Masters Degree Vs. Certification

Masters Degree Vs. Certification Benefits in the long run?

#1 amanda

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Post icon Posted 05 April 2004 - 01:35 PM

Hi all, I've noticed a lot of discussion in this forum about vendor-specific certifications. So what do you think about the benefits of taking a Masters degree in IT (in terms of career advancement)? I'm doing my Masters of IT and I'm working full-time at the same time, and I think it's great as well. In my opinion, vendor-specific certifications can help you find a job quicker, but in the long run, Postgraduate study will help you stand out and increase your chances of getting promotion and moving to management level. Anyone wants to share their thoughts/experience with me about this topic?

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#2 Guest_mdj1279_*

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Posted 05 April 2004 - 01:54 PM

A master's degree is definelty the way you want to go in order to jump into a managerial type role or just to advance your career. There really can be no comparrison made between the 2 because you can't just study for a week and get a master's degree. Having a MD shows that you worked hard and went above and beyond.

#3 Baasher

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Posted 05 April 2004 - 01:58 PM

A masters degree is forever. Certs come and go. Go with the degree. It is also a good barginning chip.

#4 Guest_Guest_bubba143_*

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Posted 06 April 2004 - 12:27 AM

masters is definitely the way to go as far as career advancement is concerned. The certs will just get you into the door. Look for places that pay for college courses. That's the key to success and saves pocket money!

#5 Guest_bubba143_*

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Posted 06 April 2004 - 12:28 AM

#6 Aquarian

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Posted 06 April 2004 - 03:32 AM

Masters Degree shows that you have put much time and effort into your studies and that you have the proficiency to learn and understand the material at hand. As you get older this is the route you should take should you be looking at Upper Management placement. AA is good for Techie type of jobs, BA is good for Manager type of jobs and MA is good for Director type of jobs.

#7 _PEBCAK_

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Posted 06 April 2004 - 07:43 AM

I agree, certs will give you the quick know how to do techie jobs. In the long term you will eventually get tired of allways learning new and want managment and then masters would be your ace in the hole.

#8 peekho

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Posted 06 April 2004 - 07:54 AM

I don't know about you guys but management doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me. Maybe this is because I'm still pretty young, but I got into this industry because I love technology. I have seen quite a few posts from people saying that management is the place to be, but I don't want to be "the boss", I just want to have fun working on the new, cool stuff. I guess maybe later in my career I will be more inclined toward management.

#9 UseJAPforprivacy

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Posted 06 April 2004 - 09:00 AM

Quote

I think we're all in it because of the technology, but you'll find that you'll be exposed to more of it from the management side, because you'll be deciding how to plan and implement it--across different divisions/organizations. Management of Information Technology doesn't line up well to the traditional concept of "Management"...

#10 peekho

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Posted 06 April 2004 - 09:34 AM

Good to know UseJAP, traditional management has such a bad rep and thats not what I want.

#11 amanda

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Post icon Posted 06 April 2004 - 10:33 AM

Thank you guys for sharing your thoughts!

#12 ejw50

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Posted 06 April 2004 - 12:40 PM

As everybody has already said, any cert you get is outdated in 3 years. An MS or Ph.D. is forever.

Management is fun, but don't go management too early!! Management is nice in that you can make the rules and make more money. BUT, the downside is that managers don't keep up their technical skills as well. When cuts come (and they will come), who do you keep? The technical guy who makes everything run or the manager? Make sure you have built up a large bank of technical skills so that you are still useful. This phenomena happens in all fields, BTW.

#13 beta611

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Posted 06 April 2004 - 12:56 PM

if you are going to get a masters, then get a MBA then your pmp pmi certs. then you can be one of the guys tell us techies how to run the show

#14 Guest_j-jaxx_*

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Posted 06 April 2004 - 10:44 PM

I think management should be after technical skills.

#15 Guest_ren1310_*

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Posted 07 April 2004 - 02:47 AM

well i agree with most of the people here, but think that your wording is a little off. a MD is not forever, yea you keep it forever but the usually little you learn in school (compared to hands on) is gone in a few years like a cert. you just need that piece of paper thats all. its a hard field because everything is always changing and you need to learn new things from time to time that no cert or degree makes a difference
but if you want a job you need to goto school

#16 zelja

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Posted 08 April 2004 - 01:29 AM

MS is for life - certs are mostly good for 3 years - so the decision is clear....

#17 ikke14

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Posted 08 April 2004 - 05:38 PM

I have an MS (not IT) and it earned me a job (as well as a paid education) in the IT field.

I've achieved MCSE (& MCSE) to expand my Microsoft specific knowledge which is needed in my day-to-day work.

#18 rakshitj

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Post icon Posted 08 April 2004 - 08:20 PM

Hi

According to me first masters degree will be considered if any 1 goes for JOB.

Certification are secondary and they have to be recertificated after some years.
but master degree will be there for lifetme.

Master degree + certification = Good and bright future.

#19 Guest_david1234_*

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Posted 09 April 2004 - 02:23 AM

Whether you have an Associates, Bachelor, Master, or a PHD, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO CONSTANTLY UPGRADE OR RECERTIFIED EVERY DARN THREE YEARS. THIS SHOULDN'T BE A COMPARISON ISSUE!

This is what you look like every three years when it time to recertify :wacko:

This is what you look like when you graduate with your Master'

This is what you look like when you you get that sign-on Bonus w/MD
and beat out a certified person of a job

This is what the girls look like when you get that new car ride :wub:

#20 Guest_kkomaha_*

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Posted 10 April 2004 - 03:21 PM

As told above, definetely a Master's weighs more than certifications and there should exist no comparison between the two as they are not good entities to be compared. But it is important to observe that certifications get you more near to the job when combined with master's degree and both stand at there own importance.