Pursuing a Second Master's Degree(Part Time) : pros and cons

Question

I am currently working in a manufacturing company as a software developer and have just completed my masters in control and automation in 2011 with my bachelors in "Electrical and Electronics". My main reason for doing my first masters is to change to my domain from IT where I was working as a programmer for 1.5 yrs. Now I am thinking of doing a second master's degree in mechatronics, because I am short of some knowledge in the electrical and automation field which I think is must for me to become an expert in the factory automation field.

Even though I feel it will be helpful for my personal career and reputation. I find some doubts whether a person having a double degree is welcomed in the job market or not. Also Frankly, In my opinion, I used to think that who are having many degrees as people who run away from real-world jobs and are not as competent as those who have years of experience. Another thing is I also want to do MBA after 5 or 6 years. So, can someone tell me what are the pros and cons of having multiple degrees?

Answer 1

Pros... it certainly doesn't do any harm, you will learn something, and there is always the personal development aspect.

Cons... if you are going to make the effort to get a second Masters, why not build on the existing Masters and get a PhD? That is worth a lot more than a second Masters.

MBA... in my opinion, not worth a thing. A con. Not a true Masters by any standard.

Answer 2

Learning something new is always a plus. Anything that makes you better at what you do and furthers your academic/career goals is definitely a good thing.

It's hard to come up with a "con" of having multiple degrees. If I had to come up with something, I would say that it may give the impression that you lack focus for a particular field. So just be prepared to answer questions as to "why" you pursued master's degrees (in different fields) in an interview.

To echo what Roaring Fish said; I won't go so far as to say that a MBA is not worth it. But the truth is that many, many people in business have MBAs today. So many, that (my opinion) getting one doesn't help you stand-out professionally any more than having a bachelor's degree does. That is where having a master's degree (or multiple in your case) is a definite plus.

Answer 3

I have a BS in Electrical Engineering , MS in Mechanical Engineering and MS in Computer Science. I now work at a small company that allows me to practice a bit of software, circuits and mechanical design.

Pros:

• Gain academic insight into the details of each field.
• Helps in placement in jobs requiring skills in many discplines.
• My research and paper writing skills greatly improved after the 2nd masters (and thesis)
• I was in the MS/PHD program and had no tuition costs for my 4 years of grad school.

Cons:

• Lots of time in school ( I spent 8 years in the university setting)
• Loss of potential earnings while in school

Summary: I have no regrets about my graduate degree history. However, I would probably spend more time choosing advisors and research topics if I had to do it all over again.

Answer 4

Since control systems like Mechatronics is related to both Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering (EE) and doing a Masters is not bad but why not get a PhD in EE with Mechatronics as specialization. This would not only take you to a higher level but also deepen your knowledge. But this is only reasonable when you are available full time and are able able to get into a university that offer such course/opportunity. This may not be easy.

Having said that, if you want to just deepen your knowledge of electrical and automation field which you think is must for you, it is faster to do a Masters. I do not think it has any big disadvantage. In addition, it is relatively easier to get into a program (including part time).

As for MBA, if you are thinking of doing it after 5-6 years, why bother about that now. So many things can change by then. Since, it is an entirely different training of your carreer, I do not think you will have to regret it being a third Masters degree.

Answer 5

As someone who holds an MBA (Cum Laude) from a prestigious British business school, and who has gone on to teach at several highly ranked B Schools around the world, I can tell you why MBAs are receiving a poor reputation. It is that about 25-30 years ago they were seen as a "wonder drug". We'll just ship this person off to business school and in 2 years we will have our new CEO.

On the first day of our registration for the MBA our Dean came to speak to the new class and he emphasized one thing. "The MBA is just a ticket to the ball - You still have to dance!" What that means is that while the MBA should open doors quicker for you, you would still have to prove your competence in the various business areas you work in. The MBA is meant to give business professionals who are skilled in one particular area of business (say finance) insight into how other areas of business (marketing or human resources) are inter-related.

It was never meant to build business professionals (you were supposed to be that already when you arrived) it is meant to build a holistic vision of a business, so that strategy can be developed and executed.

Too often people think their MBA is supposed to be functional specific. A HR professional should be promoted to senior HR professional because she has a an MBA. That is unrealistic. HR is still HR and promotion depends on your competence in HR, but when you start entering more senior management and you need to understand how brand management affects your ability to hire and attract the best staff or how HR professionals have to assess a HR project to incorporate different and the right skills into the completion of a project and why that project has to be completed within a specific time frame and budget, then the actual role of the MBA is seen.