were "experts." So many of my fellow grads were shocked that their degree basically gained them an entry level job. Well, duh dummy, you have NO professional experience. Why should you be hired straight into middle management on the basis of your degree? News flash - this happens nowhere ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hiring ex assistants with master's degrees? When will this madness end?

Not making sense. What's your problem?

Is it that liberal arts types can't find jobs in their degreed field? What's a non STEM person to do to make a decent living?

The whole point of liberal arts is that you don't have "degree" field. There are zero jobs for "philosopher." However there are jobs/career tracks for people who have strong skills in logical argument and problem solving, two major skills that philosophy majors gain, including law, medicine, business administration, etc. And philosophy majors can have a hell of a lot more potential career options that someone who majors in accounting, who will only ever be qualified to count beans forever and ever amen.

[Anonymous]

Unless it's dead obvious that you need the degree (eg you want to be a lawyer or a doctor), I don't think anyone should get an advanced degree until they've worked in the field and validated that they actually like and have an aptitude for the work. Then look around and see what colleagues you admire have done and get feedback and advice. Ideally, you go at night and work pays for it or part of it. But using a Masters as a way to delay entry into the workforce is a bad idea. Academic life doesn't really prepare people or explain the types of white collar jobs available these days in knowledge fields anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a phd in the humanities and am looking at applying for program coordination jobs and the like. I refuse to adjunct, need a regular schedule and benefits. There are so few positions outside academia that value that kind of training.

I'm not familiar with a PhD program that provides actual training. What's your doctorate in?

Jesus. People are so freaking literal.

PhD programs all require strong skills in research, writing, and oral presentation, and if you are a GA/TA in management oversight of undergraduate or master's level researchers in a lab/project and/or teaching (which could be translated into training in a corporate setting). These are all valuable skills in the job market; the problem is that most liberal arts PhDs don't know how to translate their skills outside of academia.