kevinmane Wrote:A lot of us on this forum are either going for or have a Master's Degree in a Liberal Arts-type field.
What options for promotional advancement or job selections are there for us?

For me, a Master's Degree in anything opens the doors for certain government jobs as well as increases the appeal of my overall profile for hard-to-get jobs that don't really require a Master's.

For job selections, a Master's can increase a teacher's salary and possibly get you an adjunct community college professor gig.

What other options can you think of?

cookderosa Wrote:It is hard to get a good ROI for much of the degrees being offered via distance learning.

jsd Wrote:unless you're lucky enough to have employer tuition reimbursement

cookderosa Wrote:I think a liberal arts masters for someone already mid-career is safer than someone just starting a career, but an investment in grad school is a risk for most professions imo. It is hard to get a good ROI for much of the degrees being offered via distance learning.

TrailRunr Wrote:You're much more diplomatic than me as far as I feel about the very poor ROI of liberal arts degree from a non-academia career standpoint. I also concur that most grad degrees in general are a risk that often doesn't pay off even with tuition on the low end. I'll just leave it at that and agree to disagree with the others.

cookderosa Wrote: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.