On the charge of this masters degree being damn near useless: GUILTY.
More competitive in job interviews. That’s all it’s got, and it’s not unique. Any masters would give me that.
An exerpt from the reply:
“The benefits of this degree may be less tangible than you would like. Hopefully you will learn a few things along the way that will make you a stronger professional in terms of your theoretical thinking, your ability to write, and your ability to consume the scientific literature. But these are things that are hard to describe or write out in a resume. Having the [name of degree] may make you more comptetive in job interviews. Finally, the [name of degree] can be a stepping stone to a doctoral degree should you decide to do that. You would need to select the thesis option if that was your plan.”
Did you see that? I can’t even describe it on a resume. No additional useful skills. Also…no chance in hell will I ever go for a doctoral degree.
I’ll give him credit for using some good, sugar-coated advisor-speak. He’s also a very nice man.
Some of you in higher ed may think I’m nuts and wonder what the hell I expected from a graduate degree in the first place. This is a great question. I didn’t expect anything because I never had plans to get a graduate degree. Ever. It’s something I really honestly knew nothing about when I signed up for it - all I knew was that I never had any intention of writing a thesis if I ever went. Stupid of me? Yes. But in my defense, I did it to guarantee I’d have an income (GA position) when I moved across the country and in case I didn’t pass my national certification on the first try. I did pass the first time, but not before it was too late.
So here I am. Stuck.
Changing my major would be a waste of time, energy, and money at this point…so I’ll just deal with it.
At least I sleep now. Yay trazodone!
4 comments:
I think that is true of a lot of degrees. Outside of an MBA or a Law degree (or if you wanna count med school), most graduate degrees add more “perception” than they do practical skill. However, the fact that you have a graduate degree most definitely counts. It says a lot about your dedication and the seriousness with which you take your profession and your own development.
There is some truth to “any graduate degree would do that”, but you shouldn’t undersell how important the advanced degree can be. There are probably lots of jobs who simply won’t consider people who don’t have an advanced degree, just out of policy.
I wish I worked in a “normal” job sometimes. Often. I like what I do, but it’s definitely not normal. My bachelors degree is really specific and pretty much ALL practical skill, so I think that is why I had higher “practical” expectations for this one. I’m a do-er. I don’t want to sit around and think and talk and write about the shit.
Unfortunately, most of the jobs in my profession that require a masters degree are settings I don’t want to work in in the first place because I’d rather have a family.
Thank you for making me a little less annoyed with it all.
Don’t feel too bad. My Master’s degree has actually HURT me, because I’ve had to “explain” to employers why I got it and I always have to convince them that I don’t want to teach for a living.
Many have suggested that I don’t even put it on my resume. How’s that for a slap in the face?
Ouch…that sucks! Hopefully mine doesn’t get to that point.
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