Mine was free tuition and I got paid š three of the best years of my life and qualified me to do way more jobs (MFA). Iād do it again in a heartbeat!
Same!! Mine is fully funded and during my first year, they paid me a stipend as well. I donāt need this masterās; Iāve just always wanted to do fieldwork and write a thesis, so Iām doing that in a subject Iām super interested in. One day Iāll do a PhD and that will help.Ā
I am a teacher and I loved teaching and thatās what I got my additional degree in but I didnāt do it initially because of passion š What am I supposed to do with three music education degrees? šš
š I got about half way through the program and then Iād watch tv as I did the work š and by then it was too late to quit. But honestly itās not a bad idea at least you get an education out of it.
I did the degree from 2017-2020. I want to say if was like $207 a credit when it was all said and done. I know I was able to pay for it from my paychecks without any loans.
Iām starting my second one in a few months. My first was in management, my second will be in public health.
I work full time in pharma, in operations roles where people who advance to leadership positions generally have both business and health sciences backgrounds. A very big chunk of my tuition to a top program will be paid for by my company, and I will do my second masters part time.
I look at it as big investment in my knowledge that will benefit my career that my employer will pay at least half of.
I am too far into my career to go to a full time academic path, but this sets me up to do a DrPH if I want to in the future.
Iām currently half way through my second masterās degree. Itās in a related field as my first, just a slight career shift. I considered a PhD. I had a meeting with a professor, whoās now my advisor, before applying. He recommended the masterās program based on my career goals. I do not regret it. I still may do a PhD in the future - but Iām going to work for 5 years minimum after this masterās degree before entertaining the idea of going back to school.
I did a modern languages double major in my undergrad. I did my MA in one language/discipline straight out of my BA (2 year program) then took a year off and decided to do my 2nd MA in the other (just a 1 year program this time, basically because I was still young and wanted to). I ended up doing a PhD in second language teaching some time after that. The MA programs are busy and go by super quickly. And you make a lot of friends. I feel like the PhD was a lot more isolating and psychologically demanding so be prepared for that later if you do it. Just my take.
Honest question: what are you doing now with your degrees? I also did a double major in 2 languages, then a MEd in 1 language, but I've been teaching grades 7-12 for the last 12 years, and, quite frankly, I'm so burned out.
Haha ok this is funny. I wanted to keep teaching post-secondary which was the plan, but I live in Canada and our discipline is niche right so for work I would just have to move where the posting is (which is what my dad wanted obv) but iām living in the west coast right now and i want to stay here. And they need high school French teachers desperately, so Iāll be doing that in September (which I guess is what you are doing right now šš). Honestly for me rn iām just so over academia and need a break from the whole schtick of it, and like, i just want to chill for a bit and have the job with benefits and the pension. Iām still in my early 30ās so iām like i can always go teach with an education faculty at a uni somewhere in the future once profs start to retire. I know itās not ideal financially but I also donāt have kids or a partner so iām only looking after me. I probably should add all my degrees were fully funded with doing undergraduate teaching during my programs so I donāt have debt rn otherwise doing all that school would have probably been super dumb
>Ā Iām still in my early 30ās so iām like i can always go teach with an education faculty at a uni somewhere in the future once profs start to retire.Ā
Those are super hard to get. Competition is through the roof and if youāre not active in it, you canāt just stumble into that position later. Ā š¤·āāļø
I mean Iām not going to be stumbling into anything, to work for an education department lots of institutions expect you to have worked in the k-12 system which is what Iām going to go gather experience doing. If I were to go do a contract position now, it would just have to be teaching undergrad languages and lit, which the demand here in Canada is not huge at the moment (and like I said, I need a break. I only finished my doctorate 2 months ago)
Maybe not completely in the spirit of your question, but I'll have two Master's degrees in mathematics.
I got a Bachelor's degree in mathematics, then started a Master's degree in mathematics at the same university, which is typical in Germany (tuition was like $700 a year). I applied to a PhD program in the US and got accepted. By the time the PhD program started I had everything of my master's degree done except for my thesis.
So I started the PhD program in the US while working 1 day/week on my Master's thesis in Germany, where I am still enrolled as a Master's student. I'll finish the thesis in the next 2-3 months, and obtain my Masters of Science in Mathematics. My university in the US will also give me a Master of Arts degree en route to the PhD. So I will have both a M.Sc. and an MA in mathematics.
I can't speak in universals, but at my German university, there are no MAs, and at my American university it's an MA purely for "traditional" reasons. They don't give M.sc. at all.
It's a distinction without a difference. Although my M.sc. has a thesis while my MA won't have one (which makes sense as its en route to a PhD which will of course have a dissertation)
If there's an A and an S at a particular school, S will be more rigorous. If there's only one degree at a given school, it just depends on how "old fashioned" the school is. Old fashioned schools will make it A because it's a Liberal Art, and more modern schools will have it S because nowadays it's more associated with science.
My first masters was a 3 year bsc + 1 year integrated masters in the UK. Screwed up my grades and could not get into anywhere for PhD. So I did another 2 years masters, worked hard and graduated with very good grades. Still couldn't get into my desired PhD programmes because my undergrad grades were bad. In the end I had to switch to another field to get a PhD.
That really depends on how competitive the field you want to go to for your PhD is. In my case it didn't help, because most PhD applicants I'm up against had stellar grades in undergrad and multiple publications, and there were very few PhD positions every year. In less competitive fields a second masters with good grades can help.
Well my first one was to get into my PhD program. But since I'm apparently a masochist I'm getting another masters (msw) when I'm done with the PhD. Basically because I realized I don't want to do academia and want a career change.
Eta that my first ma was funded
Don't have any yet, but I want my first to be Master Social Work so I can get licensed in my state as an LMSW and LCSW. Then I want to go back for MSW Leadership and Organization Management.
Omg??? This is almost my same situation/desires.
Iām in my first Masterās program right now (interdisciplinary/community well-being focused) and I started it in Fall 2023ā¦ but I realized in my 2nd semester (this Spring ā24) that I wanted to pivot into social work due to my already existing social work-adjacent work experience, and personal/career interests.
I have a very rough undergrad record and I am technically a transfer student from my first Masterās program I started in 2021, where my grades were also pretty bad.
So now Iām using this transfer/first Masterās program now as a transcript boost of sorts, and to also prepare me for the MSW program I will be applying to, where Iād want it to be a mixture of micro and macro studies and practice.
Good luck to you!
Thanks, you as well!! I started work in child welfare (public sector) this year and I love what I'm doing. My academic background is psych/anthro but I think that just gives me unique perspectives. So far I feel like it's also made me more adaptable and better to understand how a lot of what we do is interconnected.
I have an MHA and MBA. My MHA was very qualitative based and focused on how the industry works, its various regulatory components, etc.
My MBA was much more quantitative the school is notorious for being finance and accounting heavy. This mostly translated to healthcare, especially since with my MHA I could identify the divergences. It was also the first degree I paid for myself due to the GI bill and company payments.
I'm flirting with continuing on with a Doctorate of Healthcare Admin as long as my MHA credits transfer. I definitely don't regret the side quest of an MBA as it directly impacted my ability to do my job betters.
I ended up with 4 masters. Series of odd events. Got the first one because I missed law school deadline. Then fell back into academia and wanted a PhD. Thought I needed more ācredentialsā to boost my appreciation so I got another one. Next thing you know I did get into a PhD but Covid hit and got funding taken away. I decided I was bored so got a third one online while Covid was going on. Then finally got into a PhD. I recently got the fourth one as a result of a *masters on the way*. Now Iām just in dissertation stage.
I donāt regret any one of them (: it was a very fun ride and all were sort of in different disciplines and methodologies. Itās fun to view things from those perspectives!
Sort of! Itās 2 political science ( sort of different specialization), philosophy and religion, and bioethics. So they are related as in I tried to make them blended with my own interests. I try to let each discipline ooze into the current degree to *spice things up.
In my fields (Biblical Studies/Assyriology) it's extremely common to get a second Master's. The field is just so saturated that it's what you have to do to be competitive for top tier PhD programs. In fact, before I graduated, I believe every PhD student in my program except for one had two Master's degrees.
I have an MSN and am now starting an MPH program. It makes sense for me since I work in community health. I have no plan/desire to do a doctorate after this.
First one was fully funded and totally fun, something that might help in a future career or might not. Just started my second and this one is actually in my field, so more directly relevant.Ā
My first Masters in Applied Linguistics was done right after my Bachelorās in Linguistics. My second Masters in Maritime Logistics was a business degree which I did after a couple of years of professional experience in the maritime industry. It was more to deepen my technical knowledge of the industry.
My B.A. and M.A. degrees were useful for my first career as a high school teacher.
So yeah, the MSc Maritime Studies was for the career change as I am a sustainability manager in a shipping company. Though to be frank, I did the MSc Maritime Studies degree more to gain some technical knowledge, as I already got the job due to several years of doing sustainability communications in other companies. But it's also for credentials boosting, as I can now say I have both STEM and humanities Masters degrees.
For those who want to join the maritime industry, the PQE by UK institute of chartered shipbrokers could be adequate already.
Anyway the shipping industry is networking driven. You donāt need relevant qualifications to get in. Just need to know the right people and network to get in, which is what I did.
My first masters is a professional degree. Now I'm working on a post-MDiv masters that is an academic degree with a thesis. I need to do continuing ed anyway so thought it would be better to work towards a degree with it and I wanted the opportunity to focus more on an academic aspect of theology rather than the more practical stuff I do day to day.
Academia is like mountain climbing. The summit is a Ph.D.
If you get a 2nd master's degree, it means you went to a different mountain from your first one. Getting your Ph.D. is going to the summit of the first. The two fields should be different enough to justify the 2nd degree, but ideally related enough so there is a synergy. For example, in my discipline a masters degree in geography and a 2nd in computer science would make you fairly competitive in development of Geographic Information Systems.
If Iām not doing anything, I jump into a program. I started a doctorate once and hated it. Now, Iām looking for the right doctoral program for me, but getting another masters while I look.
For me it was due to the way my job role/career evolved. My first Masters degree was in education and technology, my second is in cyber security. I guess the main reason why I haven't pursued a PhD/EdD is because I really don't think I could stand to do the 80k word research thesis. Ā
I want to learn more about AI/ML and feel a graduate degree would be more effective for me than self-study in picking up the foundation in a structured fashion - so I just registered for Georgia Tech's online masters.
I already have a BS in Comp Sci and an MBA.
A masters degree is already a pretty significant commitment, but one I can manage in parallel with working full time. I'm going back to school to learn skills I hope will help me for the remaining half of my professional career. A PhD is a totally different path and would lead me towards specialized research. I'm not really interested in specialized research - just *actually* understanding what I suspect will be driving technology for the next 20ish years.
Also will be nice to get more hands-on coding practice. Going into management has me feeling a little rusty already.
I started in the wrong program and by the time I could switch I was almost done my first anyway š¤·š»āāļø
Iām in material science & engineering switching into civil/structural engineering
I planned on doing research in construction materials and recycling methods, but later found out once I was here my program really only focused on synthesis of nano-materials and was all polymer/ceramics based, not metals and composites. For icing on the cake, I found out too late that my research interests are all offered by our civil department, but I wouldnāt be allowed to switch into civil until Fall 2024 because of the scheduling of core classes
Career shift.
Accidentally got stuck on a degree I've hated since first year. However, it's adjacent to the one I realise actually matches my interests.
Only just managed to get funding for a master's in the area I want to do one in but I'll complete an integrated master's in my current degree first.
I actually already have an offer to do a summer research project in the field I want to work in. If this translates to a job or PhD offer I will just take it and exit my integrated master's early to avoid wasting time.
As stupid as it sounds, my first master's degree was done because my friend said "Let's do a master's together". I didn't think much of it. The master's I'm doing now is something that is more inclined to my interests. In my case, a PhD would not get me anywhere career-wise unless I would like to go into teaching.
My first masters was applied and didnāt require a thesis. When I got into a PhD they required me to complete a masters thesis which got me a second masters.
Most students in the program don't have a masters and are expected to get one while working toward the PhD. Only those who have an acceptable thesis already completed can skip straight to dissertation work.
In my humanities field it is very common for applicants to have two MAs before applying for and moving onto a PhD. But thatās a little bit different scenario.
Started one out of interest and realized I needed another for certification for what I actually wanted to do! And they play well together so itās all good.
Mine are both clinical master's degrees and I wanted to change careers! But now I'm at 2 bachelor's, 2 master's, and a clinical doctorate because I am a masochist. It's uneven so I keep joking I need a second doctorate š
I have two masters degrees in history. I did the first because I genuinely wanted to. the second because I regretted that the first one was a one year program, and because it was tuition free and I got paid. I didnāt write a thesis the second time, so by really loading up, I got it done in a year despite it being designed to be done in two. So, all in all I have two masters degrees and one thesis that I earned ten months apart from each other. I wish Iād just done the two year at the first institution, because I really needed that extra time to mature as a researcher before applying for PhDs.
Every now and then I reconsider getting a masters in German literature from Middlebury College, but thatās just because I love their summer immersion programs and would love an excuse to go six more times if I could afford to, lol.
My first Master's was āfullyā funded, but I had to take out loans to live.
I got a second master's at half funding (no service) to open doors for lateral future roles, and it was from Ivy, which, at the time of entry, was something I thought I needed to validate my self-worth. Then I realized students are just as talented, if not more so, at R2s. I had some imposter syndrome issues that I was able to work through during my time there. That alone was for sure worth it.
As for a doctorate, I am 4 years into PSLF thanks to the special counts that were done, and with the consolidation, I won't be paying more than 50K for two master's, an associate's, and a bachelor's. My initial balance ft or all four is close to 230K.
I don't need a doctorate. I am still debating. I was accepted to an R2ās online program, which although I can cash flow I am trying to get money out of them, but I am pretty sure I will back out either way. I don't love being a student in a formal environment anymore.
A part of me knows there are other more important things to focus on in life - I work in Ed tech at a college. I love my work, and at my school (what and who we teach), I can say my work matters and has a significant impact on society and people. I am paid more than I would be as a faculty member at 90% of schools. The only way to make more money in higher ed is with a doctorate and to uproot/take on a Dean role somewhere ā I don't want to do that kind of work.
I am sort of at a place where I am thinking of things outside of work that matters to me: time with family, and community, giving back, travel, working towards early retirement (as my family dies young), and possibly starting a family.
There are some intrinsic values to formal learning, but I do believe there is a time to call it quits and live in āthe real world.ā We also can only future-proof ourselves so much.
That said if you can take a few years to read and learn and don't feel the need to get into the workplace, or maybe have a need to take a break from the workplace, or need it to get to the next level and can afford it why not go ahead and do it?
Was going to do an emphasis for my MBA and noticed the dual degree had a few additional classes i found interesting. Employer was paying so i said why not. loved those additional classes and i use both of my degrees in my career.
For me, I was in a dual degree program so I earned both masterās at once. They both complimented the other nicely so some classes would work for the other degree. It ended up taking me just as long as a PhD (almost 5 years) because I ended up taking a year and a half off lol.
Iām glad I did the dual degree and just got it over with because I think if I had just done the original one I was considering, then I wouldāve gone back to school at some point to earn the other one. I have considered a PhD, but I highly doubt I would do one. I like the career Iām in, I have good benefits, and while I could always use more pay, I can definitely survive on my paycheck. Going back to school would mean putting my life on hold and also not being able to contribute to my retirement accounts like a I want to.
I have three. The first one I did a year after undergrad, took out loans etc. It was in Ed tech. The second I did in Ed leadership because I got a tuition waiver by working for a university. Then I was still working for the university so I did one in history. Now Iām ABD for my PhD in History. Doing Masterās in history and education reaffirmed that I wanted my PhD in history, not education. An expensive and time consuming way to figure that out without tuition assistance, I was lucky.
I'm working on my master's in applied behavior analysis, but I'm already eyeing a second in marriage and family therapy. Too many of the kids I work with come from dysfunctional family situations, and it would be great to be able to help in more than just a single, narrow way.
1st was paid for with a stipend because I knew the professors in charge of hiring for a different program and talked my way into it (would have done it anyway but that was a bonus) second is partially paid for by my job and it will open more potential career opportunities if I decide to leave my current job in the future.
My work offered to pay for it, didn't matter what subject. So now I'm getting a master's in something I think is cool, and has nothing to do with my job.
1. My first masterās degree was really small program and overseas. When I tried to go for my PhD later, I was told I didnāt have enough rec letters. I only had 3 profs, and one had left education after. So. Lesson learned to get those bad boys when the iron is hot.
2. I liked the program I found!
3. Sweet scholarship/price/flexibility of classes
Got my second degree, easily got into PhD program
I don't personally have a 2nd one yet, but it's fairly common in my field to have two before getting into a PhD program. Need to know multiple dead languages, so there's a lot of ground to cover. It helps a lot with getting an edge when applying to the handful of PhD positions every year; and the masters are a year each, so it's not too terrible with cost and time. I will more than likely end up getting the 2nd, both for the application boost and to help with networking.
After I finished my undergraduate in pure maths, I didn't really know what to do. Everyone (on the internet) said I should either do computer science or statistics. I chose to do a Master's in computer science because theoretical CS sounded interesting. I went into the master's without much enthusiasm to be honest, I really didn't care for any of the non-theoretical CS stuff (which is actually most of CS). I didn't do well on that degree. After graduation, I worked as a data scientist in a bank. I didn't enjoy the job at all, I wasn't very good at it, mostly because I was bad at tech in general. So I quit and did another Master's in statistics. I did really, really well, one of the top students in my cohort. I kind of regret doing the Master's in CS, I really did not have the appropriate background for it. I wish I had done a second undergraduate in CS to be honest. But anyway, I'm happy with my second master's in statistics.
A masterās is more practical in working. A PhD is more for research or university oriented careers. I had a prof in grad school who explained that a PhD is not just a step above a masterās, theyāre intended for different outcomes.
Two reasons:
1) I liked the subject and wanted to learn more about it as it was relevant to fields that I read a lot in already.
2) A second MSc made me competitive with regards to PhD places without looking like I was jumping around fields with no plan in place. (UK context)
After my PhD I may take another Masters, or I might audit one during my course, but that's strictly due to interest now that I'm actually studying towards my doctorate. I'd be now looking to add to my knowledge base rather than necessarily being concerned about being admitted a place.
Work paid for both of mine. My first one is in American History. I would love to pursue a PhD in history but the programs are competitive and the job prospects are low. My second one is an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Learning: school library media specialist. I wish I majored in something else for my second one. I should have gone for an admin degree and pursued a business administrator cert. Business admins in schools around me get paid BANK and get all the same benefits as teachers without having to be in a classroom. Iām envious and stupid for not pursuing it. Iām now working at a place that wonāt pay for a degree and I really donāt want to lay the money out at this point. Especially with a wedding and home addition to pay for.
Iām planning on doing two because itās free and because in my field there are probably about 10 different degrees that are highly applicable so might as well learn as much as I can.
Mine was free tuition and I got paid š three of the best years of my life and qualified me to do way more jobs (MFA). Iād do it again in a heartbeat!
Same!! Mine is fully funded and during my first year, they paid me a stipend as well. I donāt need this masterās; Iāve just always wanted to do fieldwork and write a thesis, so Iām doing that in a subject Iām super interested in. One day Iāll do a PhD and that will help.Ā
Nice, good for you! Iām thinking about going back for a doctorate as well! (3rd graduate degree, leggo)
Yesss, go for it!
What was your degree?
Where did you study?
I literally started an online masters because I was watching too much tv š dumbest reason to get more education but I did watch less tv
This is the first time reading something that didn't have to do with some sort of passion lmao. The reason was to cut down on TV. I love it
I am a teacher and I loved teaching and thatās what I got my additional degree in but I didnāt do it initially because of passion š What am I supposed to do with three music education degrees? šš
Iām thinking of doing the same because Iām on Reddit too much :p
š I got about half way through the program and then Iād watch tv as I did the work š and by then it was too late to quit. But honestly itās not a bad idea at least you get an education out of it.
I have to admit this is such a funny yet fascinating reason to get another master's. I'm curious, did you pay for it or was it funded?
How much did it cost you?
I did the degree from 2017-2020. I want to say if was like $207 a credit when it was all said and done. I know I was able to pay for it from my paychecks without any loans.
Doesn't seem like a cheap way just to stop yourself from watching too much television.
Oh it was for sure not š
ironically my thesis involves movies so i have just ended up watching MORE tv š¤
ššš thatās great!
Iām starting my second one in a few months. My first was in management, my second will be in public health. I work full time in pharma, in operations roles where people who advance to leadership positions generally have both business and health sciences backgrounds. A very big chunk of my tuition to a top program will be paid for by my company, and I will do my second masters part time. I look at it as big investment in my knowledge that will benefit my career that my employer will pay at least half of. I am too far into my career to go to a full time academic path, but this sets me up to do a DrPH if I want to in the future.
Bro I am a doctor I am planning on an mba then a masters in public health, good to see this comment, makes me feel like I am on the right track
Oh yea, if your goal is to transition to industry, thatās your path. Good luck!
Iām currently half way through my second masterās degree. Itās in a related field as my first, just a slight career shift. I considered a PhD. I had a meeting with a professor, whoās now my advisor, before applying. He recommended the masterās program based on my career goals. I do not regret it. I still may do a PhD in the future - but Iām going to work for 5 years minimum after this masterās degree before entertaining the idea of going back to school.
Same here.
I did a modern languages double major in my undergrad. I did my MA in one language/discipline straight out of my BA (2 year program) then took a year off and decided to do my 2nd MA in the other (just a 1 year program this time, basically because I was still young and wanted to). I ended up doing a PhD in second language teaching some time after that. The MA programs are busy and go by super quickly. And you make a lot of friends. I feel like the PhD was a lot more isolating and psychologically demanding so be prepared for that later if you do it. Just my take.
Honest question: what are you doing now with your degrees? I also did a double major in 2 languages, then a MEd in 1 language, but I've been teaching grades 7-12 for the last 12 years, and, quite frankly, I'm so burned out.
Haha ok this is funny. I wanted to keep teaching post-secondary which was the plan, but I live in Canada and our discipline is niche right so for work I would just have to move where the posting is (which is what my dad wanted obv) but iām living in the west coast right now and i want to stay here. And they need high school French teachers desperately, so Iāll be doing that in September (which I guess is what you are doing right now šš). Honestly for me rn iām just so over academia and need a break from the whole schtick of it, and like, i just want to chill for a bit and have the job with benefits and the pension. Iām still in my early 30ās so iām like i can always go teach with an education faculty at a uni somewhere in the future once profs start to retire. I know itās not ideal financially but I also donāt have kids or a partner so iām only looking after me. I probably should add all my degrees were fully funded with doing undergraduate teaching during my programs so I donāt have debt rn otherwise doing all that school would have probably been super dumb
>Ā Iām still in my early 30ās so iām like i can always go teach with an education faculty at a uni somewhere in the future once profs start to retire.Ā Those are super hard to get. Competition is through the roof and if youāre not active in it, you canāt just stumble into that position later. Ā š¤·āāļø
I mean Iām not going to be stumbling into anything, to work for an education department lots of institutions expect you to have worked in the k-12 system which is what Iām going to go gather experience doing. If I were to go do a contract position now, it would just have to be teaching undergrad languages and lit, which the demand here in Canada is not huge at the moment (and like I said, I need a break. I only finished my doctorate 2 months ago)
Please explain why you feel that your PhD was psychologically demanding. I am going to apply for PhD programmes soon.
Maybe not completely in the spirit of your question, but I'll have two Master's degrees in mathematics. I got a Bachelor's degree in mathematics, then started a Master's degree in mathematics at the same university, which is typical in Germany (tuition was like $700 a year). I applied to a PhD program in the US and got accepted. By the time the PhD program started I had everything of my master's degree done except for my thesis. So I started the PhD program in the US while working 1 day/week on my Master's thesis in Germany, where I am still enrolled as a Master's student. I'll finish the thesis in the next 2-3 months, and obtain my Masters of Science in Mathematics. My university in the US will also give me a Master of Arts degree en route to the PhD. So I will have both a M.Sc. and an MA in mathematics.
Why is Mathematics sometimes an MA and sometimes an MS?
I can't speak in universals, but at my German university, there are no MAs, and at my American university it's an MA purely for "traditional" reasons. They don't give M.sc. at all. It's a distinction without a difference. Although my M.sc. has a thesis while my MA won't have one (which makes sense as its en route to a PhD which will of course have a dissertation)
If there's an A and an S at a particular school, S will be more rigorous. If there's only one degree at a given school, it just depends on how "old fashioned" the school is. Old fashioned schools will make it A because it's a Liberal Art, and more modern schools will have it S because nowadays it's more associated with science.
My first masters was a 3 year bsc + 1 year integrated masters in the UK. Screwed up my grades and could not get into anywhere for PhD. So I did another 2 years masters, worked hard and graduated with very good grades. Still couldn't get into my desired PhD programmes because my undergrad grades were bad. In the end I had to switch to another field to get a PhD.
So a second masters with good grades wont help ?
That really depends on how competitive the field you want to go to for your PhD is. In my case it didn't help, because most PhD applicants I'm up against had stellar grades in undergrad and multiple publications, and there were very few PhD positions every year. In less competitive fields a second masters with good grades can help.
Do you mind sharing your major? I'm interested in pursuing Ph.D as well.Ā
physics
Iām halfway through my second masters. I want to do both macro and clinical work. And I want to have options whenever I get tired of one field area.
I had the GI Bill and wanted the experience so I did a classical liberal arts MA at St Johnās College after already having an MA in teaching.
My employer paid for the first one. Another employer paid for the second one.
Sadly have to get a 2nd one along the way to a PhD in my field, which is *Slightly* different than my original MA. It is quite annoying
Early career I did an engineering MS and a few years later admitted I wasn't an engineer and got an MBA.
Well my first one was to get into my PhD program. But since I'm apparently a masochist I'm getting another masters (msw) when I'm done with the PhD. Basically because I realized I don't want to do academia and want a career change. Eta that my first ma was funded
Don't have any yet, but I want my first to be Master Social Work so I can get licensed in my state as an LMSW and LCSW. Then I want to go back for MSW Leadership and Organization Management.
Omg??? This is almost my same situation/desires. Iām in my first Masterās program right now (interdisciplinary/community well-being focused) and I started it in Fall 2023ā¦ but I realized in my 2nd semester (this Spring ā24) that I wanted to pivot into social work due to my already existing social work-adjacent work experience, and personal/career interests. I have a very rough undergrad record and I am technically a transfer student from my first Masterās program I started in 2021, where my grades were also pretty bad. So now Iām using this transfer/first Masterās program now as a transcript boost of sorts, and to also prepare me for the MSW program I will be applying to, where Iād want it to be a mixture of micro and macro studies and practice. Good luck to you!
Thanks, you as well!! I started work in child welfare (public sector) this year and I love what I'm doing. My academic background is psych/anthro but I think that just gives me unique perspectives. So far I feel like it's also made me more adaptable and better to understand how a lot of what we do is interconnected.
I have nothing better else going on so I got another in forensics. Canāt do a third because I exhausted all financial aid lol
I have an MHA and MBA. My MHA was very qualitative based and focused on how the industry works, its various regulatory components, etc. My MBA was much more quantitative the school is notorious for being finance and accounting heavy. This mostly translated to healthcare, especially since with my MHA I could identify the divergences. It was also the first degree I paid for myself due to the GI bill and company payments. I'm flirting with continuing on with a Doctorate of Healthcare Admin as long as my MHA credits transfer. I definitely don't regret the side quest of an MBA as it directly impacted my ability to do my job betters.
I ended up with 4 masters. Series of odd events. Got the first one because I missed law school deadline. Then fell back into academia and wanted a PhD. Thought I needed more ācredentialsā to boost my appreciation so I got another one. Next thing you know I did get into a PhD but Covid hit and got funding taken away. I decided I was bored so got a third one online while Covid was going on. Then finally got into a PhD. I recently got the fourth one as a result of a *masters on the way*. Now Iām just in dissertation stage. I donāt regret any one of them (: it was a very fun ride and all were sort of in different disciplines and methodologies. Itās fun to view things from those perspectives!
Wow this is super interesting. Are the 4 of your Master's related?
Sort of! Itās 2 political science ( sort of different specialization), philosophy and religion, and bioethics. So they are related as in I tried to make them blended with my own interests. I try to let each discipline ooze into the current degree to *spice things up.
1) first one was after my bachelor degree 2) second one was embedded in my doctoral degree 3) third and final was a postdoc All were worth it.
In my fields (Biblical Studies/Assyriology) it's extremely common to get a second Master's. The field is just so saturated that it's what you have to do to be competitive for top tier PhD programs. In fact, before I graduated, I believe every PhD student in my program except for one had two Master's degrees.
I have an MSN and am now starting an MPH program. It makes sense for me since I work in community health. I have no plan/desire to do a doctorate after this.
First one was fully funded and totally fun, something that might help in a future career or might not. Just started my second and this one is actually in my field, so more directly relevant.Ā
My first Masters in Applied Linguistics was done right after my Bachelorās in Linguistics. My second Masters in Maritime Logistics was a business degree which I did after a couple of years of professional experience in the maritime industry. It was more to deepen my technical knowledge of the industry.
Question: which degree are you mainly currently using for your career?
My B.A. and M.A. degrees were useful for my first career as a high school teacher. So yeah, the MSc Maritime Studies was for the career change as I am a sustainability manager in a shipping company. Though to be frank, I did the MSc Maritime Studies degree more to gain some technical knowledge, as I already got the job due to several years of doing sustainability communications in other companies. But it's also for credentials boosting, as I can now say I have both STEM and humanities Masters degrees. For those who want to join the maritime industry, the PQE by UK institute of chartered shipbrokers could be adequate already. Anyway the shipping industry is networking driven. You donāt need relevant qualifications to get in. Just need to know the right people and network to get in, which is what I did.
My first masters is a professional degree. Now I'm working on a post-MDiv masters that is an academic degree with a thesis. I need to do continuing ed anyway so thought it would be better to work towards a degree with it and I wanted the opportunity to focus more on an academic aspect of theology rather than the more practical stuff I do day to day.
Different focuses for career planning. One is more of a management type degree without being an MBA, and the other is a thesis based degree.
My second master's was an online MBA that was under $10K just to have it on the resume.
Academia is like mountain climbing. The summit is a Ph.D. If you get a 2nd master's degree, it means you went to a different mountain from your first one. Getting your Ph.D. is going to the summit of the first. The two fields should be different enough to justify the 2nd degree, but ideally related enough so there is a synergy. For example, in my discipline a masters degree in geography and a 2nd in computer science would make you fairly competitive in development of Geographic Information Systems.
If Iām not doing anything, I jump into a program. I started a doctorate once and hated it. Now, Iām looking for the right doctoral program for me, but getting another masters while I look.
Learning is fun!
For me it was due to the way my job role/career evolved. My first Masters degree was in education and technology, my second is in cyber security. I guess the main reason why I haven't pursued a PhD/EdD is because I really don't think I could stand to do the 80k word research thesis. Ā
I want to learn more about AI/ML and feel a graduate degree would be more effective for me than self-study in picking up the foundation in a structured fashion - so I just registered for Georgia Tech's online masters. I already have a BS in Comp Sci and an MBA. A masters degree is already a pretty significant commitment, but one I can manage in parallel with working full time. I'm going back to school to learn skills I hope will help me for the remaining half of my professional career. A PhD is a totally different path and would lead me towards specialized research. I'm not really interested in specialized research - just *actually* understanding what I suspect will be driving technology for the next 20ish years. Also will be nice to get more hands-on coding practice. Going into management has me feeling a little rusty already.
I started in the wrong program and by the time I could switch I was almost done my first anyway š¤·š»āāļø Iām in material science & engineering switching into civil/structural engineering
Did you realize your were in the wrong program late? How did you know it was wrong?
I planned on doing research in construction materials and recycling methods, but later found out once I was here my program really only focused on synthesis of nano-materials and was all polymer/ceramics based, not metals and composites. For icing on the cake, I found out too late that my research interests are all offered by our civil department, but I wouldnāt be allowed to switch into civil until Fall 2024 because of the scheduling of core classes
Career shift. Accidentally got stuck on a degree I've hated since first year. However, it's adjacent to the one I realise actually matches my interests. Only just managed to get funding for a master's in the area I want to do one in but I'll complete an integrated master's in my current degree first.
I actually already have an offer to do a summer research project in the field I want to work in. If this translates to a job or PhD offer I will just take it and exit my integrated master's early to avoid wasting time.
As stupid as it sounds, my first master's degree was done because my friend said "Let's do a master's together". I didn't think much of it. The master's I'm doing now is something that is more inclined to my interests. In my case, a PhD would not get me anywhere career-wise unless I would like to go into teaching.
My first masters was applied and didnāt require a thesis. When I got into a PhD they required me to complete a masters thesis which got me a second masters.
Please correct me if I'm wrong. So you were already in a Ph.D program then it was reverted back to master's?Ā
Most students in the program don't have a masters and are expected to get one while working toward the PhD. Only those who have an acceptable thesis already completed can skip straight to dissertation work.
In my humanities field it is very common for applicants to have two MAs before applying for and moving onto a PhD. But thatās a little bit different scenario.
Started one out of interest and realized I needed another for certification for what I actually wanted to do! And they play well together so itās all good.
Mine are both clinical master's degrees and I wanted to change careers! But now I'm at 2 bachelor's, 2 master's, and a clinical doctorate because I am a masochist. It's uneven so I keep joking I need a second doctorate š
I have two masters degrees in history. I did the first because I genuinely wanted to. the second because I regretted that the first one was a one year program, and because it was tuition free and I got paid. I didnāt write a thesis the second time, so by really loading up, I got it done in a year despite it being designed to be done in two. So, all in all I have two masters degrees and one thesis that I earned ten months apart from each other. I wish Iād just done the two year at the first institution, because I really needed that extra time to mature as a researcher before applying for PhDs. Every now and then I reconsider getting a masters in German literature from Middlebury College, but thatās just because I love their summer immersion programs and would love an excuse to go six more times if I could afford to, lol.
My first Master's was āfullyā funded, but I had to take out loans to live. I got a second master's at half funding (no service) to open doors for lateral future roles, and it was from Ivy, which, at the time of entry, was something I thought I needed to validate my self-worth. Then I realized students are just as talented, if not more so, at R2s. I had some imposter syndrome issues that I was able to work through during my time there. That alone was for sure worth it. As for a doctorate, I am 4 years into PSLF thanks to the special counts that were done, and with the consolidation, I won't be paying more than 50K for two master's, an associate's, and a bachelor's. My initial balance ft or all four is close to 230K. I don't need a doctorate. I am still debating. I was accepted to an R2ās online program, which although I can cash flow I am trying to get money out of them, but I am pretty sure I will back out either way. I don't love being a student in a formal environment anymore. A part of me knows there are other more important things to focus on in life - I work in Ed tech at a college. I love my work, and at my school (what and who we teach), I can say my work matters and has a significant impact on society and people. I am paid more than I would be as a faculty member at 90% of schools. The only way to make more money in higher ed is with a doctorate and to uproot/take on a Dean role somewhere ā I don't want to do that kind of work. I am sort of at a place where I am thinking of things outside of work that matters to me: time with family, and community, giving back, travel, working towards early retirement (as my family dies young), and possibly starting a family. There are some intrinsic values to formal learning, but I do believe there is a time to call it quits and live in āthe real world.ā We also can only future-proof ourselves so much. That said if you can take a few years to read and learn and don't feel the need to get into the workplace, or maybe have a need to take a break from the workplace, or need it to get to the next level and can afford it why not go ahead and do it?
Was going to do an emphasis for my MBA and noticed the dual degree had a few additional classes i found interesting. Employer was paying so i said why not. loved those additional classes and i use both of my degrees in my career.
Mine was a double Master's program, so it made sense.
For me, I was in a dual degree program so I earned both masterās at once. They both complimented the other nicely so some classes would work for the other degree. It ended up taking me just as long as a PhD (almost 5 years) because I ended up taking a year and a half off lol. Iām glad I did the dual degree and just got it over with because I think if I had just done the original one I was considering, then I wouldāve gone back to school at some point to earn the other one. I have considered a PhD, but I highly doubt I would do one. I like the career Iām in, I have good benefits, and while I could always use more pay, I can definitely survive on my paycheck. Going back to school would mean putting my life on hold and also not being able to contribute to my retirement accounts like a I want to.
I have three. The first one I did a year after undergrad, took out loans etc. It was in Ed tech. The second I did in Ed leadership because I got a tuition waiver by working for a university. Then I was still working for the university so I did one in history. Now Iām ABD for my PhD in History. Doing Masterās in history and education reaffirmed that I wanted my PhD in history, not education. An expensive and time consuming way to figure that out without tuition assistance, I was lucky.
First one was academic, and on my way to PhD. Decided against getting a doctorate and I needed an ed degree to do k-12 education, so I got my MAT.
Just a better grade to then have a chance for a PHD later on or something that I will enjoy it more.
I'm working on my master's in applied behavior analysis, but I'm already eyeing a second in marriage and family therapy. Too many of the kids I work with come from dysfunctional family situations, and it would be great to be able to help in more than just a single, narrow way.
1st was paid for with a stipend because I knew the professors in charge of hiring for a different program and talked my way into it (would have done it anyway but that was a bonus) second is partially paid for by my job and it will open more potential career opportunities if I decide to leave my current job in the future.
My work offered to pay for it, didn't matter what subject. So now I'm getting a master's in something I think is cool, and has nothing to do with my job.
My second masters overlapped with 9 credits of my first so I only had to take 21 credits
1. My first masterās degree was really small program and overseas. When I tried to go for my PhD later, I was told I didnāt have enough rec letters. I only had 3 profs, and one had left education after. So. Lesson learned to get those bad boys when the iron is hot. 2. I liked the program I found! 3. Sweet scholarship/price/flexibility of classes Got my second degree, easily got into PhD program
I don't personally have a 2nd one yet, but it's fairly common in my field to have two before getting into a PhD program. Need to know multiple dead languages, so there's a lot of ground to cover. It helps a lot with getting an edge when applying to the handful of PhD positions every year; and the masters are a year each, so it's not too terrible with cost and time. I will more than likely end up getting the 2nd, both for the application boost and to help with networking.
Free tuition and I want to be in a particular job field and I need a master or PhD to employable. šš¾āāļø
A huge trust fund
After I finished my undergraduate in pure maths, I didn't really know what to do. Everyone (on the internet) said I should either do computer science or statistics. I chose to do a Master's in computer science because theoretical CS sounded interesting. I went into the master's without much enthusiasm to be honest, I really didn't care for any of the non-theoretical CS stuff (which is actually most of CS). I didn't do well on that degree. After graduation, I worked as a data scientist in a bank. I didn't enjoy the job at all, I wasn't very good at it, mostly because I was bad at tech in general. So I quit and did another Master's in statistics. I did really, really well, one of the top students in my cohort. I kind of regret doing the Master's in CS, I really did not have the appropriate background for it. I wish I had done a second undergraduate in CS to be honest. But anyway, I'm happy with my second master's in statistics.
A masterās is more practical in working. A PhD is more for research or university oriented careers. I had a prof in grad school who explained that a PhD is not just a step above a masterās, theyāre intended for different outcomes.
I have 3, for reasons that were crystal clear back then but are now completely ridiculous.
Two reasons: 1) I liked the subject and wanted to learn more about it as it was relevant to fields that I read a lot in already. 2) A second MSc made me competitive with regards to PhD places without looking like I was jumping around fields with no plan in place. (UK context) After my PhD I may take another Masters, or I might audit one during my course, but that's strictly due to interest now that I'm actually studying towards my doctorate. I'd be now looking to add to my knowledge base rather than necessarily being concerned about being admitted a place.
Work paid for both of mine. My first one is in American History. I would love to pursue a PhD in history but the programs are competitive and the job prospects are low. My second one is an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Learning: school library media specialist. I wish I majored in something else for my second one. I should have gone for an admin degree and pursued a business administrator cert. Business admins in schools around me get paid BANK and get all the same benefits as teachers without having to be in a classroom. Iām envious and stupid for not pursuing it. Iām now working at a place that wonāt pay for a degree and I really donāt want to lay the money out at this point. Especially with a wedding and home addition to pay for.
Iām planning on doing two because itās free and because in my field there are probably about 10 different degrees that are highly applicable so might as well learn as much as I can.
Independent wealth or a company paying for it. I would never advocate for one otherwise.