My Master's Wasn't Worth It

Be careful what you study. Going to grad school isn't always worth the time, effort and money.

MBAs: A dime a dozen?

Courtesy: Aaron FraserName: Aaron Fraser, 42
Place: Virgin Islands

I once looked at the MBA as the crème de la crème of business degrees, but now I realize I'm a dime a dozen.

I have an MBA in media management from Metropolitan College of New York and a master's in organizational leadership from Mercy College. I am in debt to the tune of $120,000, and for me, it just wasn't worth it.

After graduating, I applied for jobs in New York for at least a year. In interviews, I was either overqualified, or high risk.

I am high risk, so I'm told, because I have multiple degrees, which means it's more likely that I would pursue other means of employment if I am offered a higher salary.

I'm 42 years old, and I'm competing with 25-year-olds who have MBAs from Harvard. There are so many young people with MBAs from exclusive schools, it's very difficult for somebody like me to compete. Employers don't expect middle aged people to be innovators.

My master's is a joke

Courtesy: Jen SmialekName: Jen Smialek, 31
Place: Boston, Mass.

I work in such a completely different industry, it's a joke amongst co-workers that I have a master's in education.

I completed that degree -- which was my second master's -- in 2010, and taught for a year in Boston. It was the hardest work I've ever done, but I loved it.

A year later, it was first in, first out in terms of layoffs. I didn't have any seniority and I was unfortunately laid off.

I couldn't find another teaching job, so I returned to marketing. I had about $26,000 in student debt from that master's, and I've since paid off most of it (I completed my first master's for less than $500).

If I could go back, I wouldn't earn the education degree again. It was a good personal enrichment activity, but for someone like me who does Internet marketing, my career would benefit more from an MBA.

I work 3 part-time jobs

Courtesy: Nick HintzName: Nick Hintz, 28
Place: Kansas City, Mo.

When I graduated from my undergraduate program in 2008, I had a bachelor's degree in psychology, which was too general to get me a job. I wanted to go into business, so I decided to earn a master's degree in human resources at the University of Minnesota.

At the time, it was rated as the number two HR school in the nation, and it cost a lot to go there. I took out $120,000 in student loans. The economy was unraveling at the time, but I hoped that over a couple years, the job market would improve.

Instead, things got worst. I graduated in 2010 at the bottom of the U.S. job market. At the time, only about half our class found jobs.

Now it's been more than two years, and I'm competing against fresh grads for entry-level positions and leadership training programs. A career counselor told me I missed the boat on getting a solid return on investment for my master's.

I have three part-time jobs. I am an unpaid volunteer in a local hospital's HR department, I'm a content manager for a video game website, and I clean typewriters... yes, typewriters.

I'm stuck with a large amount of debt, I have this fancy master's no one cares about, and I can't get the experience I need. I'm really at a loss of what to do.
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