Opinions of your young minds..

[Can-eh-dian]

Hey everyone,

So, I currently have a part-time position at work and many of my coworkers are old pessimistic men (65+). There is a rather tempting opportunity for me to relocate to our head office (the same position) for a full-time position. They are aware that I am waiting to hear back from my masters application but they still think it'd be in my best interest to take the position due to the scarcity of full-time jobs with good benefits and pension plans - and of course the inevitable market crash that is on its way.

I agree with them to an extent. If I'm accepted to the masters program I can finish with no debt, but also virtually no savings due to just getting out of debt from college and my undergrad. An MA is not a requirement for my preferred career trajectory, not many people have one in my field, however there is a chance it could give me an edge when seeking advancement (obviously). I mainly applied because of my part-time status at work and the possibility of completing it before a full-time position opened, but one happened to come sooner than planned.

Conversely, if I accepted this full-time job, I crunched the numbers and I can save at least $25,000 (CAD) by the same time I would be finishing my MA program. Meaning my MA degree would 'cost me' almost 3x as much as the sticker tuition price compared to missed earnings. This opportunity at head office would still offer paid courses and training programs that could give me just as much of a competitive edge in my future positions as well. But once again, I could do the MA and then take these courses later since I will still be with the same organization.

It's just that I'm almost 26 (which I know is young), the partner wants kids in the next few years, and I can't help but feel it's a little irresponsible for me to put myself back into another year of school when the 'payout' may not be worth $25,000 and another year of my life. My gut is telling me to start saving and getting going with 'real life' while my ambitious side is saying to get as much of an edge as possible in case it pays off later.

What are your thoughts on this? What would you do in my position?

Thanks for reading!

PS. I haven't been accepted yet to the MA program, but this decision requires a great deal of planning as I would have to relocate 8 hours away and both job opening and acceptance/rejection letter are expected to come in late March. I just want to be prepared.

[TakeruK]

Wow, this is a tough decision. Let me first make sure that I have some basic assumptions right:

1. You're Canadian and the typical path after undergrad in your field is MA (and maybe PhD eventually but also not doing a PhD is fine too).

2. This is a Canadian MA program which means it's a funded program (you say you'd finish with no debt). Tuition is something on the order of $7000 per year, like most Canadian schools, and your funding pays for tuition plus some stipend? That is, the only cost to the MA is the missed income from working? 

Given that, I think that if this full time job is the whole point of the MA program in the first place, you should go for the job. Especially if you would be able to get the certification that gives you an edge anyways. Also, what kind of MA program is this? It sounds like a one year mostly coursework MA. Can you get your MA as a part time student taking night classes while working your full time job? 

To me, I don't think there is direct evidence that your MA will result in career goals being achieved right away, while on the other hand, taking this full time job will definitely get you further towards your career goals now and it will also set you up for better chances in the future. 

Maybe I'm wrong about your field, but in most places 1 year of actual full time work experience in the field is much more valuable than a one year MA program.

However, there could be reasons to do the MA first. If there is actual value of the MA to you other than job opportunities and if you can still get your full time job offer after the MA then maybe it's worth it. In that case, it's a matter of whether or not 1 year + 25,000 is worth the MA.

Overall, to me, it sounds like taking the job will give you both the immediate career advancement you're looking for and set you up for long term advancement through the certifications. But the MA will not give you immediate career advancement (and if you don't get a full time job next year then you might be missing out on more than $25,000 in opportunity costs, plus one year of pay raises) and I am not certain how much better the MA will set you up for long term advancement vs. the certification opportunities. Plus, I don't think taking the full time job now means you are saying no to the MA forever. You can save up extra money in case something happens to the job and you can't find another---then that might be a good time to increase your "market value" and go to the MA program. 

Just my two cents. I'm making some assumptions about how your field works so please disregard/let me know if I'm off track!

[blacknighterrant]

For your case, the MA seems like it would be useful in the long run, but is not necessary in the short run. That means it isn't necessary to rush it, so why not keep your job while getting an MA? This seasons applications are over, but you can keep your job and apply to a distance online MA program for next season, that way you can get your degree and continue to work. There are some very good online MA programs and honestly, a more prestigious MA program is probably only necessary to get a new job, if you are seeking advancement somewhere you are already working then the online degree will probably be valued just as highly.

[Can-eh-dian]

8 hours ago, TakeruK said:

Just my two cents. I'm making some assumptions about how your field works so please disregard/let me know if I'm off track!

Thank you for such a thoughtful response!! You're definitely on the money. I appreciate you sharing your view, it's good to view my situation from a different perspective.

I wouldn't say that this is a 'typical path after undergrad' in my field is an MA. Typically, people with a BA in Crim stop there. I'm really only seeking it out for two reasons: personal interest and potential competitive edge (in a field where it isn't listed on any job description but may impress in a competitive pool).

I'm not sure the funding details just yet. I just planned ahead with the worst-case scenario that I'd be paying out of my pocket. That's where I concluded that by next year at the same time for both situations there would be a $25k difference. So I suppose if I factor in grants/bursaries it would narrow the gap a bit, and probably enough to convince me to do the MA but due to the timing of these overlapping opportunities I won't be able to consider that at the time of making the decision.

You're right, it's a 1 year coursework MA. I have thought about the part-time option later on, and there's a university that offers a PT option for it near the head office.. so absolutely, that's a great compromise.. it would just involve a major research paper which I'm not opposed to ;). And it would take quite a long time in comparison - which I'm not sure how I feel about at the moment - but the option would be there, I suppose is the idea.

7 hours ago, blacknighterrant said:

For your case, the MA seems like it would be useful in the long run, but is not necessary in the short run. That means it isn't necessary to rush it, so why not keep your job while getting an MA?

Thank you very much for your response! You've summed it up quite well.... however just to clarify, I am keeping my part-time position if I choose to do to the MA and I would still have it after graduation - potential to go into full-time as well, but it's hard to say. It might take a couple years of part-time for it to open up again in that case (but I could look elsewhere of course).

[TakeruK]

36 minutes ago, Can-eh-dian said:

Thank you for such a thoughtful response!! You're definitely on the money. I appreciate you sharing your view, it's good to view my situation from a different perspective.

I wouldn't say that this is a 'typical path after undergrad' in my field is an MA. Typically, people with a BA in Crim stop there. I'm really only seeking it out for two reasons: personal interest and potential competitive edge (in a field where it isn't listed on any job description but may impress in a competitive pool).

I'm not sure the funding details just yet. I just planned ahead with the worst-case scenario that I'd be paying out of my pocket. That's where I concluded that by next year at the same time for both situations there would be a $25k difference. So I suppose if I factor in grants/bursaries it would narrow the gap a bit, and probably enough to convince me to do the MA but due to the timing of these overlapping opportunities I won't be able to consider that at the time of making the decision.

You're right, it's a 1 year coursework MA. I have thought about the part-time option later on, and there's a university that offers a PT option for it near the head office.. so absolutely, that's a great compromise.. it would just involve a major research paper which I'm not opposed to ;). And it would take quite a long time in comparison - which I'm not sure how I feel about at the moment - but the option would be there, I suppose is the idea.

Thank you very much for your response! You've summed it up quite well.... however just to clarify, I am keeping my part-time position if I choose to do to the MA and I would still have it after graduation - potential to go into full-time as well, but it's hard to say. It might take a couple years of part-time for it to open up again in that case (but I could look elsewhere of course).

Sorry, when I said typical, I meant that in Canada, if one was seeking post-graduate degrees, one would go BA->MA->PhD, while in the US, they go BA->PhD. 

Oh okay, so the difference is less than $25k if you do get funding? I guess the next question is to research the typical funding for a MA Criminology student at the school. Usually graduate students will also work as TAs but if it's a one year coursework-only program, maybe there isn't much funding. I had originally thought there would be more funding---e.g. a Physics MSc might pay about $24,000/year, then you pay $7000 for tuition, so you're left with about $17,000, so I was comparing the two options with this number as the income if you went to the MA program and an additional $25,000 if you took the job. 

So with this info, I'd probably say to wait and see to find out the MA's funding options are (did you apply to things like the Ontario Graduate Scholarship?). Then you'll know the actual cost of doing the MA first and can make a better decision!

And for the full time job, is this the type of job you're seeking in the long term? That is, is the pay and benefits equal to what you are expecting/hoping for a typical job in your field? I think this is important distinction because if the full time job is just the standard/typical entry-level full time position in your field, then maybe it's worth doing the MA first and waiting for a better opportunity. But if this job offer is an especially good one that pays better or has better benefits than the typical position, then you might want to take advantage of it now since it might not come up again after your MA. So I would suggest doing research on what other companies are paying their entry level full time employees etc. too.