<p>S1 will graduate this spring with a BS in Computer Engineering and $15,000 in student loan. His college said he can stay in school for one more year to get a Masters degree at a cost of $50,000 (there will be NO financial aid). Should S get a MS in Computer Engineering and incur additional loan of $50,000?</p>
<p>I am not able to fund my S1s graduate degree. S1 only considers graduate school because of the difficulty of getting a job in this economy. He will do well academically but I am not sure the MS is worth $50,000 in debt. His professors told him that the masters degree will lead to a higher starting salary and he will be able to make up the additional cost in a short time. Are the professors right? What do you think?</p>
<p>In CS, Master’s degree can be accomplished in a shorter time.
I would say YES! It’s worth it. Hope he goes to a good school though since Profs have contacts in Industry. Places like Motorola can pay starting salaries of 90,000.</p>
<p>If it were in Pharmacy, I would say NO. You absolutely need a doctoral degree to rise up the ladder.</p>
<p>No. Especially when the excessive fees and other elements are considered. </p>
<p>And the difficulty of getting a job in this economy could only be made worse with some 50,000 in debt. Companies (and for that matter some aspects of academe) do run credit checks as a form of evaluation.</p>
<p>If he can’t find a master’s program that will cost much less than that (either because it is cheaper or because he has a TA job), I think he should work for a year or two and save as much money as possible for grad school rather than borrowing money for grad school. $50,000 is too much debt.</p>
<p>Could you let him live at home for a few years so he can save on rent?</p>
<p>I would look around should I stay in school. Many engineers can get grad school paid for by getting graduate assistantships. They might be more aimed at PHD students but it can’t hurt to look.</p>
<p>I would look for a secure job this year, who knows what the economy might look like in a year. Sometimes having a good job offer is worth taking now.</p>
<p>a lot of choices frankly but $50,000 seems like a lot when many colleges really need engineering graduate students.</p>
<p>A Masters degree for CS/CE isn’t as highly sought over a BS degree as a Masters might be in some other majors. </p>
<p>I agree that he’d likely (depends on where he’s employed) get a $5-15K salary boost over a grad with a BS but that salary boost will cost him the $50K tuition, other associated costs, and a year of lost wages - probably $60-80K. This means that the Masters will really cost him more like $120K up front with roughly $10K gained in the first year or few of employment. After a few years the Masters will be less relevant than his recent work experience to potential employers (depending on the employer). There’s no way he’ll make up this difference ‘in a short time’.</p>
<p>He might also consider getting a job with his BS and then take advantage of those employers who’ll pay for him to get a Masters. This way he can save the money and still end up with the Masters although it’ll be tougher work-wise to get the Masters while fully employed.</p>
<p>I would put more effort in finding a job first. If he can’t find a job right away then a Masters degree is the next step. Especially for engineering, a lot of companies are paying for graduate school now.</p>
<p>OP: I’m not sure what universities your son is looking at but all the universities I know pay you money to do full time MS in computer science if you have good GRE and subject GRE scores in computer science.
I’ll not suggest paying for MS unless it is part time and you get some money from the company to pay towards the tuition.</p>
<p>OP here. Thanks for the feedback! The cost of the MS will definitely be less than $50,000 if S attends our State U and lives at home. Unfortunately, he has not taken the GRE or applied to the State U or any other U – he was not thinking about grad school until his current school told him he would be an automatic admit without much fuss… The $50,000 MS is an easy solution to the graduation without a job scenario. This way, he can stay at his oos private and give himself another year to look for a job.</p>
<p>I am torn. I think getting a MS is fine (in fact, more than fine). Yet I am extremely uncomfortable about the $50,000 price tag. He maybe able to cut the cost somewhat by working this summer, living in a dump and eating ramen noodles. Let’s say he can reduce the loan requirement to $35,000 - $40,000 (I don’t think he can go lower than this at this oos school), is the MS still worth it??</p>
<p>S wants to work. He just isn’t sure he can find a job right away. He is not giving up a well-paying job for the MS. I do not realize other schools may pay for masters degree students in computer science. More research is definitely needed. Thanks for the info!</p>
<p>My son started working after getting a BS in CS, an is concurrently taking classes at Stanford towards MS, sponsored by the employer…</p>
<p>If your son is truly torn on this issue, he could sign up for the co-term, but take a semester off, see if he can get a good job, and then decide how to proceed.</p>
<p>Jobs are tight. Also depends CS specialization. Our S could’ve stayed at his undergrad school to get a MS but he wanted another school’s experience and a thesis program. He was fortunate to find a funded program and leveraged his MS into internships. At this point, a BS in mechanical and MS in computer science, still has him searching for a research/development job. He soon will have to make a decision to accept his professor’s offer to continue to a phD.</p>
<p>We estimate that a MS has about $15-25K additional salary over a BS, based on his level of experience, based on last year’s hiring market. Current hiring market conditions, a MS degree with experience would only have a slight premium over a BS degree. </p>
<p>Generally speaking, Grad education can be easily funded either by the school or the employer. However, in these financially tough times where people are loosing jobs and schools are loosing their State funds, students may have no other recourse but to take loans toward Master’s.</p>
<p>I would suggest that it’s definitely worth it. If he gets the degree from a well known school, his chances of landing a well paying job are much greater.</p>
<p>PhD is not as necessary in Comp Sci. If he were pursuing in Medical Sciences/Pharmacy etc, I would say that a doctoral degree is a must. However, for a Comp Sci degree - a definite NO to PhD. Yes to Masters.</p>
<p>One thing, I know they are close but this is computer engineering and not Comp Sci the OP listed. I also think engineering hiring is very regional in nature and not attached to school name on the diploma as in other fields. </p>
<p>Get the degree from a good college in the area of the country you want to live, not the one with the best offer or most recognizable name. Many of the best engineering colleges do not have a “big” name attached at all.</p>
<p>“I am an IT manager in a finance company. I wouldn’t pay more for a MS than for BS, job experience is more important.”</p>
<p>I am a recruiter for the IT industry, and I have recruited for Motorola. I agree with this statement 100%. Internships or work experience that he might have attained while in school will be more important.</p>
<p>Having said that, our business was down last year, and getting a job is more challenging. If he can go somewhere to get the MS at a reduced price tag, it might be worth it.</p>
<p>^It can be done, it’s not ideal. But I do know people who finish a MS degree in one year and 2 summers while working full-time. One can take it easy and finish it to 2 full years part-time.</p>
<p>This is not an either/or situation. He should apply to grad schools AND schedule job interviews. If he gets a nice job offer, one problem solved. If he applies to more than one grad school he may be offered some sort of finaid. Also apply to some public universities where the cost will be significantly less.</p>
The $50,000 MS is an easy solution to the graduation without a job scenario. This way, he can stay at his oos private and give himself another year to look for a job.</p>