[z335is]

Hey guys,

I've been thinking about this a lot lately and figured I'd throw it out there for your opinions.

I'm 31 years old and have steady job in IT with a very large company. I have a B.S. in MIS along with a few Certs. I'm currently making about ~80k year with good benefits, etc etc.

My question is - does anyone think that it would be beneficial for me to go back to school for my M.S. in MIS or perhaps Comp Sci? My work would cover all of the expenses, so I'm just really wondering whether it would be worth the extra time and burden of going back to school.

Your opinions are appreciated!

[Greenkirby21]

Why not? I would sure do it, especially if your company is going to pay for it. I' am sure it will benefit them as well, if not they wouldn't pay for it.

I am 22 and graduated with my B.S in comp sci in december. I'm about to graduate with my M.S in comp sci next december and my company is paying for it as well. While it is hard working full time and going to school, I think it will be worth it.

Also, I would do it for job security. you might be able to go up further if you have a M.S, although that is not guaranteed in any way. many of my peers have many certifications, but not many have M.S. I was already told I would get a raise once I get my M.S

[jophish17]

My school just announced an online CS masters program that I'm considering. May be an option if you don't live close to a good school

http://www.gatech.edu/newsroom/release.html?nid=212951

Id say if the company is paying for it, it's nearly a no-brainer

[mfanatic325]

I'm getting my B.S. in MIS in December...not sure if I want to do any more schooling though

[RandomHero]

Forgive me for my ignorance, and I don't mean any of this the wrong way either.

I stayed away from Business M.I.S. as a degree largely because people advised against it. Most of the programs you learn in college are usually obsolete in 10 years anyways. How much of what you learned in college is applicable now in your profession?

I think your biggest priority should be maintaining how organic you are with learning new skills. I wouldn't say think a graduate degree would be a big positive in furthering your career.

Just a general observation. Again, this stuff was recommended to me by people who were much more further along in their careers.

[mfanatic325]

Odd, cause it was highly recommended at my school under the business school

[jophish17]

^same here. I recall seeing it on a highest-paying majors list recently. The demand for people who understand and can bridge the gap between business and tech is just going to grow stronger

Though I'd guess that the people who said grad degrees aren't important are probably from a generation when grad degrees weren't as common and the labor market wasn't as demanding

[DSB335d]

I would if I were you.
I'm the same age as you and one of my classmates from high school has just a B.S. in computer technology from Purdue and she is a VP for a global consulting firm.

[CJ421]

I'd certainly go if the company was paying for it, even partially. I'd view it as an opportunity to not only learn something, but also change up my lifestyle and make new connections/friends.

Originally Posted by mmahany

I stayed away from Business M.I.S. as a degree largely because people advised against it. Most of the programs you learn in college are usually obsolete in 10 years anyways. How much of what you learned in college is applicable now in your profession?

MIS has been relevant since its recognition as a field in the early 1970's. I'd say the skill set will be relevant as long as businesses exist. It's a misconception MIS is all about computers and information systems (e.g. technology dependent) - while MIS certainly makes use of technology, the field and skill set involves understanding how a business works internally, specifically the flow of information and communication between various departments.

I have a B.S. in MIS and currently do IS consulting (including business process analysis) to companies with 500 - 25,000+ employees. I use the skill set earned with my degree every day. Think of MIS people as the very necessary translator between a business's departments/organizations who operate at all levels of the company and speak every language (marketing, IT, retail, accounting &c). You have to know or be able to figure out very quickly any business operation. Fast moving/thinking is a prerequisite. It's your job to make sure all that inter-department communication and other business operations run in a manner that's conducive to how the business operates. Not a job for you if you like doing the same thing daily.

At my college (Rochester Institute of Technology in NY) we had 1,000 people in the business school; there were 29 of us in MIS. I think we all had jobs before we graduated. I picked my current job out of three offers.

(Edit: Keep in mind MIS is a different degree. My degree says B.S. in Management Information Systems; the other business degrees at my school were Business Administration degrees with a concentration in Accounting, Marketing &c.)

[upstatedoc]

So what do you really drive?

If your work is footing the bill for this it would be hard to pass up. One of my former employers paid for some of my education. It's free money.

[jasonX]

I come from a similar background and have a Masters, and as of yet, it has done nothing for me. I think my professional level IT Certifications will open more doors as well.

I think a graduate degree is more useful when you are in a management level position. If you're a developer and going back for your MS in Comp Sci, I'd probably tell you to save your money as nearly all the Senior and Architect's at my last company only had an undergrad and refined their abilities over years of experience. That'd be more critical as well as when you search for Senior Application Developers, I hardly see MS but always see 8+ years of experience for example.

Of course your school will recommend additional education, that's their business. If I go back it'll be for an MBA at a top 10 business school only.

[amanda hor$t]

i just got back in touch with an it consultant (bachelors degree, a few years older than you) who contracts independently and bills $140/hr.

i don't think you need the degree, it's all stuff you can learn on your own.

[bimmerfrk]

I also work in IT and have a degree in political science. My current position is for a large architecture firm in NYC were I am a manager just under the director of it. The 3 guys below me all have their masters.

In present time I do not think that a masters will be more beneficial than real world knowledge and aptitude to learn new skills. I'm not sure what you guys think about IT and its direction but everything that was taught 3 years ago has gone out the window.

It is drastically changing for a cloud hosted, virtual based model. The IT that we have known for the last 20 year is not going to be here anymore and I just don't know how many school are taking this into account.

Just look at all the major software vendors, they are all pushing web based apps and SAAS. As IT professionals we must learn to embody this change and learn how to make big data work on our sides and demonstrate to our clients the vast transition in progress. Soon systems admins will be no more and will be replace by systems architects and back end engineer.

If you go into a Masters program make sure the curriculum weighs on this subject heavily or you degree will be worthless faster than you can deploy a physical server.

[turo]

Originally Posted by z335is

...My work would cover all of the expenses...

If you have the time, you lose nothing. More education will NEVER be a detriment to your career, especially an MS in CompSci since you're in the IT/consulting sector. That is not to say that it is required, I have no doubt that there are hundreds of successful folks without an MS in this are, but if your company is paying, why not?!

[f30nynj]

Originally Posted by z335is

Hey guys,

I've been thinking about this a lot lately and figured I'd throw it out there for your opinions.

I'm 31 years old and have steady job in IT with a very large company. I have a B.S. in MIS along with a few Certs. I'm currently making about ~80k year with good benefits, etc etc.

My question is - does anyone think that it would be beneficial for me to go back to school for my M.S. in MIS or perhaps Comp Sci? My work would cover all of the expenses, so I'm just really wondering whether it would be worth the extra time and burden of going back to school.

Your opinions are appreciated!

I had the same question some 6 years back and I am glad I did Comp Sci. Compsci gave me some in-depth concepts of programming & algorithms. I love the pursuit to find an elegant solution to the problem.

If your field of work and degree is same then you'll probably enjoy going to classes and yearn for problems. Also gives a chance to spread your horizon of knowledge from Algorithms to Operating system fundamentals. How to take advantage of core in a CPU or solve some latency related issues.

Of,course you can learn these by yourselves but I like the classroom lecture scenario.

[amanda hor$t]

Originally Posted by turo

If you have the time, you lose nothing. More education will NEVER be a detriment to your career, especially an MS in CompSci since you're in the IT/consulting sector. That is not to say that it is required, I have no doubt that there are hundreds of successful folks without an MS in this are, but if your company is paying, why not?!

like the example i offered: op could be making 3.5x his current salary as an independent while learning the same skills on his own (this is especially true with it since most skillsets are certification/license based). if he takes the company funded degree, he obviously has to keep working with them for a few more years.

education is good, but opportunity costs must be weighed. not saying the ms is bad, but in his case, i think he has better options.

though hey, i'm a retired 34 yr old who warped his way out of the game. ymmv.

[catcher22]

Yes, it will be beneficial for you to go back to school for your M.S./MIS/Comp Sci.

I'm 31, in the same industry/field, and will be going back to school for my Masters. I'm just starting out - studying for the GRE and deciding which schools to apply to.

You should do it.

[bimmerfrk]

Originally Posted by catcher22

Yes, it will be beneficial for you to go back to school for your M.S./MIS/Comp Sci.

I'm 31, in the same industry/field, and will be going back to school for my Masters. I'm just starting out - studying for the GRE and deciding which schools to apply to.

You should do it.

Why don't you just study and get your CCNA. You will make more money without any degree than getting a masters. Degrees don't do anything for you in IT. Its who you worked for. Who you know. And What can you do; aka certs.

Get a CCNA and you can break six figures while sleeping. I want to see your Masters get you anything more than what a BA can with out a substantiating resume.

Bill Gates was a drop out. If you got the know then you got the mo!

I speak from experience.... No IT degree at all.

[grieverr]

I agree with bimmerfrk. If you're already gainfully employed, you will do better in today's market with certifications. Granted, as others have mentioned, more education is never a bad thing. The M.S. will probably help if you want to transition from the tech side to management.

I work in storage in a remote hosted/SAAS environment in the healthcare sector. I can tell you that experience is looked at more than schooling. At least for the technical staff.

[amanda hor$t]

Originally Posted by grieverr

I agree with bimmerfrk. If you're already gainfully employed, you will do better in today's market with certifications. Granted, as others have mentioned, more education is never a bad thing. The M.S. will probably help if you want to transition from the tech side to management.

I work in storage in a remote hosted/SAAS environment in the healthcare sector. I can tell you that experience is looked at more than schooling. At least for the technical staff.

i rememeber when i was consulting, this one time i interviewed for a gig and the lady said something like "if you had java certification i'd easily be able to sell you for $100/hr" ... apparently worth more than my honors bs in computer science from berkeley (definitely much tougher than java cert). is it fair? probably not, but don't hate right?

[PSUSMU]

My first employer paid for ~$28k of my M.S. in Systems Engineering from SMU. My new employer picked up the rest and gave me a raise/bonus upon completion. Education never hurts.

[amanda hor$t]

Originally Posted by PSUSMU

My first employer paid for ~$28k of my M.S. in Systems Engineering from SMU. My new employer picked up the rest and gave me a raise/bonus upon completion. Education never hurts.

"never" is a dangerous word. i know a guy who quit his full time job (tech/consulting) to get an mba. afterwards he went back to his old job at the same income level. total lost income and cost of mba easily added up to 500k. plus he's now the butt of jokes around these parts (he don't come around no mo, if you know what i mean lol). i would have picked up a modest house CASH and read books on my own.

btw, i dropped out of an mba program after 2 quarters. saved about 50k in tuition and last i checked i'm doing better than everyone that graduated there.

what was your income level before/after the degree? and how long have you been at said income level?