<p>I read from a news article that said even if you don't want to do research, you might want to get a Master's degree at some point because the technology keeps improving and you need to "update" yourself. Is this true? Or is having just B.S degree REALLY enough, even for people who are not aspiring to get an MBA?</p>
<p>It really just depends on what you want to do. A Masters in engineering won’t function to “update” you to keep up with technology. You can only keep up as fast as one of two things: the speed at which your company upgrades, or the speed at which you personally can afford to upgrade. What it will do is help you gain a little more expertise (or a lot more, depending on your degree) in some area in which you wish to specialize. That can definitely lead to different job opportunities and higher pay. How much higher is a point of contention.</p>
<p>Unless you are doing hard-core research, those 10 courses (maybe 12 at some schools) are not going to bring you up to speed with technology. Like Boneh3ad said, you may gain some expertise and/or the masters degree will more of a “check the box” for your records at human resources.</p>
<p>I have seen job postings in which the candidate requirements are either:
- B.S. degree and 12-15 years experience…or
- M.S. degree and 8 years experience</p>
<p>…for the same job. I say go ahead and get the M.S./MEng. Also in the consulting/contracting world, your employer like to try to win new business by stating how many of their employees have graduate degrees (whether or not the grad degree was funded).</p>