Will an Additional Master's Degree HURT me?

Career Opportunities & Internships Investment Banking
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<p>I wasn't sure if this belonged in the MBA forum or here, so I just posted it in both. Sorry to anyone who had to see it twice:</p>

<p>Right now, based on the fact that I'm ahead in credits (15 AP classes), and the fact that I'm taking upper level classes at an early age anyways (placed into graduate level classes as a sophomore and junior), I could technically graduate on time (in four years) with both an Bachelors and a Masters degree (from the same school).</p>

<p>I'm currently going to be graduating with a BS in Industrial Labor Relations, but if I wanted to I could take a few extra classes (2 that I wouldn't have originally taken but I still find interesting), and this would allow me to graduate with a Masters of Industrial Labor Relations in Labor Economics (normally a 1-2 year degree).</p>

<p>I'm planning on going into investment banking after college, working for a few years, and then applying for an MBA, or possibly a JD/MBA. Would obtaining this Masters degree hurt me? When my counselor first told me about it, I thought it sounded great, but when talking to my brother (McKenzie -> MBA grad now working in management and health care consulting), he was a bit more cautious about it. He warned that firms, especially banks, might be against hiring someone who has what's basically a professional degree that does not have much to do with the industry I'm applying for.</p>

<p>He also said that when applying for an MBA, they also might be wondering why I needed an MBA if I already had another professional degree. Also, at a certain point people are wondering why I have so many degrees.</p>

<p>The other perk to consider though is that if I'm a grad student in my final year, I'd get the added bonus of the networking of the grad school + the research capabilities and resources of a graduate student.</p>

<p>Here is a link to the program I'm considering:
Labor</a> Market Policy</p>

<p>Basically, will this addition overall be a plus or a minus? I don't want to go through extra work if it's going to hurt me in the long run. Feel free to comment on the effect either on job placement or MBA admissions (since this is the IB forum, I suppose job placement after getting the degree directly out of college would be the focus, but if you're knowledgeable on the other behalf feel free to chime in). </p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

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<p>A regular Masters degree is a non-professional degree, unlike an MD, MBA, or JD. It won’t hurt you, but it won’t help you either. Without prior work experience or a more advanced degree, you can’t be considered for associate-level (post-MBA equivalent) positions, so you’ll be hired as an analyst, with the same work and pay as a college graduate. This is the case with investment banking and consulting. There are some jobs where having a Masters will give you a slight salary bump, such as high tech jobs and other corporate positions. The main advantage to getting a Masters is that it gives you greater networking opportunities and more recruiting sessions as well. In my school, it was common for seniors to apply to MS programs as a backup for the following year in case they didn’t get good jobs. That way, they could go through another 2 recruiting seasons, one for summer internships and another for full-time jobs the following year.</p>

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<p>I don’t think this necessarily qualifies as the same as an MS though since technically it’s a MILR. In everyday terms, it should be thought of as something much closer to say a MPP. </p>

<p>I definitely won’t be looking to be hired as an associate, but do you think this might give me any sort of edge in being hired as an analyst compared to other undergrads?</p>

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<p>In reality, all of these Masters degrees are viewed the same by finance and consulting firms. I don’t think it will give you any sort of edge vs. undergrads, especially given that your degree is in the same field as your undergrad degree. It would be advantageous if, for example, you got a Masters in Finance or something business-related after getting a bachelors in something unrelated to business. I don’t know what MILR is, but I doubt there’s any inherent advantage in getting it. Don’t make your decision based on potential jobs, because the degree won’t make or break you. If you’re really interested in the field and want to continue exploring classes + research opportunities, you should do so. Getting the degree certainly won’t hurt you with respect to jobs.</p>