PhD versus 2nd Masters

[burbuja0512]

My other thread, "Addicted," has inspired me to ask a question regarding PhD's versus obtaining a 2nd Masters. I'm not talking about myself, I'm just curious about what everyone thinks about the general pros and cons. Basically, if you had the choice, would you choose a PhD or another Masters? What is your reason? What are the pros and cons to both choices? Here is what I've come up with:

Getting a PhD -
Pros: highest level of academic achievement, extremely prestigious, beneficial for those who may wish to pursue an academic career, huge personal accomplishment.
Cons: Few available programs for working adults, time-consuming, research-focused (this could be a pro or a con, but for me, taking many classes on how to do research + statistical analysis sounds like a snoozefest)

Getting a 2nd Masters:
Pros: TONS of options worldwide, ability to choose a more "prestigious" university (not important to me, but might be important to someone who feels insecure about having a Big 3 undergrad,) less time consuming
Cons: What does having a few more letters behind your name really do? Not likely to enhance career except under very specific conditions, low ROI, possible lack of friends/family support - for example, everyone is proud of you getting a masters degree, but might think you're crazy or a perpetual student if you go back to school.

Any other thoughts? Would love all opinions even if you would never consider getting either a PhD or a masters.

[sanantone]

This is just my opinion.

A second master's is good for advancement (an MBA to move up to management in almost any field), to qualify to teach another subject as an adjunct or community college professor, or career changes (a counselor who wants to become a nurse practitioner or physician assistant).

A PhD is good for someone who wants to become a researcher and/or professor, enter a profession that requires a doctorate (psychologist), become a consultant in certain fields, or obtain the degree for personal fulfillment.

[cookderosa]

My other thread, "Addicted," has inspired me to ask a question regarding PhD's versus obtaining a 2nd Masters. I'm not talking about myself, I'm just curious about what everyone thinks about the general pros and cons. Basically, if you had the choice, would you choose a PhD or another Masters? What is your reason? What are the pros and cons to both choices? Here is what I've come up with:

Getting a PhD -
Pros: highest level of academic achievement, extremely prestigious, beneficial for those who may wish to pursue an academic career, huge personal accomplishment.
Cons: Few available programs for working adults, time-consuming, research-focused (this could be a pro or a con, but for me, taking many classes on how to do research + statistical analysis sounds like a snoozefest)

Getting a 2nd Masters:
Pros: TONS of options worldwide, ability to choose a more "prestigious" university (not important to me, but might be important to someone who feels insecure about having a Big 3 undergrad,) less time consuming
Cons: What does having a few more letters behind your name really do? Not likely to enhance career except under very specific conditions, low ROI, possible lack of friends/family support - for example, everyone is proud of you getting a masters degree, but might think you're crazy or a perpetual student if you go back to school.

Any other thoughts? Would love all opinions even if you would never consider getting either a PhD or a masters.

That's my girl......

[Yanji]

There's no reason you can't do both.

I plan to do a PhD in marketing analytics (full-time) in a few years, but I am seriously considering getting a second Master's degree part-time before then in statistics or sustainability just to bolster my academic resume and get some quality graduate level research under my belt before applying for a PhD. Since I'll graduate with an MBA from a top 20 business school in about 9 months, I have no particular qualms about my undergrad background, but I know that having a second Master's degree can really help in getting into a competitive PhD program. There's countless professors here who earned two Master's degrees before/enroute to getting their PhD, and none of them regret doing it.

But even if you aren't going to do both, I think a second Master's degree is more practical for the "real world", where PhDs are largely unnecessary. If you can find a Master's degree program that is in an area of professional interest to you and fits your needs, I think it can be a very pragmatic investment. PhDs are just way too much commitment for someone who doesn't want a career in research/academia, imo.

[soliloquy]

I looked at the cost of a doctorate. I plan on finishing my master's in 18 months, God willing. I told myself that I'm just not interested in going that far but I did want to know what programs were available. However, when I saw the cost, :ack:

[KayV]

Unless they already have enough money to pay cash for it, I would strongly advise people not do a PhD unless they have funding for it. That might mean a teaching or research assistantship where tuition and a stipend are provided, or perhaps funding from their current employment, or military/ federal benefits. Otherwise, unless it will advance their career or place on the salary scale in education, people too often end up with tens of thousands of dollars in debt and still no job even with the PhD.

Disclaimer: I got my Ed.S. when online post-master's programs were just beginning (tuition reimbursed by job), and I couldn't find any manageable online doctoral program back then. Now I am in a quandary of having what is supposed to be a terminal degree...that isn't a PhD or EdD. So even though the EdS puts me right where a PhD would on my school's salary schedule, I still fight feeling like I'm not done yet.

[sanantone]

People are assuming that a doctorate has to be a lot more expensive. I believe the PhD program at University of Southern Mississippi is 20-something thousand. The Doctor of Public Administration at Valdosta State University is around $18k. They let you create your own concentration. The Ed.D at University of the Cumberlands (warning: they are very conservative and religious) is 20-something thousand and has many concentrations including history, psychology, criminal justice, and business. Many distance PhD programs are 3-year programs.

[TMW2010]

My doctoral program is only slightly more than what my M.Ed. cost, though I will say that ended up going a somewhat expensive route with the Master's because I thought the perks outweighed the cost on it.

I'm going to UC, which Sanantone mentioned above and it runs about $350/credit or something like that, runs 66 credits for the PhD or 60 credits for the EdD, and allows for 18 credits (taken after a Master's degree) to be transferred in. I'm running around $22k for my degree (not including books), but if you've already got more than one Master's, you can shave off 18 credits of cost. My M.Ed. ran about $19,500 but that included all books and an iPad. While the B&M portion of the school may be ultra-religious, I haven't really encountered that in my online coursework, but I'm only wrapping up my second class. In Sept, I'm going out of program to wrap up my area of specialization through the UC Psych department and I'm doubling up on classes for the next two semesters to get that knocked out. Besides, it gives me 18 official grad Psych credits so I can teach undergrad Psychology classes when the mouthbreathers in school credentialing departments don't understand the scope of my M.Ed.

[soliloquy]

A lot more expensive than what? My master's is 12k so those prices are a lot more expensive.

[Yanji]

A lot more expensive than what? My master's is 12k so those prices are a lot more expensive.

...Don't take this the wrong way, but this is a rather self-centred way of thinking. The thing is, $20-30k of unfunded tuition for a PhD is exceptionally cheap, and just because your 1 year Master's degree has a lower total cost doesn't change that fact. The amount of personal attention from the department that a PhD requires is far greater than any Master's degree. In addition, if you are doing the PhD on a face-to-face basis (which is almost always the case), they are almost always at least partially-funded, which dramatically lowers their actual cost. I know in business, for example, that all PhDs are fully funded at any top 50 business school in the US. (except for Case Western Reserve's online program, but I'm not even sure they count as top 50)