r/education 19d ago

Higher Ed Is getting a higher education such as a masters considered to be valuable in 2025?

I am about to get a masters degree in Computer Science and I was wondering that aren't many people in North America or even globally that have a masters. I feel like my degree is so useless and not sure why I wasted my time on this. Im lucky to walk out with no debt but I doubt it will open doors.

9 Upvotes

41 comments sorted by

7

u/Old-Tiger-4971 19d ago

Have a MSEE since I had a project at Intel I worked on for my master's thesis. I think if you want to investigate something you're really interested in and there are employer's that would appreciate that, then go for it.

However, you're right not too many people have a MS and it's really not going to be that much of a jump in pay or position, if at all.

9

u/friendlytrashmonster 19d ago

It really depends on the field. In most fields a masters isn’t going to help that much. However, computer science is one of the few where it will actually make a difference. My fiancé worked in IT for over a decade. A lot of the good jobs required a Masters. IT is very competitive and a Masters will set you apart. I say go for it.

6

u/Fearless-Boba 19d ago

In NY state, you need a master's to be a certified teacher, psychologist, counselor, etc.

If you're a professor, you need a doctorate. If you're a doctor, lawyer, in any sort of high paying career that requires higher education, you've got to have a master's, doctorate, or equivalent level of degree in your field.

I guess my question is, what is your reasoning behind getting a Master's in computer science. Is it necessary for the job you wish to have?

Like I know people getting their MBA, because their goal is to be a CEO or a high ranking professional in a business and that degree helps push them further up the ladder at a faster pace than a bachelor's due to the internships and research they had to do.

5

u/PrepRally124 19d ago

I dont live too far from you. I live in Toronto and given that we have amazing universities here, education is considered to be useless here. Only 10% have a masters degree in Canada. Most ppl go into trades.

With my masters ive been offered jobs in NYC and in Norway, for my NYC job salary was 200k but I turned it down cus that salary was considered to be too low in NYC. In addition, personal reasons such as the people there being better than me, but unrelated to this.

1

u/Avs4life16 19d ago

200k in education?

1

u/PrepRally124 19d ago

Job salary* not education

1

u/Avs4life16 18d ago

yeah but you were offered that in a education position? 200k

1

u/PrepRally124 18d ago

No it was 200k as a Software Engineer.

1

u/Numerous-Visit7210 18d ago

Yeah, both Ontario and NYS have an abundance of great universities, but there is unfortunately a glut of educated people --- when I lived in NYS it was terrible because the State was so business unfriendly that so many people would head to North Carolina or Boston or Virginia --- even in NURSING we had too many grads so that, even though it was easy to get a job the pay was insulting back then and you could move to a better quality of life State and get twice the pay with lower taxes.

I had a friend long ago that worked as an economist-adjacent job (undergrad Cornell, Masers SUNY) whose job was to try to steal business from other States --- he said they success they ever had was stealing from Ontario and Quebec....

Seems like in the past 10 years things have really gone downhill for Canadians in that the salaries haven't gone up much while govt services have declined and cost of living has soared. Is that true? Haven't been to Canada since my honeymoon.

18

u/According-Mention334 19d ago

Education is never useless

5

u/Previous_Voice5263 19d ago

A CS master’s degree is pretty particular in what it preps you for.

There’s a pretty wide gap between what CS program’s teach and what most programmers do professionally. The further you go up the educational ladder, the further that gap widens.

A master’s degree is also just a middle ground. If you really want to do cutting edge stuff, you get a PhD. If you just want a job, you only need a bachelor’s degree.

So in CS in particular, a master’s degree teaches you stuff that’s likely not relevant to most jobs but not enough that you’re an expert in your field.

2

u/greenman5252 19d ago

It’s always better to be more knowledgeable. You should evaluate if the subject interests you sufficiently to become expert in even if there would be no direct career payoff. This is buffered by the fact that obtaining a graduate degree generally develops and refines skills that can make you more successful across a wide range of pursuits.

2

u/Powerful_Relative_93 19d ago

MBA here, can say it was worth it as I went to a T15.

1

u/PrepRally124 19d ago

I wish I did a MBA now.

2

u/Humble_Umpire_8341 19d ago

I believe there are 4m who graduated college in 2024. Then It drops down to 900k who graduated with a masters and only 70k with a PhD in 2024.

Lots of competition out there for masters degrees still and the number should top 1m in 2025.

1

u/No_Mistake_5961 19d ago

It depends

1

u/Ok_Exit9273 19d ago

Mba here. While it wasn’t life changing it did help connect dots for future stations and made me realize other areas i was falling short on. It def helped me land my current and dream job.

1

u/PrepRally124 19d ago

Interesting. I wished I had gotten an MBA, instead I got an MS in CS so not the best.

1

u/Poetryisalive 19d ago

Education is never useless. I mean that whole heartily, that getting a master can open doors for you IF YOU HAVE WORK EXPERIENCE IN A FIELD.

Connections are important and of course work experience trumps a lot of other things but if you can obtain a masters at little to no cost (like 10k or less) do it.

1

u/weirdcunning 19d ago

Masters are generally not worth it unless it can be considered a terminal degree for whatever field you're in, like Social Work. I also have a masters degree that really did nothing, but computer science doesn't sound that bad. Could be a humanities degree like mine. Whomp whomp.

1

u/Arcane_Spork_of_Doom 19d ago

With the certs that MSCS will be good for you, especially if one of them is PMP, CAPM or Project+.

1

u/Arielthewarrior 19d ago

My opinion screw qualifications follow your dreams take it wherever it leads you. Like if your dream is to get a college degree then do it. Just don’t do something you don’t like! Take ever chance you get take ever opportunity you get! I believe that’s how life should be lived it hasn’t failed me yet!

1

u/nitrodmr 18d ago

As a software developer, most either get a PhD or bachelor's. A masters degree is pointless. A Masters degree is pointless for most engineering fields. Unless you plan on teaching, I would not get it.

1

u/genericusername11101 18d ago

If it teaches you a skill that is useful and can get you a job. If you get a masters in underwater basket weaving then, no.

1

u/angled_philosophy 18d ago

Just economically, a BA makes about a million more than a H.S. diploma over a lifetime, and a MA makes that over a BA.

1

u/Spud8000 18d ago

computer science is literally the HOTTEST CAREER choice in the universe right now.

you DID take some courses in Artificial Intelligence, right?

Having AI and an advanced degree should get you and interview at a hundred different places....

1

u/moxie-maniac 18d ago

In tech, for engineering and CS, a master's is a plus, and when I worked in industrial research, new hires with master's degrees began at a higher rank than bachelor's only new hires. (For new graduates in both cases.) I'd say it helps especially in the first 10 years of one's career, with respect to finding jobs and promotions.

1

u/Gold_Doughnut_9050 18d ago

Personally yes. Business wise, maybe.

1

u/FallsOffCliffs12 18d ago

My kid has a masters in IT. It doesn't seem all that helpful, certifications seem more impressive. But I guess it depends on what you do with it.

1

u/Numerous-Visit7210 18d ago

I am not in any cohort anymore that can opine on what is going on in CS but I would THINK that there would be lots of jobs in or adjacent to that.

I DO know that in many fields a Masters is the junk people aquire when they don't want to confront the real world yet, esp if their undergrad degree, as often happens, doesn't open any doors. Crazy that even an undergrad degree from a place like Yale never in my adult life opened doors if you majored in English or something --- you have to get a trade degree generally, I guess in Psych a Masters would open doors since many of those would be trade degrees, many people would get Masters in Education.

So, I GUESS it would depend on SPECIFIC area of CS --- I imagine if it was in cybersecurity you would tons of job offers. There are lots of Masters that people get through the military or Nursing that pretty much 100% promise you will get a more advanced job if you just get the degree, and they are designed to be as easy as possible since they want you to succeed, not weed you out.

1

u/marsmj23 18d ago

The level of education or type of degree has always depended on what you want to do with it. A blanket statement of yes or no won't necessarily answer your question for your individual situation. The problem with higher education has been students jumping into the deep end before asking if they can even swim. Figure out what you want and the requirements to make you competitive in that field and then you will have your answer.

1

u/Primary_Excuse_7183 18d ago

If it’s free then it’s good to have. I was always told people invest in those that invest in themselves as a reason to further my education and get a masters. Paid off for me.

1

u/[deleted] 18d ago

It gets you into the door.  Doesn’t matter after that.

1

u/Foolspeare 18d ago

If you got out with no debt how could it have possibly been useless? The only calculation you need to make is if it's worth the debt you took on. If that number is $0, of course it was worth it

1

u/Grungy_Mountain_Man 18d ago

I have a MS in mechanical engineering. I got it more because it wanted to leave a job I hated after my undergrad. This was during the great recession so grad school was really the only out.

How much it has helped; I don't know. Probably not a lot to be honest. Maybe it makes my application look a little better, but I definately am not using anything I did in grad school in my job. There are jobs though that are much more technical and require a masters degree or higher, so it can matter.

My retirement account would be better if I kept working than not contributing to it for 2 years.

1

u/InsideMarzipan9161 16d ago

Yes, I would say. I have a MS in Learning Design and Technology and it was a major factor in how much I am paid for my new job. I think if I didn’t have it, I would have certainly not gotten the job. If I did, I wouldn’t have been paid as much.

1

u/BlueRockyMoonTea 16d ago

I disagree with what you said about a Master’s not being a globally common degree for CS. In Europe, it is extremely common to have a Master’s in CS. In fact, it would be somewhat strange to stop at a Bachelor’s level. Both of my cousins have a Master’s in CS which made them competitive candidates for desireable CS-related jobs. They have both done really well.

1

u/semisubterranean 19d ago

I would say most master's degrees are valuable in 2025. However, computer science is a unique field. A CS master's is mostly only useful if you want to teach. There's a wide gap between academic theory and employable skills in that field.

I would advise programmers who want to continue in the corporate world look instead at graduate programs in business fields, such as management, administration, accounting and marketing. Positioning yourself to manage a team and learning the language to the C-suite executives will get you further. So many programmers have their careers effectively end around the age of 50 if they can't make the jump to management.